Superfacialist by Una Brennan Rose calming creamy cleanser review

nice big chunky tube

What can I say. It’s £7.99 for 150ml. (Plus it’s always on some kind of offer in Boots, making it a great budget buy.) It’s a lovely creamy cleanser with a great consistency that turns a little more milky as it’s massaged in. It leaves my skin feeling fairly normal, although I do have to moisturise quite quickly afterwards. There’s nothing much to worry about in the ingredients list, it takes everything off bar the most stubborn eye make up and wipes off with a hot cloth leaving nothing behind. So far so good, right?

Nothing to see here, move along…

But -oh, the smell. Never a fan of rose at the best of times (unless you count Sisley Black Rose oil, which smells exactly like a rose should), this just smells synthetic and overpoweringly of Nana’s knicker drawer. It smells to me like every cheap gift set of ‘rose’ soaps you were ever given as a teenager multiplied to infinity. Maybe it’s because I’m a florist, and I’m used to knowing what certain floral smells should be like, and this is just too much. The rosewater in the ingredient list wouldn’t account for the scent alone, which is clearly the ‘parfum’ listed halfway down.

It’s such a shame. I have a lot of love for Una’s Vitamin C skin renew cleansing oil (which also has a strong scent, but this time of orange peel, which I can tolerate, especially as I really like the cleanser), but I find myself holding my breath while I use this so I don’t have to smell it. The majority of reviews I have read disagree with me -people seem to love the scent. I realise that it’s horses for courses and there will be smells I adore that other people hate (Aesop, I’m looking at you…) but if the fragrance was toned down just a little bit, I think it could easily be one of my go-to cream cleansers, especially when I want to use something less expensive in the day-to-day as it’s a does-what-it-says-on-the-tin kind of product. As it stands: computer says No.

How have you got on with the Superfacialist range? Am I just being (literally) too sniffy?

Rose Hydrate Calming Creamy cleanser is available at Boots HERE for £7.99

Info: Purchase

Current skincare routine -day

I thought I would run through this week’s products. I’ve settled into a bit of a routine with these recently, adding in treatment oils as and when I feel that I need them, but these are forming the current cornerstones of my daily routine.

First up: Garnier Micellar cleansing water (currently on offer at Boots). This stuff is cheap as chips. It really is, and it’s always on some kind of offer in Boots or Superdrug. I used to use Bioderma, and yes, it is better. But it is also three times the price and I only use it for the initial make-up removing stage, so I’m not going to beat myself up about it. It’s odourless, clear and really does feel just like magic water that takes off your make up. A pad liberally doused in this and held on my eyelids for 30 seconds loosens all the mascara. All of it. I’ve never managed to use an oil for the eye make up removing part of my routine, and this is the best I’ve found that removes without scrubbing. It’s basically Witchcraft. This is primarily an evening make up remover for me, but I give myself a wipe with it in the morning to catch any of those bits that end up under your eyes, no matter how well you cleanse the night before.

Once that’s all off, I go in with Una Brennan’s SuperFacialist Vitamin C+ Skin Renew Cleansing Oil (and breathe).

It’s a superlight, emulsifying oil that has plenty of slip and I can work right into my skin. It comes off with a hot flannel like a dream, unlike some cleansers which I feel I need to go in again and again until it’s all off. Smells a bit too heavily of orange peel for my liking but is a daily go-to when I haven’t been wearing tons of make up or sunscreen (or in the summer).

It really does need to come with a pump dispenser though. I’ve got round this by using a pump that came with a travel bottle from Superdrug which fitted perfectly, but without it, this would go all over the shop. Sort it out Una.

Next up: Pixi Glow Tonic. A massive big up to Mrs Hirons for getting most of Britain’s beauty addicts into the acid cleanse. Once the cleanser is off, I go in with Glow Tonic. I have tried others but nothing really does it for me like this does -to the extent that I ALWAYS have a back up bottle somewhere because I’m paranoid that I will run out and the shops will be shut and my skin will fall off.

Sometimes I use a hydrating tone, but not always (more in the summer, paradoxically because I like the freshening aspect). Currently I’m liking Murad’s Hydrating toner which smells peachy (and is currently reduced in M&S), but equally The Body Shop’s Vitamin E Face Mist is a third of the price and does the job equally well.

My go-to serum at the moment (third bottle level, which is I think a record) is Vichy Aqualia. This stuff is amazing for my patchy, sad, lizard like, dehydrated skin. It’s packed full of hyaluronic acid (and works in a way that Hydraluron never did, despite me aching to love it). In fact, all the Vichy products I’ve used since I hit 40 have been amazing. I remember being sorely disappointed with their products when I was in my 20s, but I guess my skin hadn’t got into its stride then. This I use as a day serum, and I switch up to something with a bit more clout in the evening.

Finally – Ole Henrickson’s Nurture Me creme. To say I love this moisturising freaking miracle cream would be a touch of an understatement. It’s formulated for sensitive and rosacea prone skin and I think it’s the chamomile element that I react to so well as I’ve noticed this in other creams I’ve enjoyed using. It’s a gel-cream formulation that smells creamy-vanilla-y-bubblegummy. It took some getting used to as it’s not in my normal fragrance comfort zone but now I absolutely love it. After the Aqualia, a layer of this and my skin -however brittle and sore feeling it may be- feels supple and nourished. I can feel the moisture in my skin all day but it’s never greasy. This is another one of those please don’t ever stop making it or I may cry products.

Then that’s me done. Eye cream? Are you kidding me?.

Full disclaimer: All products bought with cold, hard cash.