Essano Rosehip Gentle Foaming Cleanser

I bought the Essano Rosehip “Treat Your Skin” pack that contained luxury sample sizes of Essano Rosehip Gentle Foaming Cleanser, Moisturiser, Body Lotion, Night Creme and Rosehip Oil and after trying these sample sizes out, I purchased a full sized bottle of the Essano Rosehip Gentle Foaming Cleanser, as I felt the sample size didn’t allow me to test it out sufficiently.

The full sized Essano Rosehip Gentle Foaming Cleanser comes in a 140ml brown plastic bottle with a dispenser pump. It’s rich in certified organic Rosehip Oil, is soap-free, vegan and made in New Zealand.

The instructions on the bottle said to pump the cleanser onto wet palms and create a foam before gently massaging it onto the face. Well, I pumped the cleanser into my wet palms and attempted to create a foamy lather but this just didn’t happen. I tried some more and only got a slightly bubblier version of what originally came out of the bottle. This must be where the words “gently foaming” comes in.

I thought that ‘gently foaming’ meant that it was a gentle cleanser that foamed, not a cleanser that created a gentle, barely there foam. I was disappointed! I like my cleansers to have a rich, foamy lather and I really don’t like having to spread cleansing gel all over my face and then try to smear it around to get rid of my make-up.

It didn’t matter how much (or how little) water I added to this product, it just wouldn’t foam. I also found that when I got close to the bottom of the bottle (there was about 2cm of product left in the bottle) the pump stopped working. I had to unscrew the pump and vigorously shake the cleanser out of the bottle and into the palm of my hand to use it. I don’t know if the pump nozzle was made too short or if it just stopped working but I’m not the only person who experienced this problem. I don’t know if I ended up with a defective batch of cleanser but I definitely won’t be recommending or repurchasing it again.

I found that I did need to moisturise well after using this cleanser, as it left my naturally oil skin feeling a little ‘tight’ and dry. The Essano Rosehip Night Creme is too rich for my oily skin (it would be good for dry skin) and I don’t like the smell of pure Rosehip Oil, but the Essano (day cream) Moisturiser worked well for me.

If you’re thinking about trying Essano Rosehip products, definitely get the Treat Your Skin pack first.

Essano Rosehip products are available from Countdown and New World stores.