Cleansers from 100 Percent Pure and Clean & Clear
First picture, from left to right: 100 Percent Pure Skin Brightening Facial Cleanser and 100 Percent Pure Organic Lavender Honey Facial Cleansing Foam
Second picture, from left to right: Clean & Clear Morning Burst Fruit Infusions Hydrating Cleanser, Reviving Cleanser, and Purifying Cleanser
I really need to get better at washing my face two times a day; I do it once in the morning and think I’m good, but in the evenings, I’m just so lazy. I know gunk and dirt and oil from the day’s activities are just lingering on my skin, but my bed looks so appealing! Can’t my face just wash itself? And so, to force myself into being better, I started pairing off these products, using Clean & Clear cleansers in the morning and 100 Percent Pure cleansers at night.
Clean & Clear is, of course, a drugstore standby, and its Fruit Infusions line includes three products: Hydrating Cleanser with Pineapple, Coconut, and Acai; Reviving Cleanser with Pomegranate; and Purifying Cleanser with Mandarin Oranges and Acai. I found the products to all have a really nice, fruity, citrusy smell, and a fairly thin consistency—almost like dish soap, but a little murkier and milkier in color. They foamed up nicely and did a good job in the mornings eliminating oil and shine from my skin, but my skin did feel a bit pinched afterward. The downsides are, though, that I didn’t really see any difference between the Hydrating, Reviving, and Purifying varieties; they all smelled nice and cleaned my face, but I don’t think there’s anything really discernible between them. And I ended up using this product mostly in the morning because although it’s a good budget buy, it’s not nearly strong enough to take off makeup of any kind. It’s more of a soothing, nice-smelling way to start your day.
The 100 Percent Pure products were, in comparison, a bit more substantial—both the Skin Brightening Facial Cleanser and Organic Lavender Honey Facial Cleansing Foam are liquid cleansers that turn into a foam product when you use the pump bottle, and they both have very, very strong scents, the former being lemon and the latter being lavender. Both products are 100 percent natural. Skin Brightening Facial Cleanser is supposed to “enliven dull looking complexion to make it more vibrant, healthy and glowing,” with ingredients like sake, fruit acids, licorice, vitamin C, lemon juice, and strawberries; Organic Lavender Honey Facial Cleansing Foam “washes away makeup and other impurities while nourishing the skin,” with ingredients like coconut, lavender honey, green tea, and antioxidant-rich berries.
The foaming action on both of these was a nice effect, and helped my skin feel tingly and clean without being pinched or tight, unlike the Clean & Clear products. But the downside was that I didn’t experience any brightening impact from the Facial Cleanser or serious hydrating effect from the Cleansing Foam, and neither of the cleansers was particularly good at taking off mascara or heavy eye makeup. I appreciate that both are all-natural products, but I didn’t feel like they fully delivered on their particular promises—and because of their higher price point, I was a little disappointed.
VERDICT: B for Clean & Clear, because although the product has its limitations, it’s a good choice for an affordable morning cleanser. Also a B for 100 Percent Pure, because although it’s better at taking off makeup than Clean & Clear and doesn’t have a pinching effect, its promises of “brightening” and “hydrating” aren’t really satisfied.
AVAILABILITY: About $7 for Clean & Clear at stores like Target, Ulta, and other pharmacies; $19 for Skin Brightening Facial Cleanser and $18 for Organic Lavender Honey Facial Cleansing Foam at 100PercentPure.com.
