Above left to right: St Ives Olive Cleanser and St Ives Olive Scrub
I started using this in September and I have been meaning to try this new line from St Ives since it came out last year, but it was extremely hard to find. When I stumbled upon this at my local Pharmasave and it was at an affordable $7.49 before tax, I decided to try it. There are many beneficial claims to olive oil products, these include: moisturizing; regaining natural oil balance in the skin; softening of skin; the antioxidant properties protect the skin from environmental damage; and it is a great source of vitamin E. With that being said and my skin is so dry then, I have nothing to loose to give it a try .
This cleanser comes in a pump bottle and it is see through, which I like because the pump reduces contamination and messiness and I can see how much product is left in the transparent bottle. I thought this would smell like olive oil but it has nice pleasant light floral scent to it. It is a gel soap cleanser that feels very soft and mild on my skin. Just as I expect from any gel cleanser, it glides on smoothly and gently. The soap is also low sudsing. After about 1.5 months of use, I don’t find this particularly moisturizing, in fact, I find it occasionally drying at night. In general, I find most soap based cleansers a bit drying on me, even if it is mild and low foaming. I don’t mind cleansers that foam but I just prefer that it has no sodium laureth sulphate in it because these cleansers feel drying on my face. However, despite the slight dehydration from this cleanser, I find that it removes makeup really well and it leaves my skin very clean.
When I use a toner afterwards, I find very little makeup residue leftover. It removes some waterproof makeup easily and readily. On a few occasions I purposely did not use makeup remover and I find that it removed my Urban Decay 24/7 liner and my lighter colour eyeshadows easily and cleanily in one swipe. However, with waterproof mascara and any dark and highly pigmented makeup, I would still need to use an eye makeup remover
In general, I like this cleanser because I like the gel texture on my face and it is an excellent makeup remover. It even cleanses better than the St Ives Apricot Cleanser and I really like that one because I have used it for years. Those who hate the micro beads in the Apricot cleanser may want to give the olive cleanser a try because it is gentler and has no beads. The only thing I hate about the olive cleanser is that it is little dehydrating. After 1.5 months of use I am just about half way through a 200 mL bottle and I estimate that one bottle can last about 3-4 months of use with me using this 2 times a day. Being that it cost just $8.38 with both taxes and it would last me about 1/4 of a year, it is a pretty good deal. I am not sure if I would buy this again if I run out because I would definitely like this cleanser more if it is a cream. I just find cream cleansers more luxurious and moisturizing.
I have also used the St Ives Olive Scrub with this twice a week. Stay tuned for the review!
If you’ve used it for 1.5 months, how come the bottle is full?
I took the picture back in September when I first purchased it. Nowadays it is about full empty.