I dabble a lot in cult skincare brands, as many of you realise, and one that keeps popping up at me over the years is the Oskia Renaissance Cleansing Gel. I resisted the temptation however, as I’d stopped using a cleansing gel for my skin for a while (too drying for dry skin).
However, a couple of months ago, I met the owner of local cult beauty website, Caliata (if you love cult brands, it’s a wonderful local resource!), and she kindly gifted me with a bottle, because it was one of her favourite products, and she was so excited to share it with me, I had to give it a go. Incidentally, I love talking to people who love their beauty products. Their passion is infectious!
The aesthetics of the packaging is stunning, with its crisp, white bottle, and a large, wide, pump. The down side of course, is that you can’t see how much you have left. That might be both a good thing or a bad thing for you. Good, because you don’t have to feel so bad about watching the levels drop; and bad, because you don’t know when you should replenish!
I have hummed and hawed over this product for a couple of months, and I’ve finally just made up my mind about it.
I’m almost afraid to tell you that yes, it does live up to its hype and no, don’t shy away from it just because it says that it’s a “cleansing gel” because it is unlike any cleansing gel you’ve ever used!
The product pumps out of the bottle a grapefruit pink, that comes as quite a surprise. The texture feels like a thick gel-balm, but on contact with your skin, it starts to melt, and turns into a texture approximating a rather thick oil cleanser. It isn’t runny, so for me, it feels just like using a balm.
In a way, I wish they didn’t call it a cleansing gel, because I’d hardly consider it a “gel”, and it is more like a runny balm. I love it, and I love massaging it over my skin at the end of the day, breathing in the light rosy scent that makes me think of turkish delight. I actually do like eating turkish delight! And it has absolutely nothing to do with Narnia.
On contact with water, like an oil cleanser, it will start to emulsify. Add warm water gradually, and massage to emulsify as you go. However, unlike an oil cleanser, the Oskia Renaissance Cleansing Gel does not leave your skin feeling stripped.
In fact, it seems to leave a bit of a residue on skin that feels a little slippery. I’m not quite a fan of that if I’m to be honest. It isn’t uncomfortable, but I do follow up with a second cleanse, or use a wash cloth to remove. For me therefore, the Oskia Renaissance Cleansing Gel operates as my first cleanse. Sometimes, I don’t do a second cleanse, and just go straight to my acid toner.
I have also used it to remove light makeup, and I can vouch for its efficacy at removing everything quite easily. I just massage it all over. However, I don’t recommend it for a makeup remover, as truthfully, it’s expensive. To use it as a makeup remover cum first cleanse, you need at least 3-4 pumps of product. On regular days, I use 2 for best results. 1 pump dispenses too little I find, and it tugs on my skin. 2 pumps gives me enough to spread over my face, and massage it is comfortably.
And I love the massaging, because it gives a lovely slip on the skin and feels so gentle, it did not even irritate my irritated skin. Oskia does say that the Renaissance Cleansing Gel is jam-packed with lots of vitamins (A, C, E) and good ingredients, to not only cleanse your skin but also treats and improves your skin at the same time, leaving you with clearer, more illuminated skin.
Dare I say that it might be the case? I have been using the Oskia Renaissance Cleansing Gel quite exclusively for the past month, and my skin does seem to be a little brighter. I hesitate to attribute it exclusively to this product, but I have been on a very basic and simple regimen for a few weeks, due to my skin experiencing some issues a while ago, so I’ve kept a lot of actives out of my routine. Either way, I have to say that I really like this cleanser and it is a wonderful luxury at the end of the day, in the shower.
source：Review: Oskia Renaissance Cleansing Gel (mywomenstuff.com)