Estelle & Thild is serving silky soft cleansing milk.

We here at MyLS are big proponents of double cleansing. I, personally, have been through nearly every type of cleanser there is— from oil to cream to micellar waters. I’ve since decided that, although cleansing balms and waters are probably the most en vogue these days, my favourite for my dry skin has to be creams. I used to love cleansing oils because, amongst all the types, I really feel like they cleanse the most thoroughly. I mean you just can’t use a cleansing oil and not feel like you’ve gotten all your makeup off… and also every drop of moisture in your skin. The downside to cleansing oil is that they are way too drying. So the last cleansing oil I used was the Skinfood Black Sugar Cleansing Oil— it was really good and I didn’t not love it… it was just too much for my temperamental skin.

Cleansing waters are the most convenient but with convenience there is always a catch. I don’t know about you guys but I have a natural tendency towards stinginess when it comes to my product so I worry about whether I’m really cleansing as thoroughly as I should be when using cleansing waters. Plus besides how convenient they are, I have never really found a cleansing water that I loved. I’ve even tried the apparently-magnificent Bioderma and… eh… it was okay.

Recently, I finally caved in and got myself Estelle & Thild Biocleanse Silky Soft Cleansing Milk from Sephora. Now this is probably the most expensive cleanser I’ve ever purchased for myself. I mean, I don’t have any personal issues against expensive skincare— it’s probably more worth it then expensive makeup, to be honest. Makeup is so easily dupable these days— but cleanser always seemed like the silliest thing to spend a lot of money on. I mean, it’s on your face for less than a few minutes only and therefore any claims that the brand can make to justify their high price— “this cleanser is anti-aging! It contains nanoparticles which plump up your skin and brighten dark spots!”— are just not true. Cleansers get washed off. They don’t have any effect on your skin beyond removing what’s on it.

Estelle & Thild refers to this as a ‘cleansing milk’, which means that it’s a more liquid form of cleansing cream. In my last review on Etude House Baking Powder Cleansing Cream, I had some complaints about how it left a filmy layer over my skin after washing off. For a while I thought that was just a given for creamy cleansers, but I just sucked it up because I’d rather that over flaking, dehydrated skin. But this cleanser has totally proven me wrong— it is possible for creamy cleansers to clean your face just as well as cleansing oils can… and at the same time not strip your face of every drop of natural moisture it has.

But first things first— this cleanser is fragranced. ‘Parfum’ is the fifth last ingredient on the list, which is a weird thing to me since this brand makes quite a bit of hoo-ha on its bottle about being certified organic and totes natural. Wouldn’t it be more natural for it to be un-fragranced? Luckily for me my skin isn’t the type to react badly to fragrance in my skincare, but I would just prefer if there wasn’t any smell. This cleanser’s smell is that sort of floral scent that ‘organic’ products tend to have. It isn’t overpowering or all that noticeable once you’ve started rubbing the stuff in.

The milk itself isn’t thick or heavy at all— it’s a liquid-y cream which looks and feels like a daytime moisturiser. The texture of the milk is my favourite thing about it and what made me want it when I first tried it out in Sephora— it’s just so light and easy on your skin and is not something that is easily replicated, it’s just so silky and feels, well, expensive. I tried out the Caudalie Cleansing Cream as well— not a cheap product by any means— and even that one still leaves a heavy, oily feeling.

I use about three to four pumps of product on my face. Because of the price, you might feel tempted to be a bit stingy but I wouldn’t advice you to do that. The cream tends to drag a bit if you use too little, so be a bit more generous with the stuff so that you don’t end up rubbing your face too vigorously. Four pumps is enough for me to get the product gliding easily over my face. After a while, the cream ‘dries up’ on your face and that’s when it’s time to wash off.

All this while I’ve kind of accepted the fact that cleansing creams are only meant to remove makeup but wouldn’t actually leave your face actually feeling clean, since so often they leave gross oily residue which you’ll need to remove with a separate foaming cleanser. But not with this one. Upon washing this cream off, my face already feels nice and clean and I could almost just skip the second cleanser and just get on with my day without even putting any moisturiser on. Because although this product is able to successfully remove all the makeup on my face, it’s gentle enough that it doesn’t leave my skin feeling tight and dehydrated. In fact, someone who has very sensitive skin might even be able to use this as their only cleanser.

Thus, I’d happily conclude that this is one expensive product that is actually worth the price! So if you have very, very dry skin and can’t seem to find a cleanser which is able to clean well without stripping the shit out of your skin then definitely check this one out. Right now I don’t even want to think about repurchasing this since I hate having expensive things in my permanent skincare routine (a part of me always dies when I have to buy a new one), but I’m not going to completely discount the possibility of buying a new one in the future. Hopefully, Sephora doesn’t stop carrying this brand since this bottle was quite literally covered in dust when I bought it. It’s to be expected since Swedish skincare is not exactly on most people’s radar. But yeah. Sephora, don’t stop selling this!!!

Estelle & Thild Biocleanse Silky Soft Cleansing Milk is available in all Sephora stores at the price of RM114 for a 150ml bottle. Here it is on the online store.