Since discovering cleansing oils about a year ago, I couldn’t go back to life without them. I didn’t believe it could ever be possible to remove makeup so effortlessly and quickly. If you’ve never tried including a cleansing oil as part of your beauty routine – you must.
My benchmark cleansing oil is DHC’s Deep Cleansing Oil. This was my first foray into oils and I instantly fell in love. One thing that I have never loved however, is the price. At £16 + £3.95 shipping from the DHC website, this is venturing very closely into a price range that I’m not happy to pay.
So come, join me in my quest to find a purse-friendly alternative…
I have already blogged about the disaster that is Smashbox’s Cleansing Oil (thankfully now discontinued, although I still have my full bottle sitting in my bathroom cabinet *just bin it already*)
Next on my list was Shiseido’s Perfect Oil thanks to a recommendation by Kathi from Lotus Palace whose opinions on all products Japanese and Korean I hold in high esteem.
Let’s have a couple of quick fire comparisons:
Packaging… Yeah, Shiseido wins this one easy… simply prettier to sit on your shelf, plus it comes with a little ‘clip’ (not pictured) to put round the neck of the bottle to avoid the pump being mistakenly depressed whilst travelling – you do NOT want this shit leaking all over your holiday clothes!
The Shiseido oil has a fairly pleasant fragrance whilst the DHC smells like chip fat.
Shiseido’s formula is thin and watery compared to DHC’s heavier, oilier formula. A lot of people would prefer Shiseido’s easy to spread formula I would imagine, but not me! I actually prefer the heavier, oilier texture of the DHC as it feels so lovely to massage into my skin.
They perform equally brilliantly at shifting the makeup. Heavy foundation? “No problem!” Waterproof mascara? “Lemme at it!” – so yes, top marks for both on that score.
Shiseido easily triumphs with regards to cost… it literally piddles all over DHC. I paid £8.50 for a 150ml bottle on eBay, compared to nearly £20 for DHC’s 200ml. Also, because the Shiseido spreads so easily – I find that unless my makeup is particularly heavy, I can get away with using only 1 pump each time.
However, there is one thing that sets them apart and unfortunately it makes the Shiseido a big fat fail for me.
Emulsification people, I cannot stress the greatness of DHC’s emulsifying abilities! This thick, slightly smelly but extremely effective oil gently foams on contact with water before melting entirely leaving my face clean and residue free. It doesn’t stick to my cloths, the basin or my skin. I always ‘double cleanse’ with a mild soap afterwards out of habit, but when using the DHC oil, it wouldn’t bother me if for some reason I couldn’t.
The Shiseido just can’t compete. It’s not THAT far off… It’s not a complete loser like the Smashbox, but it does leave a slight residue and I can feel an oiliness on my hands which doesn’t disappear until I’ve 2nd cleansed. It also means that I have to scrub the sink after EVERY use or my husband calls me a minger for leaving the sink scummy. (Like he can talk with all those beardy little hairs he leaves behind after shaving, and he’s SO showing his age with that particular term of ‘endearment’… ).
I digress…
In conclusion, I won’t be repurchasing the Shiseido… but I also still refuse to spend £20 on a cleansing oil, so I need to hunt down my next contender!
