Philosophy Purity Made Simple Facial Cleanser

In September, I found I was chosen by a certain national magazine to provide feedback on a few products for their December issue. I don’t want to spill any secrets so I won’t name the magazine yet but I will tell you that one of the items I received was a full-sized bottle of Philosophy’s highly acclaimed Purity Made Simple three-in-one facial cleanser.

I was really excited to see that I received this product because it’s one that I’ve always wanted to try. I know a lot of people out there love it and I was curious to see if it could be my ideal cleanser.

Philosophy calls this a three-in-one product because in addition to deep cleaning pores, it’s also supposed to tone skin and “…melt away all face and eye makeup in one simple step.” Philosophy also claims that this fragrance-free cleanser “lightly” hydrates the skin, as well as conditions it, thanks to an ingrediants lists that includesnatural oils.

This cleanser actually did do a great job at lightly hydrating my skin. I’m prone to the occasional dry spot but I didn’t have any issues with those while washing my face with Purity Made Simple.

I’m also prone to the occasional pimple and in this area the cleanser didn’t do much. It certainly didn’t irritate my skin or cause any breakouts but it also didn’t keep pimples at bay. However, to be fair, Philosophy doesn’t say that this product will prevent or diminish blemishes so I have to give them a pass in this area.

But I’m not giving them a pass when it comes to the fact that this product doesn’t do a great job at removing makeup. Light makeup, yes, it cleans that off just fine, but it struggles when it comes to washing off heavy eye makeup (like Benefit’s They’re Real mascara) and anything with shimmer or shine in it. So no, this product wouldn’t replace your makeup remover.

It also doesn’t deep clean pores because, let’s be honest, a simple cleanser can’t do that.
Purity Made Simple did though do a fine job of cleansing the surface of my skin and sure, I’ll even say that this product did condition it. While it didn’t leave my face squeaky clean and blemish-free, this cleanser did do an above-average job of making skin feel and look bright and clean.

Unfortunately, it did it with a scent that I really grew to dislike. It’s rather herby smelling and not in a good way, at least not for me (I have heard some people say that this odd scent is one of the reasons why they like this product). Thankfully it’s a scent that doesn’t linger.    

Would I buy it: Probably not. While it is, for the most part, an above-average product, it’s just not right for me.

Should you buy it: If you have normal-to-slightly dry skin, take a closer look at this item. Because it’s pricy, around $50 for a 32 oz. bottle, see if you can talk one of the nice clerks at Sephora into giving you a sample. Smaller sizes are also available, at least online, where you can pick up 3 oz. for $10. But before you order online, go to Sephora and take a few good sniffs of this cleanser. I feel like the scent will make it or break it for some people.