Lush Dark Angels Cleanser | Review

Before I begin my review, I thought I should add a little disclaimer before you begin reading. This blog includes my experiences and my opinions on skincare and beauty products. What work's on my skin may not work for you. Everybody's skin is different.

Now, I've been meaning to do a review on Lush's Dark Angels cleanser for a while, so today is the day where I will talk through my experience with this product, the pros and cons, as well as a little back story of my skin.

Ok, so, a little bit of a back story... this was the first Lush cleanser I ever used! I decided to give it a go way back when I was at university (2008-2011), and I used to LOVE this! I used it religiously for years... and then got bored and I wanted to try something else.

After trying various products throughout the years (Liz Earle, Origins, Clinque, dermalogica and other Lush products: Herbalism, Coal Face, Buche de Noel, Ocean Salt, Ultrabland, 9-5 and Aqua Marina) I decided to go back to my roots and give this a go again.

Also back then, my skin was so clear - no blemishes, no nothing. It was normal with a little bit of oiliness... but, my skin has dramatically changed since then.

I came off the contraceptive pill two-three years ago, and my skin went a little awol with painful breakouts on my chin and forehead. And, for someone who rarely got spots, this was a massive shock to me! I didn't want to leave the house - as vain and as bad as that sounds, it was true.

Anyway, it has calmed down massively over the past year or so, and whenever I get a break-out these days, I have learned to deal with it and just carry on with life as normal. Also, just use a good concealer and they are barely noticeable anyway!

To this day I would say my skin is more on the dry/combination side, and, is definitely more sensitive than it's ever been - prone to break outs. 

Ok, so anyway, my Buche de Noel cleanser ran out late December (which is limited edition), so I decided to purchase this old favourite of mine: Dark Angels.

This cleanser is aimed at people with oily and acne-prone skin, but my face is now at the opposite end of the spectrum (dry/combination, although I am prone to break-outs). That being said, I'm going to go ahead and say it work's on all skin-types, but it potentially works best for people with oiler skin.

Anyway, Lush describe Dark Angels as one of their 'solid' cleansers, and, it's not as solid as opposed to the cleansing soaps, it has a flaky consistency that is closer to being a solid as opposed to a liquid. 

It has rhassoul mud, organic avocado oil, charcoal, black sugar and rosewood in there - all excellent natural ingredients for a deep exfoliating cleanse without drying out the skin.

Also, charcoal is one of my all-time favourite ingredients in skin-care products. It is known to help draw out toxins, oil and bacteria to help achieve a beautiful, healthy-looking complexion.  

I have been using this cleanser day and night for just over a month and my skin has cleared up massively. It's one of those gritty exfoliating cleansers that you can notice a difference with immediately. It pretty much scrubs away a layer of dead skin, leaving my skin feeling balanced, fresh and glowing!

The only thing I would say is that it doesn't prevent my hormonal break-outs, as they have been cropping up every now and again... but, then again, it could be the product doing it's work by drawing out the nasty impurities from my skin.

And, the smell, mhmmm, the smell! I absolutely LOVE the smell, it's quite earthy and kind of smells like liquorice, which might not be everyone's cup of tea. But I personally love it!

And, the only thing that I dislike about it, is how messy it is! It goes all over my bathroom sink and sometimes get's in my fringe! But, apart from that, I love everything about it!

Dark Angels is definitely one of those cleansers that I just enjoy using. I get excited every time I come home from work and take off my make-up because I'm in for a good old heavenly scrub. 

So, if you are looking for more of an exfoliating, absorbent cleanser, than this might be the product you are looking for. And, if you're interested in trying out this cleanser, maybe go into a Lush store and ask for a sample - they are good like that!