When it arrived I still had over half the tub left of my Clinique balm so I thought I would finish that before trying my new purchase. Overall the Clinique balm lasted around 4 months, which I thought was brilliant and I seriously loved how it removed all of my makeup and how it made my skin feel. At only £21, the Emma Hardie balm had a lot to live up to in my eyes.
First of all this balm has a very different texture. It's much more oily and has quite a strong scent. It's a pleasant smell and reminded me of the type of massage oils you find at Spas. It's seriously relaxing massaging it into the skin and I literally apply it all over my face, even on my eyelashes and lids and haven't experienced any irritation. I then take a wet muslin cloth and wipe everything away. I do find that I need to use more of this than the Clinique balm to remove every single trace. Sometimes I have to repeat the process twice if I have been wearing quite a bit of makeup that day. Something that I didn't have to do with Clinique.
The balm itself contains moringa seed extract, wild sea fennel and vitamin E which helps minimise the appearance of open pores. It also contains orange, neroli and mandarin oils that work to rejuvenate and revitalise the skin. I have very dry skin and it leaves my skin feeling comfortable, clean and fresh. I don't find that it necessarily hydrates my skin so I would recommend moisturising afterwards.
Since using the balm I have had quite a few break-outs on my face, especially around the chin area. I'm normally pretty lucky when it comes to spots, don't get me wrong, there has been the odd occasion where I get a belter but I never seem to have break-outs. I don't know if it's because of the balm but I didn't experience this when I was using my Clinique one. It does an excellent job of removing makeup but that's all I find it does. My skin doesn't look replenished or glowing afterwards (something that a lot of other bloggers have found it does for them) so I personally think it's a little too heavy for my sensitive skin. I have read a lot of reviews on this product and haven't found a bad one yet, apart from the lid breaking and the packaging being generally a bit rubbish. I just don't think this is suited to my skin as well as the Clinique balm. When I'm finished with this I don't think I will be re-purchasing. The Clinique Balm stole my heart and I'm looking forward to buying it again. It's cheaper, doesn't have a scent (which I personally prefer when it comes to skin care), probably lasts longer and I feel is better for my skin. If you would like to read my review on this product click here.
