Body Shop Seaweed Purifying Facial Cleanser

RRP: £6.50 for 200ml

--What does the promo say?--
"A mild oil-free and soap-free milky cleansing lotion. Effectively removes make-up, impurities and daily grime,without drying the skin. Leaves the skin feeling cleansed, soft and supple with a shine-free, matte finish."

--Packaging--
A clear, hard plastic bottle with an opaque plastic flip-top lid. The label is simple and evocative of the sea, with its white, light blue and dark blue colour scheme, and the bottle itself is secure, with little risk of leakage, as the lid closes firmly.

--Application--
This one is best used out of the shower. Over the sink, rub a 50p-sized amount of the lotion between your palms and smooth over clean, dry face. Leave on skin for 2-3 minutes if desired so that the skin may benefit maximally from the ingredients, and then wash off with a damp flannel, or wipe off with a dry tissue or cotton pad. More like a moisturiser to use than a cleanser.

--Scent--
This product is virtually scent-free, with perhaps a slight salty tinge but not a lot else.

--Appearance--
The cream is slightly watery and translucent, and is an off-white colour. Not really luxurious, but at the price, you can't really complain. Rubbed between the hands and onto the face, the cream becomes even more translucent, and there is no visible residue left on the skin.

--Immediate effects--
The skin appears slightly mattified (but nothing miraculous) and a smooth, fresh feeling is quickly apparent, which is a Godsend on waking up or when scraping off your makeup. It does also effectively remove makeup, though I don't really use it for this.

--Long-term effects--
I bought this as a temporary fix when I was too short of money to buy my usual Clinique, and while it's OK, in that my skin didn't break out and I didn't experience any total skin disasters while using the Seaweed range, I definitely didn't see the same level of improvement as I saw with the Clinique, and nor did I see the excellency of the overall results that the Clinique range delivers.

--Value for money--
It's perhaps unfair to compare the effectiveness of the range to Clinique's skincare regimes given the obvious differences in price. However, while as a long-term acne sufferer I clearly require something more specialised, I would imagine that this would be suitable for the majority of the general public who don't need to bring things quite so much under control. It's nice enough to use, and the price tag is certainly attractive; however, the lack of long-term effects for me mean that I'll soon be running back to my Clinique.

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