Review: Shu Uemura High Performance Balancing Cleasing Oil

A while back, Kahani and I "walked by" a Shu Uemura outlet, which resulted in us walking out with two bags of Shu goodies. We had bought a makeup set together and then drew lots to see who got what.

(Oh fine, we didn't draw lots, we just agreed before hand.)

One of the items I landed with was the legendary, hugely raved about Shu Uemura cleansing oil. A little 50ml bottle, but I was more than eager to try it out.

And boy were the raves right.

Like all oily-skinned girls, I used to think it was madness to use an oil cleanser. I mean, I'm wired to do everything possible to keep my skin from getting oily. And you want me to slap on oil? *Gasps* What if I break out?

But oh well, judging from this oily girl's recommendation, I decided to take a leap of faith. And I converted.

This little baby packs a LOT of oil in one little bottle. Ingredients include Mineral Oil, Corn Germ Oil, Jojoba Seed Oil, Sea Water, Macademia Ternifolia Seed Oil, Rosemary Leaf Extract, Canola Oil etc. And it's got a bit of fragrance too, by the way.

How to Use

1. Apply it to your face dry. This means before you wet it. And make sure you hands are dry too, as the oil will emulsify the moment in comes into contact with water. Be a little generous with the oil. Too little and you'll feel like you're spreading too little butter on too much bread.

2. Massage the oil into the skin with gentle wide strokes. I personally find this works best for me. Rub too hard in small sections and you might end up as I did - with hot and bothered skin. Slightly inflamed too, for a short while.

3. Work on the eyes last and be gentle with them. Too much pulling and stretching results in wrinkles *grin*, or worse yet, you could have oil get into them. (In the event that does happens, clean your hands, and start washing your eye with clean water pronto!)

4. Wet your hands and apply a bit of water to face and continue massaging gently. The oil should have emulsified by now, and what you'll get is white milky liquid.

5. Rinse your face thoroughly. I personally prefer to double cleanse and so I'll finish with another round of cleansing with this beloved Himalaya Herbals cleanser.

The end result is clean, supple, smooth and almost baby soft skin. Lovely.

Verdict

This cleansing oil, I find, works great as a deep cleanser. So I wouldn't recommend it for daily use. But it works great when I've got heaps of makeup on - foundation, concealer, liner, etc etc. That super waterproof, budgeproof, smudgeproof mascara you've got on? This cleanser can take it all off.

I'm loving it very much. But for RM99 for 150ml and RM260 for 450ml (it's a massive bottle), I'll be thinking very hard about whether I'll be buying it again.

It's never broken me out, which is absolutely thrilling. But at RM260, it just might break the bank.