Review: Angels On Bare Skin

Angels On Bare Skin: the reviews and ravings about this product is nothing new on the bloggosphere, but it is a new product to me, so I thought I'd stick my oar in so to speak and let you know what me and my face think of this facial cleanser from Lush.


Firstly, it's worth pointing out, that this is not your average cleanser.  It's not a foam, nor a cream, nor indeed a gel or liquid.  It's solid.  But not solid as in soap which you rub in your hands for a bit to get a nice lather; it's more of a nutty, squidgy but crumbly soil like consistency.  Please excuse my horrific description but I've never encountered something that feels quite like it! 

This product retails for £6.25 per 100g, which isn't cheap but it's also not the most expensive cleanser out there, and a little goes a relatively long way so it's not going to be all gone in a flash, and for me the fact that Lush products use natural ingredients makes it worth the extra money; I'm sure my skin appreciates a break from the chemicals! 

Ground Almonds make up a large portion of the ingredients, and they also give Angels On Bare Skin an exfoliating element, although this is gentle enough to be used morning and evening every day.  The almond milk also means that it leaves your skin feeling nice and plump and moisturised as well as clean once you rinse it off.  

The lavender oil and lavender flowers give it quite a strong scent (which at first I couldn't smell - damn you nose, but now I sometimes get a wiff and although it's not exactly my thing it doesn't offend me!) so I guess if lavender doesn't float your boat you might find the smell off-putting. 

The blurb for this product claims that Angels on Bare Skin,

"Evens out skin tone, reduces redness and improves the health and appearance of your skin, giving a natural healthy glow."

and to a certain extent I agree, I think it does help to reduce redness and give a more even complexion. I've read a lot of reviews which say that this cleanser has helped to reduce breakouts and stop people breaking out all together, and this is something I'd have to disagree with.  My skin isn't awful, but I don't think I've had a time totally free from a few pesky spots since I started using this product two months ago.  Please don't let this put you off though, this is just my experience and I'm also on medication that is creating mayhem in many areas of my life so I wouldn't be surprised if it is responsible for my spots as well!! 

The way that you use this product is probably the most unusual thing about it and to be quite honest, sometimes it's a pain in the arse.  When you're really tired and just want to crawl into bed the thought of creating a paste before you even begin to wash your face just seems like a step too far and I must admit that on a couple of occasions it's just been too much like hard work and I've opted for a face wipe and once (or twice - I'm sorry) even failed to clean my face at all before I slipped between the sheets!  So, the paste.  I've tried a few different ways.  I found that just rubbing a marble/large pea sized amount with a little water between the palms of my hands lead to too much mess and wasted almond milk but you might be more skilled in this than me (it can't be hard).  The method I prefer goes a little like this. 1) pinch a good amount (more garden pea or bean than petit pois) between wet fingers 2) hold the pinch of product slightly above your other hand 3) rub your fingers together, sliding the top finger along your thumb to smooth out the product 4) either add a little more water and apply directly to a wet or dry face to continue to spread it out and produce more of a 'milk' or 5) add a couple of drops of water to your hand and work it in to the paste before applying to the face.  

*be careful not to get it in your eyes!*

It sounds like a bit of a faff, but most of the time it's alright, although undoubtedly it's more effort than anything else I've come across! 

One real bug bear I have with this product is that on those days when you don't want to wash your hair and you wash your face in the shower or over the sink as normal this product tends to get in my hairline slightly (I know, I should use a headband but I'm lazy and they make my hair look like shit afterwards) and I end up with bits of almond which look far too much like nits or dandruff in my uber dark hair and that is NOT the look I am going for! 

I follow this up with a spritz of my Eau Roma Water and my Liz Earle moisturiser and Bob's your uncle I have one squeaky clean face! 

Have you tried Angels On Bare Skin? Do you have any other Lush facial cleanser recommendations? 

As always, Gabrielle Vary created the amazing throw that provides the background for these pics - she's a wonderful lady you should check her out here! 

xxx