In Her Element First Wash Cleansing Oil

I've been using In Her Element First Wash Cleansing Oil for about a week now and here's what I think about it so far.

First of all, In Her Element is a new, local brand created by Liz Lanuzo, editor-in-chief of Project Vanity, a local beauty site. This is the second product in the line and I am very impressed with what she has managed to create: the site, the collaborations and now a growing product line.

This cleansing oil, retailing for P450 for 100 ml, is packaged very nicely as an aluminum bottle with a pump. Ingredients are few: grapeseed oil, sweet almond oil, coconut oil, polysorbate 80 and tocopherol. This product contains no mineral oil. It also contains no added fragrances. The minimalist, pink packaging is neat with a clearly marked manufacturing date, expiration date and life span - a good 6 months for 100 ml.

To use, it is very important to SHAKE the bottle well and dispense one pump. I've tried it without shaking and you'll end up with all of the oil and none of the emulsifier and it's horrible (I've learnt this the hard way). I'm actually disappointed that the cute packaging has poor functionality:  the pump's convenience is negated  by the additional step and the bottle's aluminum opacity makes it difficult to gauge the product's homogeneity.

Massage lightly as oil, emulsify with water into a milky consistency and rinse off as per usual.  This product is touted as a first wash, so if you may follow up with another cleanser. I do not double cleanse but I find that this does take out my usual eyebrow and non-waterproof make-up adequately. I do not know how well it will do with waterproof make-up.

Afterwards, skin is slightly softer and brighter. However, to my disappointment, it is not very moisturising. Yes, it is a bit unfair because this is supposed to be a first wash... but I try to cut out products from my routine and I was hoping this would help. This product is not for the lazy girl.

I also got a few zits just after 3 days of once daily use, so I had to revert to using it as a first wash make up remover in the end. Note that my skin also did not react well to HHN's Rosehip Oil: While rosehip oil is unrelated to the ingredient list, a lot of people did not react to using it as a face oil even though it is supposed to be too thick for the face.

While I might not want another bottle of this stuff, I encourage those who like cleansing oils to give this a try: it's Filipino, fragrance-free, mineral oil free and budget friendly and it does what it's supposed to do.