Beauty Bible Loves... Gatineau Collagene Expert Melting Cleansing Balm

This does exactly what it says on the tin. (Or rather, tub.) A brilliantly make-up melting balm, with a… well, a melting texture. It’s actually quite different to most cleansing balms, which are solid: this has a slightly gloopy, loose texture (make sure it’s upright when opening for the first time), but is then bliss to massage into skin.

First time, we set Gatineau Collagene Expert Melting Cleansing Balm the challenge of removing eye make-up, as well as face make-up and SPF. (Which we are still wearing in February, please note.) It honestly did the trick perfectly, without in the least irritating, and – echoing the 100% of Gatineau’s own testers who found that the balm ‘left their skin looking cleansed of make-up, excess oils and SPF’, we were really impressed by its cleansing powers. (Tip: we emulsified the product with a splash of water and massaged into the face before swooshing away with a warm-to-hot wet washcloth.)

What else impressed? The way skin feels smooth and velvety afterwards. (100% of those testers agreed with that, too.) Gatineau do go further than that, making some age-defying claims for the product – but we think that’s hard to judge, ourselves, since we already use serum, moisturiser and (in Jo’s case) a mild retinol: tough to filter out if any improvements are down to the cleanser itself.

But for us, great to have a new cleanser to play with and enjoy (which serendipitously arrived just as the last traces of a previous cleanser were finished). Not cheap, but we figure the tub will last aeons, because you don’t need much.

It’s available in a small size, for travel and trialling. And that always gets bonus marks, for us…

Gatineau Collagene Expert Melting Cleansing Balm/£48 for 100ml – buy here

£17 for 30ml – buy here

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