Kiehl’s Calendula cleanser

Ever since trying a few Kiehl’s products after receiving some in a goodie bag, I have become quite the fan of many of their products. That said, however, you can always try more and Kiehl’s is really great with trial sizes. All you have to do is ask and you can try their products for free. I received a sample of their Calendula cleanser to try and here’s what I think of it.  

Kiehl’s Calendula Deep Cleansing Foaming Face Wash

I love using foaming face cleansers in the shower. Now I know not everyone is a fan of taking off makeup under the shower, but I’m a one-stop-shop kinda gal and love to multi-task. So when I am taking a shower after a long day and I’m wearing makeup, I like using a cleanser to take off my makeup with. That’s what I was looking for in this: an easy to use cleanser that takes off my makeup without making my skin feel dry or irritate my eyes. The cleanser I used previously did the latter and so I wasn’t too happy about that one.

Kiehl’s products are not cheap, which is why I like being able to get these freebie trial sizes to see whether the product is even worth considering. Their skincare is often available in multiple sizes. For this you can opt for a standard 230 ml size bottle and pay €29.50 or for the larger 500 ml size and pay €51.00. That’s a lot of money for a cleanser, but if it does what it promises to do than this may be worth the splurge.

The Packaging

The trial size of the product comes in a little squeezy tube, but still contains a good amount of product for trying it out: 30 mls. Since I only use this in my shower and only when I want to take off my makeup in the shower, I don’t use this every single day. So for me this trial size was not only perfect for trying the product, but also for getting a good feel for how this product works in my preferred way of using it.

This cleanser promises to clean your skin, but without that feeling of stripping it all the way down. It is safe for sensitive skin and is free of parabens. It should instantly perk up the skin and has a gel like texture that foams up gently when adding water. My skin is dry to dehydrated and most cleansers make my skin feel either too oily or too dry afterwards. With this, I have neither experience: this takes off my makeup just fine, but without irritating or drying out my skin. So far so good!

The Swatch

A review is incomplete without swatches. On the top you can see the gel substance this has when it comes out of the tube. Good thing to know is that this doesn’t have a strong fragrance. Often cleansers do and I don’t like that. When massaged onto a wet face it foams up but don’t expect major bubbles or frothy looking skin. This only foams up slightly and that is why it is so gentle I guess. The packaging says to avoid the eye area when using this, but I take off all my makeup with this and I have no issues with any eye irritation.

The Conclusion

While the Kiehl’s Calendula cleanser is a great one: it is gentle and gets the job done, I’m not sure I would pay full price for this. I have several cleansers that do something similar and are as gentle, but that cost more than half of this. One of my favorites is still The Body Shop’s Aloe Vera Foaming Cleanser and that is at least half the price of this.

What cleanser do you like to use?