Today I have two facial products for you - Liz Earle's Hot Cloth Cleanser and Balance Me's Cleanse and Smooth Face Balm. Looking at the tubes, they appear to be very similar; however, there are some things about these products that may surprise you... read on to find out what they are!

Liz Earle's cleanser needs no introduction, let's be honest - it's only the most popular cleanser revered by the beauty industry the world over, and has won multiple awards. As mentioned probably several times by now, I got this 30ml sample with an issue of Red Magazine and I jumped at the chance to try this cleanser for a dirt cheap price! I've been using this about 4-5 times a week for nearly two months and I'm very nearly finished - pretty good going if you ask me.

Balance Me's cleanser though needs a little more explanation. I genuinely thought this was a regular, slap-on-and-wash-off cleanser that you'd use in the shower, and I suppose you could - but I found that this usually comes sold with a muslin cloth, much like the Liz Earle. It boasts to have "radiance enhancing oatmeal", which I would presume would describe the "smooth" part of it's name. I got this cleanser as part of April's JolieBox.


Going over the similarities first:

- Both cleansers are to be used in the same way. Massage onto dry skin, use a warm, wet muslin cloth to buff off, dry the skin and apply a moisturiser. The Balance Me cleanser does suggest to apply a little warm water before buffing off and massage a little more, but the basic principle is the same.

- Both are sold with a muslin cloth, which appear to be of similar good quality.

- They are in a similar price range; Liz Earle retails for £14.25 for 100ml + muslin cloth, Balance Me retails for £20 for 125ml + muslin cloth - making the latter the more expensive.

Now onto the differences...



Natural ingredients: Yes; it claims to have ingredients such as rosemary and eucalyptus oil, amongst others. However, not all of the ingredients are 100% natural.

Appearance/texture: White, thick and creamy. It is still easily visible when rubbed onto the face. It is also very smooth and has no exfoliating properties at all (that comes with using the muslin cloth)

Feel on the skin: This is very soothing, cooling and refreshing - as to be expected by the list of ingredients!

Smell: A very noticeable eucalyptus scent, and is also quite herby - but it's very pleasant and doesn't irritate the eyes at all.

Skin types: This cleanser is famous for being suitable for all skin types, and I would agree with that.

Make up removal: This is safe to use to cleanse off all your make up, even the on the eye area. It doesn't sting and does a very good job of removing every last scrap of product.



Natural ingredients: As proclaimed in rather large text on the tube, this cleanser boasts 100% natural origin for all their ingredients.

Appearance/texture: Very oily in appearance, but also quite thick. The texture is quite rough but not unpleasantly so - it feels like it's doing something and not just scraping harshly at the skin.

Feel on the skin: Again, very oily and not a little strange! It almost felt like it was tightening my skin as I massaged it into my face.

Smell: Herby; you can tell that this product is all natural. It's a little masculine, and has a slight spicy scent to it too.

Skin types: This was formulated for "normal to dry/sensitive skin". I wouldn't recommend this for oily skin but on the website it does say it works effectively on all skin types, so who knows?

Make up removal: Like before, this is also safe to use for removing make up and around the eyes. It did a good job of removing the make up but perhaps not quite as good as the Liz Earle.


Liz Earle's Hot Cloth Cleanser! I have enjoyed using both products but Liz Earle has to be the stand out product for me. I much preferred how it felt on my skin to the Balance Me and the all around results were slightly better. It is also a bit cheaper than its' counterpart. Worth the hype? Oh, absolutely. When I'm in the money I'm buying never-ending supplies of the stuff!

It is worth noting that skincare is very subjective and this isn't meant to be an be-all-end-all contest between the two. What works for me may not necessarily work for you and it is worth trying out more than one product to get the holy grail product you're looking for. After all, if everyone's skin was the same there would be no need for so many cleansers to be on the market!