AD – This post includes PR Samples from Kathleen. This post also contains affiliate links. Please see my Disclosure page for more details.
There are few feelings better in life than taking your makeup off in one go and feeling your skin be left beautifully clean – it’s like a breath of fresh air! I have a few favourite cleansers – the top of my list for a good few years has been the Liz Earle Hot Cloth Cleanser. A recent similar find has been the Clinique Take The Day Off Cleansing Balm. Both are brilliant products, however I’d never been able to find a smaller, more independent brand to rival the quality…until now! I was kindly sent a couple of PR Samples from Kathleen Natural to try out – their Cleansing Lotion and Tonifying Mist. I’ve instantly fallen in love, so let me tell you why!
Let’s start off with a bit about the brand: Kathleen Natural is a skincare brand who focus on creating high quality and premium natural skincare products. I was first introduced to Kathleen Natural last year – I met their brand reps at the London Blogger’s Summer Hangout. I even pop up in their video about the event – you can catch me at 0:52 here! Kathleen promises they don’t use any extra artificial chemicals, and all of their products are made in Great Britain. They proudly display this with a little flag on their packaging – along with a sentence to let you know their products are not tested on animals.
Kathleen Natural’s packaging is simple and elegant – the Cleansing Lotion and Tonifying Mist in particular were packaged in crisp white and purple boxes, beautifully decorated with delicate floral patterns. Inside the box, are the bottles – good quality, sturdy plastic with the same branding and patterns as the box. They look pretty on your bathroom shelf, so they get top marks on packaging from me!
The Kathleen Natural Cleansing Lotion is just like any other hot cloth cleanser – massage it all over your face, paying particular attention to any areas of concern, e.g. if you have a lot of makeup on a particular area (for me it’s normally my eyeshadow or brows, sometimes I have to go over these again if my makeup is stubborn), then use a wet, hot muslin cloth to exfoliate and wipe away the cleanser along with your makeup and any dirt. The 150ml size includes two muslin cloths, so no need to purchase these separately! The cleanser lifts foundation off easily, and the muslin cloth gently exfoliates your skin – getting rid of any dead skin cells, meaning not only are you left with clean skin, but smoother and brighter skin, too! Seriously, I’ve just used it again and am sitting here stroking my skin – it’s so soft!
I do find that although the instructions say to only use one or two pumps of the cleanser, I actually end up needing about four or five for a heavier makeup look – purely because such a small amount of product is released from each pump. If you don’t have much makeup on, however, two or three pumps is plenty enough. I’ve been using the cleanser regularly, every few days (I tend not to only use one particular product so my skin doesn’t become too used to it), and I still have about half of the bottle left after a couple of months! So although you may need to use slightly more product than the instructions (or maybe I just have a big head? Haha…) you’re still definitely going to get a lot of use out of one bottle, and thus definitely get your money’s worth!
The Tonifying Mist finishes off your cleansing routine by revitalising and soothing your skin. Spritz it all over your face for an instant refresh – it’ll also add a little bit of moisture into your skin as well as evening out any redness. I normally spritz the toner, before leaving it to dry for a few minutes and applying a face cream. I also find you can use the Tonifying Mist throughout the day – if you’re feeling a bit tired, a little spritz can wake you up and add a small dose of instant hydration into your skin.
The only slightly negative opinion I have on these products is the odour of them – as they consist of purely organic ingredients, with none of the harsh, nasty chemicals usually used to produce a strong perfumed fragrance – they smell slightly different to what I am used to in a beauty product. It isn’t an ‘unpleasant’ smell – just more natural and earthly. It took me a few uses to get used to the scent, because it just isn’t what I’m used to, but now I hardly notice!
I earlier mentioned that Kathleen’s products are not tested on animals. Animal testing is something I disagree with, but like many beauty addicts, I must admit I often naively turn a blind eye to it. As Kathleen’s Cleansing Lotion got a high score from me, I thought I’d do a bit of research to see whether animal testing was something my other fave cleansers mentioned previously participated in. I read a post on Cruelty Free Kitty’s website, explaining that Clinique is NOT cruelty-free. This new knowledge has certainly made me think: why should I give my money to a company that tests on animals, when I could give my money to a company whose product performs to the exact same quality and standard, but doesn’t test on animals? It’s definitely a moral argument I’m going to be having with myself the next time I need to buy a cleanser!
Have you tried any of Kathleen’s products? What are your go-to Cleansing Lotions and Toners? Let me know in the comments below!