Annmarie Aloe-Herb Facial Cleanser Review

As we continue on with my natural skin care series, I have another Annmarie product to tell you about today.  Annmarie skin care products have been meticulously formulated with organic and wildcrafted ingredients from Mother Earth to cleanse and nourish our skin.  As discussed in previous posts, these products cost more than your standard drugstore skin care, but less than super high-end skin care.  Thank you to Annmarie for sending me the Aloe-Herb Cleanser, which we will be looking at today.  Oh, and I wanted to mention one more thing before I start the review.  Annmarie has an awesome Facebook page and blog.  The posts cover a variety of topics from food recipes to meditation to DIY face care in positive and uplifting (never in your face) ways.

Okay, now moving on the the review.  I have used the Aloe-Herb Cleanser as my cleanser both morning and night for two weeks.  It took me a while to start liking this cleanser but now we are on better terms, although I still feel like it isn't quite "there" for me as a cleanser.  But that doesn't mean it won't work out for you.  It could be perfect for you, depending on your skin care needs, particularly if you have very sensitive skin.

Annmarie Aloe-Herb Facial Cleanser

This 100 ml bottle of cleanser ($44.95) will last 570 pumps or 2+ months.  I only use about 3 pumps each use so it would last me about 3 months.  It is suitable for ALL skin types, but especially sensitive or dry skin.  Annmarie says:

"It is pH balanced to enhance your skin's natural acid mantle and protect its moisture barrier for clean and silky-soft skin....This unique blend of oil and extracts contains essential fatty acids, similar to those produced by your skin. It's rich in antioxidants like vitamin E to help prevent and repair free radical damage."

Made With:  *Aloe vera juice infused with herbs (*lavender flowers, *calendula flowers, *life everlasting flowers, *hyssop, *lemon balm, *neem leaves, *olive leaves, *plantago leaves), saponified oils (*coconut oil, coconut/palm oil and plant starches/sugars), *vegetable glycerin, aspen bark extract, *ruby grapefruit oil, *lemon oil, *green mandarin oil, non-GMO xanthan gum, *rosemary extract.          *Organic or wildcrafted

As I mentioned above, I have used this cleanser (and other Annmaire products) for two weeks to get a fairly accurate view of how it performs.  This cleanser is more thick than runny, creamy, extremely gentle, and smells wonderfully of citrus.  Some of the reasons why this product didn't appeal to me for the first week were:

• I am used to really sudsy, deep-cleaning cleansers that leave me skin feeling very clean
• It requires extra effort to remove my eye make-up

This cleanser cleans in an entirely different way.  There are no suds involved.  It is very gentle.  I have gotten it in my eyes repeatedly and while it doesn't feel comfortable, it doesn't sting or demand to be flushed out right away.  It was just hard for me to believe that something so gentle was actually cleaning my face, especially for this gal who loves a good scrub and squeaky clean face.  But despite all these things, when I rinse it off and pat dry, my skin does not feel dirty in any way.  It didn't feel rough or too tight either.  And I love the smell!!!

BUT it has a really hard time removing my layers of mascara (you know me, I love me some mascara).  It was seriously under-performing in the eye-makeup-removal area.  I wrote to Lisa with my concern and she replied with a tip to put the cleanser on a cotton ball and rub over the mascara a few times.  This tip did help quite a bit but still did not remove it all.  One thing about doing this that I don't like is that I feel like so much product goes to waste because a good part of it is stuck in the cotton.  I makes me cringe because this cleanser isn't inexpensive and I want to make it last as long as possible.  I wrote to Lisa reporting my experience and she said to try something like olive oil to remove the excess.  But I haven't tried that yet and have got by rubbing off the excess with Q-tips.

Ultimately, if I am going to spend about $45 on a cleanser, it had better make my skin feel great (which this did) and remove all makeup (which this did not).  So for me, I will lovingly and gratefully use the rest of this bottle but continue searching a cleanser that meets all of my needs.  Even if it didn't work for me, I think it would be a good fit for those with dry, sensitive skin who do not wear a lot of eye-makeup (or those who do not mind the extra step of a separate eye-makeup remover).  If you would like to sample this product, please read below to find out how.

How to sample:

This is what Annmarie says about how to sample their products:

"When you get a [sample] kit, you also get free shipping...and a $10.00 off coupon that you can use on a future purchase. This means if you like the line, which we're sure you will, your sample kit was essentially free!"

Note:  You cannot use the voucher to buy another sample kit.  That would just be never-ending freebies!  ;)  You can use the voucher towards a travel kit.

Abi-Saves Tip:  For the best bang for your buck, I recommend that you purchase a sample kit, and then use the $10 voucher to buy your favorite product OR buy a travel kit.  I think the travel kits are actually a better value (ml for ml) than buying full-sized.

When you order in the future, shipping within the domestic states is a flat $4.95 standard shipping for any weight.

Annmarie Customer Support and Return Policy:  I have had wonderful and speedy support from her company.  Employee Lisa has been great at answering questions and also giving suggestions on dealing with any problem I've encountered.  They want you to love their products as much as they do and will treat your concerns with a personal touch.  I think their return policy is good and would order with confidence.

Thanks again, Annmarie!