The Body Shop Moisture White Shiso Cleansing Oil review

While in The Body Shop last weekend stocking up on the Ginger Scalp Care shampoo (which is amazing for itchy scalps by the way), I picked up this Moisture White Shiso Cleansing Oil. I'm not usually a fan of The Body Shop skin care, but this cleansing oil sounded interesting.

Here's the description:

This rinse-off cleansing oil removes make-up and impurities. It contains our unique shiso formula. Gently dissolves make-up and lifts away impurities. Does not dry out skin. Specially developed for Asian skin.

Although I've been using hot cloth cream cleansers and milk cleansers for a few years now, I've never tried an cleansing oil. Unless I count using mineral oil to remove waterproof mascara when I was a teenager, which worked really well but used to blur my eyes.

This cleansing oil comes in a standard pour bottle. Personally I'd prefer a pump for convenience but it's fine... it just needs a wipe around the bottle opening every so often.

The main reason I wanted to try oil cleansing was because I wanted to be able to remove make-up and cleanse my skin in one step, instead of using face wipes, eye make-up remover, then cream cleanser etc. I've also come to dislike using face wipes because there's always loads of dry ones in the pack, and sometimes I feel like they're too abrasive on my skin, particularly when I'm removing eye make-up.

I'm pleased to say that since I started using this cleansing oil, I've managed to simplify my evening cleansing routine.

To show you how, here's my hand with a variety of water resistant and waterproof make-up on it..

This is a splash of cleansing oil going on...

This is the cleansing oil gently rubbed into the area for a few seconds. The make-up has dissolved with hardly any friction required.

This is my hand after being rinsed with water. Clean as a whistle!

I'm happy with my first cleansing oil so far. I much prefer using just one product and then rinsing it off clean.

I've tried a few different methods of using this cleansing oil, and my preferred method is as follows:

1. Start with dry skin. Pour about a teaspoon of the cleansing oil onto palm
2. Use fingers to dab oil generously on areas prone to build-up of sebum or make-up (e.g. sides of nose, chin, and eyelids)
3. Dab remaining oil to rest of face
4. Use fingertips to spread and massage oil in circular motions, concentrating on aforementioned areas of concern
5. Leave eye area to last so that the oil has had more time to start dissolving stubborn make-up and thus needs less rubbing
6. Rinse thoroughly

I don't find that the cleansing oil works as well mixed with water, so I always use it on dry skin.

After rinsing, my skin really does look and feel clean. When I rinse, the oil comes off completely, taking all traces of make-up and dirt with it. If I use a white towel on my face afterwards, it doesn't get left with remnant make-up.

The first couple of days I used this, I thought my skin seemed a little more dry after rinsing than when I've used a cream/milk cleanser. I really wanted the oil to be moisturising as well as cleansing, but it doesn't seem to be. I guess I wouldn't want any "dirtied" oil staying on my skin anyway...

I'm definitely going to keep using this cleansing oil. I like that it leaves my skin perfectly clean and also saves me time and effort in the evenings.

This cleansing oil was $15 for 125ml (4.2 fl oz).

The full ingredients (I'm not a fan of fragrance being listed) of The Body Shop Moisture White Shiso Cleansing Oil are:

Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride (Emollient), PEG-20 Glyceryl Triisostearate (Skin-Conditioning Agent), Isohexadecane (Emollient/Solvent), Glycine Soja (Soybean) Oil (Emollient/Skin Conditioner), Glyceryl Behenate/Eicosadioate (Surfactant - Emulsifying Agent), Water (Solvent/Diluent), Fragrance (Fragrance), Perilla Ocymoides Seed Oil (Skin-Conditioning Agent), Magnesium Ascorbyl Phosphate (Antioxidant), Butylphenyl Methylpropional (Fragrance Ingredient), Glycyrrhiza Glabra (Licorice) Root Extract (Conditioning Agent, Humectant), Citric Acid (pH Adjuster)

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