Boots Botanics Hot Cloth Cleansing Balm

If you're like me and you're obsessed with British beauty bloggers, then you'll see two kinds of cleansers pop up as favorites over theirs over and over: hot cloth cleansers and cleansing balms.  So, you can imagine my excitement when out searching for one or the other and I found this beauty which is a combination of both.  It's like the stars aligned in Target for me that day.


This is a dupe for many of the more popular cleansing balms like Emma Hardie and Clinique and it was on sale when I was in Target a couple weeks ago.  Even when it's not on sale though, it's quite a bargain at Target online for $8.49 (far better than Clinique at $28.50 or Emma Hardie for even more).

For those of you unfamiliar with cleansing balms, you apply a small amount to dry skin, thoroughly massage your face, and wipe it off with a damp wash cloth or muslin cloth (which is included).  I then proceed on to toner (my toner of choice at the moment: Boots Expert Sensitive Toner).

The question is: does it really work? And the answer is yes.  I have personally never tried the cult Emma Hardie Cleansing Balm, but I can tell you the Boots Botanics works great.  It disolves all my makeup better than any gel cleanser I've ever used, and it's gentle on my dehydrated skin.  And from a look at the ingredients lists of the Boots and the Emma Hardie, they're pretty similar.

Emma Hardie Moringa Cleansing Balm
Ingredients: Grape Seed Oil, Sweet Almond Oil, Capric Triglyceride, Cetearyl Alcohol, Beeswax, Capric Glycerides, Almond Glycerides, Sorbitan Stearate, Stearic Triglycerides, Limonene, Orange Peel Oil, Silica, Bergamot Fruit Oil, Glycerin, Phenoxyethanol, Benzyl Alcohol, Bitter Orange Flower Oil, Juniperus Virginiana Oil, Water, Lecithin, Linalool, Butylene Glycol, Octyldodecyl PCA, Menthyl PCA, Tocopherol, Ascorbyl Palmitate, Crithmum Maritimum Extract, Sunflower Seed Oil, Jasmine Flower Oil, Geraniol, Moringa Pterygosperma Seed Extract, Farnesol, Rosa Damascena Flower Oil, Disodium Phosphate, Citral, Citric Acid, Citronellol

Boots Botanics Hot Cloth Cleansing Balm (97% Organic)Ingredients: Olive Fruit Oil*, Jojoba Seed Oil*, Beeswax*, Shea Butter*, Sweet Almond Oil*, Cetearyl alcohol, Rosa Canina Seed Oil*, Limonene, Citronellol, Pelargonium graveolens flower oil, Citrus aurantium dulcis peel extract*, Linalool, Bergamot fruit oil, Lemon peel oil, Geraniol, Fragrance, Citral
*Certified organic

There are a few qualities to note of the Boots Botanics Cleansing Balm: first, it's 97% organic.  The only one on the market I've found that can boast such a claim. Second, it contains Shea Butter, which is great for dry skin but makes it a potential problem for acne-prone skin because Shea Butter sits on top of the skin.  As someone who is prone to acne, I don't worry too much about this because I take the cleanser off thoroughly and I follow up my cleanse with a toner, so I doubt it's clogging any pores.  Not to mention my acne has gotten better since using this cleanser. (Full disclaimer: I don't have horrific acne, just frequent little spots.)

Also, this product does contain fragrance, so it may not be suitable for sensitive skin.  If you have sensitive skin, then look into the Clinique Take The Day Off Cleansing Balm (ingredients list here).

All in all, I HIGHLY recommend this product. Bottom line: it's the only affordable cleansing balm I've found and it does a great job.

Katie