Jurlique Versus La Mer: A Cleansing Lotion Smackdown - Jurlique Canada - Natural Beauty Care

Yes, the skin on my face is drier than well-delivered sarcasm, so I can’t live without my cleansing lotions.

Cleansing lotions typically have a rich, thick consistency, making them better for dry skinned ladies (and gents) than astringent cleansers. Look for moisturizing cleansing lotions that won’t produce a sudsy foam as they’re used because foaming gel or liquid cleansers are notorious for drawing moisture away from the skin. And if you’re struggling with dry skin on your face, consider removing whichever cleansing lotion you use with a tissue, instead of rinsing it off with water, leaving the lotion’s moisturizer where it can do you some good.

I pitted two popular brands of cleansing lotions head-to-head — La Mer’s The Cleansing Lotion and Jurlique’s Replenishing Cleansing Lotion — and the victor earned a spot alongside my previous cleansing lotion champion, Philosophy’s Purity Made Simple.

Two cleansing lotions, one dry face. Which one prevailed in the cleansing lotion smackdown?

First in the ring was Jurlique’s Replenishing Cleansing Lotion ($40 for 6.7 fl oz bottle). It contains marshmallow, viola, rose and lavender essential oils to, as the product packaging says, gently smooth, moisturize and cleanse the skin.

What did my testing reveal?

The amount of product from a single pump of Jurlique thoroughly removed most of the makeup on my face (even most of my eye makeup) and left my face and neck feeling clean and moisturized. So far it hasn’t broken me out, knock on wood. I really dig the fact that half of the ingredients are plant extracts with long scientific names (Althaea officianalis, Symphytum officinale, Stellaria media…), and Jurlique uses plants grown on their own biodynamic farms in Australia, which I thought was kinda cool.

Biodynamic farming was made popular in the mid-1920s by philosopher Rudolf Steiner, who sought to develop a method of farming that would preserve a natural balance of nutrients in soil by growing mutually beneficial companion crops near one another. Jurlique began their biodynamic farms 20 years ago, and now their line of products for face, hair and body contain plants products harvested from two farms spanning over 150 acres at Ngeringa and Mylor in the Adelaide Hills of South Australia. Today they grow 50 different varieties of plants and flowers, including lavendar, rose, marshmallow, elder and calendula. The farms are both organic and sustainable, so kudos to Jurlique for being environmentally conscientious too.

La Mer’s The Cleansing Lotion ($65 for a 6.7 fl oz jar, holy crap!), the second contender in the cleansing lotion smackdown, derives most of its most precious ingredients from the sea.

La Mer’s cleansing lotion contains sea kelp, among other ingredients, and gets a lot of hype because of the popularity of the La Mer brand. A host of celebrities proclaim their love for La Mer’s products, most notably Creme de la Mer, the line’s famous face cream. Even El Hub knew about the brand (“Isn’t that what J. Lo uses?” LOLOL!), but I suspect that’s because I subject him to cheesy celebrity lifestyle shows on VH1, ha! I recently received a wee sample of The Cleansing Lotion and couldn’t wait to try it out.

Both of these brands love the scientific sounding ingredients. La Mer’s Cleansing Lotion contains several, like magnetized tourmaline and positively charged waters, which supposedly enable the cleanser to extract dirt, debris, makeup and pollutants without requiring a lot of harsh rubbing.

Although La Mer’s cleansing lotion smelled better (flowers and licorice) than Jurlique’s cleansing lotion (herbs and sugar), the formula felt thinner and wasn’t as rich as Jurlique. When I used it before bed, it didn’t remove as much of my face and eye makeup as Jurlique’s cleanser did, and I had to use substantially more than a dime-sized amount to feel clean. After rinsing off and drying my face, it felt a little tight and dry, ouch.

While I definitely preferred La Mer’s scent, for me it wasn’t enough to justify the $65 price tag. If you’re already a La Mer fan, have oily skin, but don’t wear a lot of makeup, you may feel otherwise.

That said…

The winner, by technical knockout (TKO): Jurlique’s Replenishing Cleansing Lotion!

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen