The chosen ones | Emma Hardie Amazing Face Moringa Cleansing Balm

I'm starting out a new category today, featuring staple products — the kind that will be in a part of my life at all times. BPFs?

On this very first post on the matter, I'll talk about how much I adore the Emma Hardie Amazing Face Natural Lift and Sculpt Moringa Cleansing Balm — that's a long name, if I ever saw one. I'm sure you must've heard about it somewhere in the blogosphere. It's that amazing cleansing balm that smells oh-so-good and doesn't dry out the skin.

Just in case you're still using face wipes to cleanse your face at night, this is how you use a cleansing balm:
1. Make sure you have clean hands to start with.
2. Scoop out a little amount from the tub and warm it up between your hands, until it turns into an oil.
3. Apply it gently on your face, starting with the eye area. Warning: You'll get panda eyes! Hah!
4. After massaging it using circular motions, on your face and neck, remove the product with a face cloth — soak it in warm water and squeeze. I use these.
If you're wearing a lot of make-up or a sunscreen, cleanse twice. Pat dry your face and follow with a toner, before moisturizing. Ta-da! You did it! That wasn't hard, was it? If this is your first time, please take a moment to admire the difference in your skin. You can throw away those wipes now. To quote Sadie Saxton, "you're welcome".

I've noticed that the effect of the product on the skin, combined with the scent, provide a very calming result. You'll find that the skin remains completely clean and nourished, without losing it's elasticity.
This cleansing balm can be doubled up as a rescue balm, for dry areas like elbows or lips, but also as a calming face mask, ideal when your skin is feeling more tight. Just leave it on for ten minutes before removing. And by the way, this will remove E-V-E-R-Y bit of make-up. Trust me, I like to experiment a lot.

The formula contains Moringa seed extract (of course), Wild Sea Fennel and Vitamin E to balance, purify and help to minimise the appearance of open pores; Orange, Neroli and Mandarin extracts to rejuvenate and revitalise the skin; and Jasmine, Cedarwood and Rose to recondition dull, dry, dehydrated and mature skins.
I think I'm becoming a fan of Moringa, it's the main ingredient in another "chosen one", that will be popping up soon. Stay tuned!

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Current evening routine

I always loved skincare products, especially the ones designed for nighttime. But, ever since I discovered balm cleansers, I really came to enjoy it even more. Mainly because if you cleanse properly, the products applied afterwards work more efficiently. Just for reference, my skin fits into the combination category — mostly normal, with very dry, flaky patches here and there and an oily nose.

Depending on the amount of make-up I'm wearing, I start off by removing the upper layer with Bioderma Sensibio/Créaline H2O on a cotton pad (or two). Not being too fussy about it, since I'm going to cleanse with a balm anyway. The balm in question is Emma Hardie Amazing Face Natural Lift and Sculpt Moringa Cleansing Balm. As the name states, it is amazing. It removes every little trace of dirt and clingy mascara, leaving the skin perfectly clean, without being squeaky clean, which I appreciate. I take a small amount, work it between my hands until it turns into an oil. Then, I apply it on dry skin, on my face and neck, massaging well — but gently around the eyes — and remove it with a warm (tepid) cloth. Next, I apply a toner, and this could be either my all time favourite Caudalie Beauty Elixir or, one I've been enjoying lately, Jurlique Rosewater Balancing Mist, which is very soothing and ideal for normal to combination skin types. Oh, and it smells like rose water, which I love. The only thing I'd change is the mist, it's not as fine as the Caudalie one, but it's not the worst I've tried.

Continuing the process, for the eye area I start with the Ole Henriksen Truth Is In The Eyes peel, which I talked about here. After it gets absorbed, I pop on some Clarins Special Eye Contour Balm. On the rest of the face, I usually apply the Clinique Turnaround Radiance Moisturizer or Estée Lauder Advanced Night Repair. Sometimes, if I feel like I need some extra balancing, I layer a drop of Clarins Lotus Oil. I warm it up between my hands and pat it on the T-zone. You really need one drop of this, so a bottle will last a long, long time. 

That's pretty much it, with a few changes here and there, when testing out new products. But for now, this is my nighttime beauty arsenal. Right, I'm off to doing just that.

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