Ekopharma Herukka Blackcurrant Puhdistusemulsio / Cleansing Emulsion 75 ml Review

 Ingredients:

Aqua, Ribes Nigrum Seed Oil (Mustaherukka/Blackcurrant), Rosa Damascena Flower Water (Ruusu/Rose), Vitis Vinifera Seed Oil (Viinirypäle/Grape), Cetyl Alcohol, Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride, Glycerin, Glyceryl Stearate SE, Stearic Acid, Coco-Glucoside, Ribes Nigrum Leaf Extract (Mustaherukka/Blackcurrant)*, Ribes Nigrum Fruit Extract (Mustaherukka/Blackcurrant)*, Tocopherol (Vitamin E), Xanthan Gum, Olus Oil, Phenethyl Alcohol, Glyceryl Caprylate, Benzyl Alcohol, Benzoic Acid, Dehydroacetic Acid
*Extracted to water

I try to mark the sunscreen ingredients in red and other possible irritants in lilac. Ingredients thought to be good and useful for skin I mark green.  Learning as I go, google is my friend etc...

Thoughts:

- Sometimes I feel like it leaves my skin squeaky or with a slight film, maybe because it doesn't feel super purifying, this seems to be normal for emulsions

- Not very good at make up removal (but after oil cleanser or micellar water is ok usually but still I can get a slightly dirty cotton pad if I wipe afterwards!), doesn't work as a single cleanser for me

- I have to admit I dislike the rose/herbal scent of the unfragranced version even though it isn't super strong - maybe the fragranced version would be better for me (unless I dislike the orange oil scent too)

- My partner used this cleanser once and claimed he got irritated skin immediately, didn't want to touch it again

- Irritates my eyes sometimes, but low pH cleansers tend to do that



+ Not drying, quite gentle, leaves skin soft (film or not, squeaky or not, it is still soft)

+ As far as emulsion cleansers go, Ekopharma's Cleansing Emulsion is a lot better at cleansing than L300 Emulsion for example. Good for morning cleansing.

+ Very pleasant texture, not too thick or watery

+ Washes off well for an emulsion cleanser in my opinion

+ The small trial bottle is excellent quality, sturdy and pump is very precise and works well

+ I like the ingredient list that includes blackcurrant oil and extracts

 

* As you can probably notice, I don't have much experience with cleansing emulsions as my skin is not usually on a dry side. I have used gel cleansers for 20 years... so for me emulsions tend to feel ineffective at cleansing and I dislike the film they usually leave on skin. However, as far as emulsions go, I think Ekopharma's Herukka (Blackcurrant) Cleansing Emulsion's texture and how it washes off is very pleasant!

* I have a few other products on my list to try later from Ekopharma. However, they can get a bit pricy (for me) without discounts and they are available online only (for me). So I've been putting them off for now. I do like the brand image of being vegan and organic and highlighting ingredients like blackcurrant. But it seems the products have a shorter shelf life than normal products, this cleanser has been marked as 6 months from opening (usually cleansers have a year or so).

Price: 

 9,60 € / 75 ml 

24,50 € / 250 ml

Bought from: 

Hillankauppa

Buy again? 

No or maybe, another small bottle for morning cleansing?

Worth the money? 

For me Ekopharma's Herukka Cleansing Emulsion is not worth it unless the product is on a sale. For my skin, it is not as perfect or the full package as I would expect a cleanser of this price range to be. However, I do like how it makes my skin feel when I use it when my skin is almost clean already (morning, after another cleanser...) so I can imagine dry skin folks might really appreciate the feeling. The herbal scent is not for me either so I would be willing to give a chance for the fragranced mini bottle before writing the whole product off my future purchase list.