Pixi Double Cleanse (with Caroline Hirons)

I have been meaning to review this for a while but as you know I like to be thorough. I have to confess I assumed when I bought this that there would be no point reviewing it as it would just a flat out rave on how great a product this is. It is, but not without a few things worth commenting on.

As you may or may not know the Double Cleanse is a product developed with skincare queen Caroline Hirons, a woman who has worked in skincare for decades, knows what she's talking about and isn't afraid to voice her opinion. You know that if she has collaborated on and/or put her name to a product it's going to be good and it's going to do what it needs to do. And the double cleanse, does. But it's not a simple review. I've been using this about 5 times a week since February 2017 and I think I will probably be re-buying when it runs out. I'm about halfway through I think.
For those of you who aren't skincare savvy the idea of the double cleanse is that for your evening skin routine, you have one cleanser that will remove dirt and make-up and then a separate one that does good things for your skin. If you have one cleanser for everything then you waste a lot of the benefits of the good ingredients that you are paying for, on just removing your make-up, a lot of them won't get any proper contact with the skin. Us skin devotees (and city dwellers) will argue that it's always a good idea to double cleanse at the end of the day. Realistically if you are not a product junkie and you don't wear make-up then you can probably get away with cleansing once. So back to it...

With her expertise and huge blog and YouTube following Caroline could probably have priced this a lot higher and it would have sold. I was very pleasantly surprised to find this in store at £24. That's incredibly reasonable considering you are getting two 50ml products in one pot. I bought this by accident when I was in central London and happened to be going past the shop - it was the price that clinched it for me. I have a lot of cleansers so I couldn't justify it on that basis but for £24 this was actual a worthwhile purchase for someone who uses a cleanser twice a day.

I also love the fact that not only has Caroline gone for something she is passionate about (she is a vocal advocate of the benefit of double cleansing) but she's cornered the market really. To my knowledge no other brand offers a proper double cleanse solution all in one pot.

So what do you get? Well in one side there is a solid cleansing oil, the consistency and feel of coconut oil, and in the other you get a cream. I am a lover of cleansing balms and so I really love the solid oil side which is there to get the make-up and dirt off your face. And it does very effectively. You don't need much and it is a really lovely product to rub into your skin. All make-up, dirt and sunscreen is removed with minimum effort. The solid oil side contains evening primrose oil to heal and moisturise, vitamin e to soothe and camellia oil omega to nourish. The second ingredient on the list is PEG-20 Glyceryl Triisostearate which is an emulsifying emollient which is what makes it so easy to work into the skin - it means business.

On the second cleanse side is a cleansing cream - not my favourite form of cleanser (but preferable for me to a foam or a milk) and this is the good stuff. Massage it into the face and give yourself a dose of Vitamin C to protect and promote collagen and peptide complex to improve elasticity and plump. Both sides are completely fragrance free and non-irritating. Rub a smallish amount into the skin and remove with a warm flannel. I leave the cream side on for a bit longer and give myself a bit of a face massage.

However, I do find that if I get the cream in my eye it stings. Now, this is fine as I just have to avoid getting it in my eye and it doesn't need to go near my eye because all the eye make-up has been removed in the first step. I am just a bit of a slapdash, slap it on cleanser and therefore I quite often end up with a bit of a watery eye. I also find the shape of the pot a bit annoying, there are corners that product gets trapped in. But this led me to think about other possible designs and really, I can't. I think the design really works for what it is and for keeping packaging to a minimum (you know how I hate that). And it's so nice to know that in one tub I have all my cleansing needs covered. But will I finish one side before the other? I will update you when I know.

As someone who is prone to sensitive skin it is so nice to have, essentially, two products that clean and treat the skin so well with no sign of redness or irritation. My skin doesn't feel as wow-y as it does when I've used say Emma Hardie's cleansing balm but I think that's partly me being a fan of balms. Also there are a ton of cleansers on the market that do that. There are none that work as a team, suit all skin types and remove all make-up and sunscreen whilst adding good stuff to your face. It does feel incredibly clean and soft with no tightness. Apart from the aforementioned eye stinging the only other slight downside is that I'd be concerned when traveling to a hot country that the solid cleansing oil would melt and redistribute itself. And I would want to take this with me. It's all you need really for an evening cleanse.

What You Need to Know - Pixi Double Cleanse

• £24
• 100ml (you get 50ml of each product)
• Suits all skin types
•  Vitamin E, Evening Primrose Oil and vitamin C
• Available from Pixi, Look Fantastic, Cult Beauty