Burt's Bees Orange Essence Facial Cleanser, $8

Burt's Bees Orange Essence Facial Cleanser is an all-natural cleanser made with natural oils, including orange oil and olive oil, intended to cleanse your face without stripping it of moisture. I received it from a coworker who wasn't entirely thrilled with it. She described her experience this way: "You know how ancient civilizations would use oil to cleanse? It kind of felt like that." She explained that it didn't lather and didn't leave her feeling clean. Even though I have the same type of combination skin as she does (dry in some places, oily in others), I decided to try it.


The orange oil means it smells amazing, like fresh oranges. As I was washing with it, I understood what my coworker meant--it definitely does not lather at all, which I'm okay with. I know a lot of all-natural products don't lather very much because they haven't added the unnatural ingredients that lather just for show; regarding face wash, this isn't a problem for me.

When I rinsed my face, I had to use a warm washcloth to really get the cleanser off. Otherwise, it just felt like it was still there. After drying, I noticed that it did clean off my makeup and did not strip my face of oils. It felt soft and moisturized. The problem is that I already have oily skin. I actually enjoy that "stripped," tight feeling--it makes me feel clean. I replace my face's moisture with moisturizer (with SPF) so I can keep it under control. While it did not leave my skin feeling oily, I felt anxious that my oil would come back later in full-force. The ingredients did say to follow with a toner.

Final verdict
Cost: $9 is a reasonable price for a facial cleanser, especially an all-natural one.
Experience: It smells amazing, doesn't lather, and doesn't leave that tight feeling that some people hate (not me, though, I love it).
Skin type: This would work best for sensitive and dry skin.
Repeat offender: I wouldn't buy this again--I don't think it's made for my kind of skin. I like Burt's Bees though, so I might try their other facial cleansers.

-T

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