Ark Remove Pre Skin Cleanse

 I’ve mentioned this in a couple of recent posts – mainly my current skincare routine and my August love list – so now, as promised, here’s the full review.

Ark’s Remove Pre Skin Cleanse is pretty much as it sounds; it’s a product aimed at removing dirt, make-up and oil to prepare skin for cleansing.  I’m a firm believer in double cleansing as I don’t think it’s realistic to expect one quick cleanse as a sufficient way to both completely remove everything on your skin as well as effectively cleanse.  Therefore, I always double cleanse one way or another.

To use this, you squirt it into your hands and work it over your face.  The packaging states that you should avoid your eyes but I’ve been using it to remove all my eye make-up and have enough got it into my eyes on a couple of occasions, and other than my vision going a bit cloudy for a few moments, there was no sensitivity or discomfort and I have very sensitive eyes.

The reason I am such a fan of this oil cleanser is because it’s managed to tread the fine line between oil and grease; my skin does not respond well to anything greasy, but loves oils, which is a tricky balance to strike!  This oil feels like a luxurious treatment that quickly and effectively removes make-up without leaving a greasy feeling or any residue.

The only negative I have with this product is the packaging.  It’s pretty flimsy; the cap cracked very quickly and unfortunately I wouldn’t risk travelling with this at all as a brief stint in a carrier bag (when I was transporting it to my photo box for picture taking) resulted in everything getting covered in oil…not good!

The only other product I can compare this to is Dermalogica Precleanse which is fairly similar.  However, Dermalogica’s offering used to sting my eyes really badly and took a lot more effort to remove stubborn mascara.

Once you’ve worked this all over your face (it’s a pretty lovely feeling, especially when working away at the eye make-up) you then add some water to turn it into an emulsion, work it around a little more then wash off before following with your cleanser.

In conclusion, this is a brilliant make-up remover (it’s almost as easy for me as micellar solutions, the only difference being that this feels like it’s doing a lot more for my skin), doesn’t break me out or leave me feeling greasy and I heartily recommend this if you’re a fan of oil based cleansers.

Ark Remove Pre Skin Cleanse costs £24 for 125ml.

Disclosure: press sample sent for editorial consideration.