The Pixi Nourishing Cleansing Balm made me fall in love with face flannels again

I am an avid user of cleansing balm or balm cleansers. You all know that. I have a whole repository dedicated to the ones I’ve tried, because I’ve tried and used so many over the years. Some I love, some I don’t.

You may notice I haven’t been talking about them lately. There’s a good reason. I’m trying to be good about using up my skincare, and all that takes a while. So, when I love a product, I don’t want it to go bad, so I spend more time on it.

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But when I was using up my latest ones (Innisfree Cleansing Balm and Elemis Pro-Collagen cleansing balm) I realised that I’d strayed a little further than I thought from my favourite TYPE of cleansing balm.

Newer formulations of cleansing balms tend to emulsify with water, which makes them easier to rinse off. This makes cleansing balm more acceptable to many people, because it is easy to use, and familiar if you’re coming from the world of cleansing oils.

But truth be told, as convenient as it is, it isn’t the TYPE of cleansing balm I favour. So, when I broke open by Pixi Nourishing Cleansing Balm that I’d been saving for a while, and found myself reaching once again for my face flannel, I knew I’d love this one!

Pixi Nourishing Cleansing Balm – what is it?

As the name implies, it is a cleansing balm. Doh! LOL! 🙂

It looks solid in the tub, but I do find that in our warm weather here in Malaysia (and we’ve been experiencing a crazy heatwave recently), it does have a softer texture. Not as soft as Emma Hardie or Elemis which I recommend storing in the fridge to keep it solid, but soft enough that it melts quickly in your hand. It also has a slightly granular feel, although it melts to a smooth thick oil.

I don’t know how this performs in colder weather, but for me, it is, as the description on the tub says, a “balm to oil cleanser”. It looks like a balm, feels like a balm, but when you warm it up in your hand, it turns into a thick oil.

You’d use it as your first cleanse to take off your makeup or your face of the day. You can then follow up with a second cleanse.

It smells of roses, which surprised me, because no one really mentions it. But it contains oils and emollient ingredients, that gives you that oily slip. And that oily slip is what many people dislike, unfortunately.

How best to use the Pixi Nourishing Cleansing Balm?

The first thing to note is this. The Pixi Nourishing Cleansing Balm will not rinse off. It is a thick oil texture that sticks to your hand and skin and will not emulsify at all.

If you don’t like a texture like that, then it’s best to stay away because you will hate it. It reminds me of the Antipodes Grapeseed Butter cleanser, but more oily. I love the Antipodes one, but many people don’t, because it doesn’t emulsify.

But here’s the best way to use the Pixi Nourishing Cleansing Balm.

• Scoop a little balm into the palm of your hand.
• Warm it up between your palms. It may feel a little gritty at first, but it will melt.
• Spread it all over your face, massaging it into your skin to remove the dirt and makeup (if you have not already removed it)
• Take a face flannel (face cloth), run it under warm water, place it on your face for a few seconds, and then wipe off.
• Repeat as necessary to remove all traces of the cleanser.

A face flannel is essential

Do note that it is absolutely essential to use a face flannel to remove this cleanser, because you can’t otherwise remove it easily. But there are benefits to this.

If you remember, I waxed lyrical once about using face flannels, and how they helped transform my skin. I’d stopped using it for a while, because I was using more emulsifying cleansers as I told you earlier.

However, during this time that I’ve been using the Pixi Nourishing Cleansing Balm, I have noticed that my skin feels smoother, and looks better and cleaner.

It’s made me fall in love all over again with using face flannels to cleanse my skin, and I swear that it is transformational for all skin types. Try it for yourself, if you don’t believe me!

Pixi recommends that you use a muslin cloth (not provided) but I personally find muslin cloths a little harsh. I use soft face towels instead that I find more gentle on my skin. Do not rub or tug. It is not necessary.

The Pixi Nourishing Cleansing Balm can feel like there’s a residue left on your skin even after cleaning off. If that bothers you, I’m going to suggest that it isn’t the right cleanser for you. Your skin should feel soft, smooth, clean and plumped, not squeaky clean and tight.

Do I like the Pixi Nourishing Cleansing Balm?

Yes I do. I love it!

The cleansing aside, I find that the oils in the product help to nourish and soften my skin. Do note however, that I have dry skin and it really does make my skin feel very comfortable.

I however think this might feel too rich on oily skin, and if you have combination skin, you could make it work, by using just a little product. It really does go a long way if you want to be economical. I do tend to be a little generous with use, but that’s just how I roll 🙂

I do double cleanse with a milk cleanser, so I take care not to strip my skin too much. But using this cleansing balm has reminded me that I love how using a face flannel makes my skin look and feel so much better. I have expounded on it in great length in my earlier post, so I’d recommend reading that 🙂

I do find that the thick oil texture almost seems to nourish my skin right from the cleansing stage. Instead of feeling waxy as many emulsifying cleansing balms do, this feels like a thick, lush oil on the skin.

I do find that it removes light makeup quite easily too. I do remove my makeup first before doing my facial cleanse, but sometimes, I’m lazy or tired, and then I pop straight into the shower with just this balm. It will create an unholy mess of your face flannel, but it does get it all off quite easily 🙂

I’m very happy to finally tried this, and to realise that it works so well for me and my preference. I think I might have been less exuberant if it was your run-of-the-mill emulsifying balm (an affordable option that emulsifies will be the Clinique cleansing balm but it’s totally different to me). As it stands however, it is right up there among my favourite balm cleansers! 😀

IN A NUTSHELL

The Pixi Nourishing Cleansing Balm is a balm to oil cleanser. This means that it is in fairly solid form (in colder weather. In warmer weather it can feel a little soft and may shift in the tub) but on contact with the warmth of your skin, it melts into a thick, lush oil. Massage the oil all over your face, leave it for a little while, and then remove with a warm face flannel. It makes skin feel lush, soft and clean. I absolutely love it!

PROS:
Affordable
Easy to use
Skin is soft, clean and feels nourished
Easily removed with a warm face flannel

CONS:
Not easy to remove as it does not emulsify

WHO WILL LIKE THIS: Anyone who enjoys using oil type cleansing balms that require a face flannel, Anyone with drier skin types

PRICE: £18 | US$18 for 90ml

WHERE TO BUY: Cult Beauty, LookFantastic, Pixi website

Here’s the ingredient list for the Pixi Nourishing Cleansing Balm

Ingredients: Prunus Amygdalus Dulcis (Sweet Almond) Oil, Theobroma Cacao (Cocoa) Seed Butter, Cetearyl Isononanoate, Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride, Glyceryl Behenate, Cetearyl Olivate, Sorbitan Olivate, Glyceryl Stearate, Glyceryl Cocoate, Butyrospermum Parkii (Shea) Butter, Lecithin, Tocopherol, Cetyl Alcohol, Benzyl Alcohol, Fragrance.

Have you tried this Pixi cleansing balm? Do you still use a face flannel?

I must say that now I’m back to the habit, I don’t intend to stop using a face flannel again. It really does make a difference to my skin! 😀

Paris B