An organic beauty brand I’ve been meaning to try more of for a ages now is Pai Skincare. Until recently I’d only tried their bergamot lip balm, which I briefly reviewed last year, and LOVED, so I was really pleased when I was asked if I’d like to review any more of their products on the blog. I chose their Camellia and Rose cream cleanser, as ever since I tried Liz Earle’s Cleanse & Polish, I’ve  been obsessed with cream cleansers. My other favourite is Green People’s Gentle Cleanse. I find cream cleansers brilliant at removing dirt and makeup, and most importantly, leave my skin feeling soft and hydrated afterwards, which is often the main downfall of foaming cleansers, especially those with SLS.

So how does Pai compare with my previous faves? Very well, very well indeed!

Pai Skincare Rose & Camellia cleanser comes in an 100ml plastic bottle. The packaging is lovely: simple, elegant, lightweight, in a very pretty purple, grey and white design. It’s so lightweight it would be brilliant for travel. It also comes with an organic muslin cloth.

The cleanser is dispensed out of a pump. I find I need two or three pumps to do a proper cleanse and remove all my makeup. The directions suggest removing eye makeup first with a cotton wool pad, but I can’t be bothered with that to be honest. I want an all-in-one solution which gets the job done quickly.

The consistency of the cleanser is nice – really soft and creamy – and it smells beautiful. You have to massage it in quite thoroughly for at least twenty or thirty seconds a in order to  to effectively loosen all dirt and makeup, especially mascara, but a little facial massage is very good for you anyway. Then just soak the muslin cloth in warm water and gently wipe off all the cleanser residue.

The one thing I slightly disliked is that the muslin isn’t quite as soft as others I’ve used in the past (Liz Earle’s), especially on first use. I had to be gentle with it as found it a big rough. After a couple of uses it did soften up but was still more exfoliating than I’d like, especially around the eye area. So if you have sensitive skin, perhaps just bare that in mind and don’t be too heavy handed with it. To be fair though, they do recommend using cotton wool around the eyes so perhaps that is the key. And the cloth does do a good job at exfoliating away dead skin. You could always use a softer muslin or flannel if you want a softer touch, or if you are going to remove your eye makeup with it, as I do.

The cream itself is very gentle. The cleanser is designed for all skin times including sensitive and allergy prone skin. It doesn’t sting or irritate my skin at all, even around the eyes. Plus it lives up to my previous experience of cream cleansers in that it leaves my skin perfectly soft and balanced afterwards: no tightness or dryness and I didn’t feel I had to rush to put on my moisturiser.

One of the best things about this cleanser is the ingredients. Pai Skincare is certified by the Soil Association – the most trusted organic certification in the UK. Almost all the ingredients in this cleanser are organic and it contains some wonderful things: camellia oil, apparently used for centuries in Japan, contains omega 3 and vitamins A, B, C & E; rose oil, which helps skin retain water and is also anti viral; castor oil, which I am particularly thrilled about as it has many healing properties (another blog post to come on this); plus nourishing sweet almond oil and shea butter. See the full ingredient list below.

I’m really impressed with Pai’s cleanser and would definitely recommend it to anyone (as long as you’re not allergic to any of the ingredients of course). This is a very balanced cleanser, suitable for skin of any age. It costs £25.00 for 100ml plus a muslin cloth or £45.00 for two bottles. They also offer a trial 5ml size for £4.00 – worth getting if you’re not quite convinced by this blog post ;)

rose water*, water, camellia oil*, castor oil*, sweet almond oil*, coconut and corn-derived emulsifier, shea butter*, vegetable glycerine*, natural vitamin e, corn extract, basil extract, lavender oil*, geranium oil*, may chang oil*, rose oil*, natural lactic acid (from sugar beet)