Cleansers

By Dermalogica

Price: £28.99

Stockist: Look Fantastic

Best for: Discolouration, pigmentation or blemished skin
Our testers all raved about this skin-buffing cleanser, which smoothed out blemishes and made skin look brighter and more even-toned after just a couple of weeks’ use. Although it’s strictly speaking an exfoliator  - the product comes as a dry rice-based powder, which you lather up in the palm of your hands before massaging it over your face - it’s gentle enough to use every day.

By Elemis

Price: £27.60

Stockist: Elemis

Best for: Skin that can’t make up its mind
This gentle, foamy cleanser, rich in natural skin-pepping ingredients like papaya, is great if you’ve got sensitive or combination skin that’s prone to spots or break outs. It cleanses deeply without stripping or traumatising the skin, or as one Elle staffer put it: ‘My skin felt soft and soothed - as well as clean after using this one.’

By Clarins

Price: £17

Stockist: Clarins

Best for: Dry skin and cleansing in a hurry
This is a no-nonsense product that lathers quickly and rinses off well, leaving skin clean and ‘super-soft,’ according to our tester. We’re guessing that’s the high percentage of shea butter, which gives the cleanser its super rich and creamy texture - gorgeous.
 

By Clinique

Price: £15

Stockist: Clinique

Best for: A very moisturising cleanse
This cleanser is so creamy, you barely need to moisturise afterwards. If you like the squeaky-clean feel that comes with a rinse-off cleanser, you may not love this, but it did remove all traces of our tester’s make-up ‘and saved me the trek to the bathroom  I just cotton-wooled it off in bed!’ Our tip? Follow with a toner for really efficient results.
 

By Eve Lom

Price: £38

Stockist: Eve Lom

Best for: Dehydrated skin that needs some tlc
Fans of this cult cleanser that’s spawned many a copy-cat product say you get the best of both worlds: a nourishing, oily cleanse with a super-clean feel at the end, thanks to the muslin cloth you use to rinse the stuff off.
‘This melted away my make-up and left my skin feeling quenched - very luxurious,’ one of our testers said. Another felt it was ‘a bit too much’
for her grease-prone skin.

By MD Formulations

Price: £22

Stockist: Feel Unique

Best For: City dwellers with problematic skin
A facial cleanser containing glycolic acid might seem a bit daunting for an everyday cleansing routine but this works hard to rid all skin-types of dirt and helps banish spots and blemishes on combination skins. One tester claimed it ‘cleared up her spots in just one week’. A must for grimy times in the city.