Lush Bûche de Noël face cleanser

One of my favorite facial cleansers is Lush’ Angels on Bare Skin. I reviewed this product years ago and I still use it every day. The other week it ran out and so I found myself inside Lush to find out that they do a special winter/ Holiday facial cleanser called Bûche de Noël. It promises to be gentler and creamier than Angels and so I had to try it.

Lush Bûche de Noël face cleanser

The packaging is a simple pot and similar to the one Angels on Bare Skin comes in. I don’t like the packaging too much. I use the product in my shower and the product easily becomes wet when you do that. The result: a soggy, muddy mess. To prevent that from happening, I have an old pot that I cleaned out in my shower and I transfer little bits of the product into it. The other pot is stored away in a dark and dry space to maintain shelf life.

The price of this stuff is reasonable. You pay €10.95 per 100 grams. On average a tub of Angels on Bare Skin lasts me 6 months. If this lasts as long, I think that it gives good value for money.

Some information on the packaging. You’re supposed to take a bit of the cleanser and add water. When you rub your hands together you’ll get a paste like substance that you can rub onto your face and rinse off. It makes for a messy cleanser. This stuff goes all over the place, which is why I use it in my shower. And I use a foamy cleanser afterwards to clean off any residue.

What Lush has to say:

The mighty Bûche de Noël is food for your face and body, with festive ingredients including satsumas, cranberries and a drop of brandy. The fresh cleanser helps to bring back radiance to wintry skin: sweet almonds, kaolin and fruits gently buff and clean. Cocoa butter softens the skin and balance is restored by its fragrant essential oils.

The reason why I picked this up rather than my trusty Angels on Bare Skin, is that this promises to be better for winter affected skin. There are some extra nourishing ingredients in here which should help your skin battle the cold and leave it less dry.

This is what the cleanser looks like in the pot. Not too appealing. But that’s okay as long as it works. It does smell nice though. You can definitely smell the brandy and satsuma which makes for a nice blend of warmth and freshness. The red bits are the promised cranberries and the grainy pieces are the almonds.

Other ingredients in this product are an array of oils (almond, vetiver and cedar wood) and cocoa butter. It is wrapped in nori seaweed and unfortunately it also contains a bit of perfume. If that’s something you know your skin can’t handle I would ask for a tester of this before you buy a full sized tub. Lush is usually pretty good with that, so just pop into a store and ask.

All you need is a small lump of product. I use a blueberry sized amount. When you add water and rub your hands together it turns into a milky layer that feels nice on the skin. Bûche de Noël feels mild and nourishing. It is a lot creamier than Angels on Bare Skin yet still cleans the skin nicely. The tiny bits of almond have a mild exfoliating effect, making this a cleanser that packs a bit more oomph than your standard one.

Because of its exfoliating properties, I don’t use this cleanser on a daily basis. On average, I use it 2 – 3 times a week. I feel it gives my skin just the right amount of scrub which keeps blackheads and pimples at bay in my case. So far I’ve been using this for 2 weeks and I’m not noticing a tremendous difference with before yet. However, since this isn’t clay but cacao butter and almond based, this cleanser feels hydrating. In fact, after using it, my skin hardly feels dry or dehydrated. And the smell is just absolutely divine and perfect for winter.

In short, I’m totally loving this facial cleanser. I’m actually thinking of stocking up when I find myself near a Lush store again before Christmas. Because that’s the only downside to this product: it is not available year round.

What’s your favorite face cleanser?