Philosophy Purity Review

Please note: This is a review moved over from my old blog at loraborealis.blogspot.com.

Philosophy Purity Made Simple Review



With over 2,500 5-star reviews on Sephora, how could I not give Philosophy’s Purity cleanser a try? Even though only 67% of reviewers on Makeupalley would purchase the product again, I thought, “Why not?”



Description
From Philosophy.com: purity made simple is an award-winning, one-step daily facial cleanser that removes makeup, cleanses, tones and lightly hydrates the skin. this facial cleanser rapidly dissolves dirt, oil and makeup to deep clean pores while maintaining the skin's proper moisture levels. purity made simple is gentle enough for the eye area and even for the most sensitive skin.

you need this product if...
• you've tried a lot of cleansers but never found one you loved
• you crave deeply cleansed skin
• you want a cleanser that will multi-task for you
• you wear a lot of makeup
• your skin is congested

Philosophy’s Purity is a one-step facial cleanser that claims to remove makeup, cleanse, tone, and hydrate the skin. It comes in a clear plastic bottle with a push down cap? I’m not sure what that type of top is called. Purity comes in a many sizes: 3 oz for travel, 8 oz, 16 oz, 24 oz, and most recently a 32 oz with a pump. This stuff is seriously popular.

Purity smells a lot like lemongrass to me which is interesting. It’s different. Thank goodness it’s not super overpowering. It’s actually quite light and smells very fresh. Purity is a cream colored, somewhat thick and gooey cleanser.

Cost
3 oz for $10
8 oz for $20
16 oz for $32
24 oz for $40
32 oz for $42.50

Purchase from:
Sephora.com



Usage
From Philosophy.com: at the end of each day or at the beginning of each morning, take a small amount of purity made simple, a little water and massage onto skin for 30-60 seconds. rinse. take a leisurely pace when washing yourself clean. cleanliness is a new beginning. when you feel clean you can begin being who you really are.

I began using Purity on December 12th and used it for two weeks straight. On the second day, I immediately noticed that little bumps had formed on both of my cheeks. They’re not pimples but I don’t know what they’re called. I used to have these same little bumps on the same spots back when I was in grade school but they went away sometime in college. Whenever something new and freaky happens to my skin, I freak out. And these new bumps were freaking me out but I told myself that I’d give Purity at least two weeks to do its magical 5-star thang.



Six days into my new regimen, my forehead did well to explode in pimples. I’ve read that some call this the purging of one’s skin. Who knows if that’s true or not. Anyway, the pimples just never stopped coming. My forehead was often full of pre-pimples: those tiny little bumps you know are going to turn into whiteheads (I don’t get blackheads. Usually just whiteheads, if anything) and for some reason, I busted out with so many around my left eyebrow (three conglomerated near the middle of my brows. Wonderful!). At one point, my forehead was also really itchy! A fat painful volcano pimple came up on the 2-week mark and that was the last straw. I immediately switched back to CeraVe and two days after, my skin was soothed. I ran my hand across my forehead to feel for new bumps/pimples and the only things I could feel were the battle scars/scabs of the Purity pimples. I touched my cheeks and the little bumps had gone down quite a bit but still needed time to further recede.

Here you can see all the little bumps that formed on my cheeks.

My Thoughts
It’s just definitely not for me. I definitely wouldn’t recommend it to those with sensitive skin since mine went berserk but everyone has different skin and this is just mine. Yours may react differently. A ton of people on Sephora love it. I have a friend who has been using Purity since grade school and also loves it. This product smells nice. A little goes a long way. It didn’t dry my skin out but it did break me out like mad and cause a bunch of little bumps to pop up on my cheeks.

Oh and the description states that “you need this product if you wear a lot of makeup” but this cleanser did not wash off all of my makeup. I was just left with raccoon eyes after my eye shadow washed and smudged all over. I don’t hold that as a reason to not like Purity though since I usually only think of cleansers as something to simply cleanse the face and not to take off my makeup. That why I have makeup removers. I will not be repurchasing this product.