Empties - Cleansing Balms I’ve used up!

 Hello!

Today I have a review of four different cleansing balms that I have used up in the last year!

From top to bottom left to right:

Wishful Clean Genie Cleansing Butter - £31 for 100g - Firstly, I really enjoyed the no-scent scent of this. It smells….clean if that makes sense! The name “butter” is very apt as it does feel like the consistency of butter you forgot to put back in the fridge! Which is a little weird at first if you’re used to harder cleansing balms and is easy to use too much to start with. Spreads VERY easily and did a great job at taking my makeup off, including waterproof eye makeup. Left my skin feeling very soft and supple, which is all thanks to the green tea extract in it which is known for helping to maintain skin moisture. Would I buy again? The consistency was a bit too odd for me personally so I would purchase again, but I wouldn’t be mad if someone gifted it to me! 6/10

Estée Lauder Advanced Night Micro Cleansing Balm - £38 for 70ml - This is the most expensive of the bunch with the least amount of product, which can be off putting to some, but the texture of this is beautiful. A tiny amount goes such a long way with one twist of the palms melting the balm into a beautiful oil consistency to really remove all makeup and pollution (very handy for those of us who commute!) Again, this has a clean scent with nothing major added except a bit of lavender which is barely noticeable but also gave my night routine a bit of a spa like feeling. Removes all makeup including waterproof eye makeup. Leaves my skin feel soft but with a tiny bit of residue if I don’t rinse fully. Would I buy again? Yes if I felt I had a bit of extra cash to spare as the price/ml ratio does make this a bit more expensive compared to the others 8/10

Clinique Take The Day Off Balm - £26 for 125ml - One of the classic cleansing balms and for good reason! You get a lot of product and, like everything else on Clinique, it’s 100% fragrance free! Like the Lauder balm, a tiny bit of this goes a long way. It’s the most solid of all the balms in this review so it’s easy to not use too much and that means it lasts a long time! This often comes in some really good sets around Christmas and you can also buy this in a mini for £9 for 30ml so you can try it before delving in to the bigger size first if you want. Takes off all makeup easily including waterproof eye makeup and any SPF too. Leaves my skin feeling soft and hydrated. Would I buy again? Yes. I’ve gone through multiples of this balm and usually have a backup “just in case”! 9/10

No7 Radiant Results Nourishing Cleansing Balm - £9 for 125ml - This cleansing balm is amazing for the price you pay! (And is also normally on some kind of great offer too!!) It’s a softer consistency so slightly easier to use a bit too much like the Huda one, but isn’t as soft at the Huda one. This is a great one to go to if a customer has never used a cleansing balm before and don’t want to break the bank for “just a makeup remover” or if they can’t afford their trusty premium brand cleanser at the moment. This took off all my makeup including waterproof eye makeup. Leaves my skin feeling a little oiler than the others due to the coconut oil in it being slightly harder to wash off but if used with a second cleanse, this isn’t an issue at all. Would I buy it again? For almost a third of the cost of the Clinique one, yes I 100% would do….especially if it’s on offer or I have a voucher too! 8/10

As you can see, I liked all of them but my favourite is still the Clinique Take The Day Off Balm as it just works well and lasts me ages. I’ve really enjoyed getting to try all of these out either on allocation or from purchasing myself!

What do you all think? Do you have a go to cleansing balm? Are there any I NEED to try next? (I recently got a mini of the Rodial Pink Diamond Cleanser and I’m really enjoying that but am open to any suggestions!)

Until next time,

xoxo

Fenty Cream Bronzer Vs Huda Tantour - Who Wins?

Hello!

Today we have a comparison between the Huda Beauty Tantour in Fair and the Fenty Cheeks Out Freestyle Cream Bronzer in Butta Biscuit. Both of these are the palest cream bronzer products in each brand, although Fenty also brought out their iconic contour shade Amber out in this formula too (from the original Match Stix formula)

Now then, the first point to make is that the Huda product is meant to be a contour and bronzer whereas the Fenty one is advertised more as just a cream bronzer. The difference being that the Huda Tantour "combines a balance of shadow and warmth" according to their website. 

Left: Huda Beauty Tantour in Fair.

Right: Fenty Beauty Cheeks Out Freestyle Cream Bronzer in Butta Biscuit.

I found that the consistencies were pretty similar but the Huda Tantour is heavily pigmented! This isn't necessarily a bad thing as it means a little goes a long way, however it does mean that anyone not used to cream products might have a bit of an issue with it. The Fenty bronzer is a little lighter in colour but also a bit warmer for sure. 

Swatches as above.

When blended with my finger you can see that the Fenty one blends out smoother and this is mainly because the Huda one is SO pigmented that the amount I had swatched was way too much to spread easily in a small area.

Packaging wise......I much prefer the Fenty one. The Huda one has a twist off top and EVERY time I manage to catch myself on it. One day it's going to cause me an injury!! The Huda one does come with an insert over the cream though which I guess should stop it from drying out so easily but I've not had an issue with this happening to either of them so far.

With Flash.

With flash both of them look fairly similar in colour. I have tried both with fingers and a brush and they apply easily with both. i found using a sponge picked up too much of the Huda product but was fine with the Fenty one. You could use a sponge to blend out the Huda one once on your face though with no issue.

Without flash you can see that the Huda one is much darker in reality to the Fenty one. I am really quite pale so I find the Huda one quite difficult to use as it took more effort in terms of being awake enough to use it (fine when I'm on a late but on an early....well....I'm not usually able to function until after lunch really!) I think the fact that you can use the Huda one for both contour and bronzer is a handy thing if someone just wants one product but if you build the product up, I can't see why you couldn't do that with the Fenty one? 

Final thoughts:

Huda Tantour in Fair:

Pros - 

• Very pigmented so will last a long time.
• Cheaper than Fenty at £26 for 11g currently.
• Can be used as a multitasking product.

Cons - 

• Packaging is very annoying/mildly dangerous to those of us who are accident prone!
• Not super easy to use if you are a first timer for cream bronzer due to it being very pigmented.
• Only comes in 5 Shades and the palest is still quite dark. There is quite a jump between light and medium as well.

Fenty Beauty Cheeks Out Freestyle Cream Bronzer in Butta Biscuit:

Pros - 

• Not as pigmented so easy for first time users or people who would rather build a product up.
• They have 8 different shades, 3 of which are designed to be more of a contour shade. Fenty are also known for adding to their shades if they need too.
• Packaging comes with a mirror which is handy if you do your makeup on the go at all.

Cons - 

• More expensive than Huda at £28 for 6.23g.
• You would need to buy two if you wanted a dedicated contour and bronzer shade. 
• Packaging looks messy inside very quickly as the product is flat the the white inside plastic.

Both formulas are cruelty free which is always a bonus as well!

Who wins? - 

All in all, I personally prefer the Fenty one just because the Huda one is VERY pigmented and I find that frustrating if I'm in a rush. Plus the packaging on the Huda one just stresses me out! Both are available easily at their own websites (linked above), Cult Beauty and Boots.com along with other retailers. 

Until next time,

xoxo