4 Cleansing Oils to Jumpstart Your Summer Skincare!

Happy 4th of July to those of you who are celebrating!  When I was living in the US, I’ve always felt that this date marked the height of summer, when the parties are off at full-swing and/or people are away vacationing.  Whatever you are up to, life is too short to be wasted piling on heavy and uncomfortable feeling skincare.  If you hadn’t already jumped on the cleansing oil bandwagon, here are 4 you should definitely check out today!

I’m sure if you’re reading this post, you are already familiar with cleansing oils, but in case you are still skeptical, here is an interesting post that explains the benefit of cleansing your face with oils.  Today’s post is a little bit of a cheat, because I’ve been accumulating cleansing oils and never got around to reviewing them, so I decided to pull them all together for a quick roundup.  I’m not going to post swatches because you know… erm… oil.  So it’s going to be a rather wordy post, bear with me, and I’ll try to be succinct!

Shu Uemura Cleansing Oils

There is no other brand that embraces cleansing oil as much as Shu Uemura.  In fact, they have 6 different cleansing oils to cater to different skin concerns.  To be honest, it was not love at first sight for me, as the first few Shu Uemura cleansing oils I tried either broke me out or left my skin feeling tight.  I remember the Shu Uemura PR telling me that somehow or another we will find an oil that I will love… and she was right, I ended up falling for not 1 but 2!

Shu Uemura Ultime8 Sublime Beauty Cleansing Oil

This is infused with 8 botanical oils and is the most luxurious of all Shu Uemura’s cleansing oils.  Designed with anti-aging concerns in mind, this Ultime8 has a cocooning effect when massaged on the skin that feels very pampering.  And surprisingly, it does not feel heavy at all, but is as lightweight and silky as cleansing oils go.  It also cleanses my skin well, leaving it feeling perfectly happy and comfortable afterwards, without any lingering oiliness.

Shu Uemura Anti/Oxi+ Pollutant & Dullness Clarifying Cleansing Oil

The latest baby in the family, Shu Uemura’s newly reformulated Anti/Oxi+ is formulated with pure botanical oils, and is able to remove dirt as tiny as PM2.5 and is even effective on waterproof mascara!  It claims to be so gentle that it can even be used on lash extensions (generally speaking, oil and lash adhesives cannot mix!).  This new Anti/Oxi+ smells so wonderful, it is a delight to use daily!  The texture is lighter than Ultime8, and it cleanses even my heaviest makeup easily.  My skin looks brighter and clearer after each wash, making me intoxicated!

SK-II Facial Treatment Cleansing Oil

The reigning champion of my bathroom vanity for the past couple of years is SK-II Facial Treatment Cleansing Oil.  It grew into such a basic core part of my routine that it never even occurred to me to stop and take a picture of it until it was completely gone!  It almost hurts me to like it so much, because as you can see from the ingredient list, it uses mineral oils instead of botanicals, although from experience I can now safely say, not all mineral oils are bad nor do they break you out.  At the same time, my skin really likes SK-II’s famed Pitera (aka Galactomyces Ferment Filtrate), and Niacinamide ranks fairly high on the ingredient list too.  Along with Shu Uemura’s Anti/Oxi+, this SK-II Facial Treatment Cleansing Oil has one of the lightest textures.  There is no added fragrance, which is good for those of you who are averse to those things.

THREE Balancing Cleansing Oil

The last one for today, is one that I’ve seen many times over on the blogosphere, with many devotees.  Personally, I am a little bit on the fence about this one.  It uses a lot of natural botanical oils and essential oils for an added skincare boost, and comes at a surprisingly low price.  On the other hand, the texture is oilier than the rests, and it leaves my skin feeling oily as well.  There is also a very strong citrus scent which I love for body wash but not for my face.

Conclusion

All 4 here are well loved, and definitely worth checking out.  And as I’m typing this, I think I really need to restock on the SK-II!  The new Shu Uemura Anti/Oxi+ is definitely one to look into as it’s the latest, and anything that helps to remove micro particles is worth investing in! If you are look for some pampering, the Ultime8 is the way to go.

_{The Shu Uemura products discussed here were kindly provided for my consideration.  All other products were purchased by me.  Regardless, all opinions expressed here are my own honest, unbiased views.}