I went away for 4 days without my wash bag.
This is an unmitigated disaster. I had to immediately go to Boots and rebuy an entire washbag full of products. Instead of buying cheap stuff to see me through I decided to buy my regular products, as I knew I’d have to buy more again at some point. Fortunately Soap & Glory was on 3 for 2 in Boots. I always use Soap & Glory Night in Shining Armour Night Cream, and I like their Day Creams, so tried a new one of those, but for my third, and free, item I tried something completely new and picked up a tube of Fab Pore Hot Cloth Cleanser.
It’s a tube of cream cleanser containing panthenol, natural sweet almond, orange and lavender essential oils. You massage it into your face, wait a little and then wipe it away with a muslin cloth provided in the pack, that you run under hot water.
I stopped using facial wipes at least 3 years ago now in favour of a very similar process to above using cold cream and a hot flannel. My skin improved, was less dry, less spotty and generally brighter and clearer. The only reason I ever use face wipes now is when camping when hot running water is in short supply. I’ve never found turning on a tap to be that complicated, even when I’ve had a few (many) drinks and I’ve never fallen asleep in my make up and as a consequence waking up in the morning is a far more plesant experience! A pot of cold cream costs about £2.40 for 200 ml, or Astral cream costs under £4 for 200ml, so far cheaper than face wipes or the Fab Pore Cleanser.
So how did the Fab Pore Hot Cloth Cleanser square up against a £4 pot of cold cream and a flannel?
The Blurb
It cleans, it smooths, it melts away makeup! With panthenol, natural sweet almond, orange and lavender essential oils. Free muslin face cloth inside.
The Pros
Like most Soap & Glory products it smells gorgeous, which is nice when you’re massaging it into your skin. It has a nice texture, lighter than cold cream, so probably nicer in Summer, and not too greasy. I also found that as I was travelling the tube was more portable than a tub of cold cream, and the muslin cloth much quicker to dry to be packed away into a suitcase again next day.
I used it much like I do cold cream, massage it on, brush my teeth, remove with cloth. I then followed with witch hazel and moisturiser. It removed all my make up, if anything slightly better than cold cream as I found less on the cotton pad when I used the witch hazel as a toner (oh yeah, I had to buy another bottle of that too!). It also left my skin feeling soft and smooth, not greasy, and the muslin cloth was rough enough to add a bit of exfoliation.
The Cons
Really just the price, but that’s a big one. at £10 for a 100 ml tube it’s 5 times the price of a tub of Astral and 8 times the price of Boots Cold Cream. After 5 days use I did feel that it performed slightly better than a cold cream, but 8 times better? Or even 5 times better? I’m still not sure if it’s the muslin cloth that made the difference to how well it removed make up or the product itself. I shall have to try the muslin cloth with my regular cold cream to be sure.
The Verdict
Will I buy it again? Probably. But I’ll wait for 3 for 2 offers and get a tube when I get my moisturiser. In between times I’ll probably go back to cold cream or Astral.
In the summer I often switch to a cleansing milk as it’s lighter on my skin, but I’ve yet to find one I’m a huge fan of. This felt much lighter than cold cream, so it’ll probably be something I’ll give a go over the Summer months as well. At the moment I’m keeping this for travel as the tube is so much more portable than cold cream, and using cold cream at home.
In summary, it’s a great product, that I really loved, but not enough to justify the huge price difference between that and my regular cold cream cleanser.
What’s your favourite cleanser?
Have you tried Fab Pore Hot Cloth Cleanser?
Soap and Glory Fab Pore Hot Cloth Cleanser is available at Boots for £10 for 100ml
Comments
16 responses to “Retro Chick Reviews: Soap and Glory Fab Pore Hot Cloth Cleanser”
Susan Browne liked this on Facebook.
I use soap and water. How boring! It is nice stuff though (Bicester Village Loccitane or TK Maxx handmade French- I never use Dove for ethical reasons, all their pro-women stuff is a cynical smoke screen and came out when they were about to be exposed for neglect of their developing world staff- mostly funnily enough young girls – and unsustainable palm oil farming. PR stunt and a half). I have wipes for after late nights and when travelling.
Soap and water is too drying for my skin. I sometimes use coal tar soap in the mornings in the summer. But I get flaky if I use it otherwise!
I use Simple – their eye make-up remover clean is gentle and removes even waterproof eyeliner. Then I use their cleanser and pore-diminishing toner on a cotton pad, followed by their wrinkle-reducing moisturiser (which does actually work!).
As my dad used to work at Liz Earle (in fact, my step-sister still does) I used to really like their cleanser which came with a muslin cloth. That was AMAZING. But it’s expensive and… y’know… a girl likes a freebie. 😉
The only thing about the cloths is that I find them a right pest to wash all the time. They get so dirty with my make-up that I’d be washing them everyday if I wasn’t using cotton wool to remove the make-up first. And then I feel bad about the environment (but to be honest, it’s probably the only environmentally wasteful thing I do) with all that cotton going to waste. I’m not sure how well cold-cream would cope with the waterproof make-up either (I use it in the corners of my eyes because I have watery eye issues!).
I adore S&G products – but can only ever justify them when they are on offer. Which they seem to be now! HURRAH! I might have to make this my 3rd product too 🙂
So funny I did the exact same thing last lfw and ended up with this, never having tried any of their products before. I didnt use it the same as you though, I used it more like a face wash as I hate the feeling of not washing my face. So I applied it to a wet face. Have to say I was impressed and it lasts for ages as you dont need a lot. I also tried their moisturiser, the pink one (forgot the name) which I didn’t like at all. But the cleanser is fab and the cloth great for exfoliating. The Bobbi Brown cleanser is my absolute favourite, its dear but so good that its well worth it.
“when camping”? Oh no!! Don’t tell me you do camping ! When my campsite fanatic husband tries to suggest it, I always reply that chic girls don’t do camping …. but now …. I might have to re-think. How about a post on how to camp in style?
I am a big fan of Soap&Glory , and the hot cloth is one of my favourite. I stock massively every time I am in the UK !
I do go camping! I prefer the woods to campsite though! I’ve written a couple of posts about it.
In 2009 http://www.retrochick.co.uk/2009/08/04/camping-in-comfort/
and 2010 http://www.retrochick.co.uk/2010/08/11/camping-with-class/
I agree–a post on camping in style is in order!
I love the S&G hot cloth cleanser, but it is rather pricey. It’s always on my gift list for birthdays and Christmas 🙂
I use Lush’s Ultra Bland which seems like it would be quite similar to this but a thicker paste, I rub it on, massage a bit, brush my teeth and then wipe it off with a hot flannel, I have very dry and sensitive skin and this is really good and lasts forever (I think I’ve had my current pot nearly two years!)
https://www.lush.co.uk/product/448/45g-Ultrabland-Cleanser
I’m rubbish and just use soap and a flannel! Not a big fan of spending money on cosmetics, so perhaps I’ll try some cold cream. I could always ask for some of this Soap & Glory stuff at Christmas. I do really love their packaging though…
I’ve been a fan for this product for a while, it always seems to leave my skin feeling cleaner than other cleansers. I take a break from my usual face wash about once a week and treat my skin to this… and I’ve had the one tube for about a year now. I justify the cost by the amount of uses I’ve had from it. To be fair, I don’t think I’ve had a S&G product yet I haven’t loved.
This cleanser is amazing, infact everything S&G is amazing!
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Chi Arnold liked this on Facebook.