Latte di Pulizia per il Viso al Cetriolo e all'Amamelide

My skin has been having a bit of a ho-hum time over the last month.  It’s always my belief that where there is bad skin, there is something else bad going on (e.g. stress, poor eating, dehydration, illness, etc).  I’ll admit I’ve been way too busy to even think about what my skin is trying to tell me and I think all of the above external factors are probably at play.  I’ve had a few bad breakouts, and overall my skin has looked dull, and maybe even a touch grey.  So that’s my disclaimer as I launch into my review of Latte di Pulizia per il Viso al Cetriolo e all’Amamelide by L’Erbolario.  I picked up a bottle of the facial cleanser in an erboristeria in Italy last Christmas because I had forgotten to pack a cleanser. 

About the product:

Loosely translated the name of the product means “Cleansing milk for the face with cucumber and witch hazel” and below the picture on the front of the bottle is the specification that the product is a skin purifier for oily and combination skin.  Unfortunately there is no ingredient list.  The instructions state to apply the milk to face and neck in the morning and at night in a uniform and careful way.   Remove it with a cotton pad spritzed with toner.  Then take a second pass with another cotton pad but this time with it soaked with toner.  Also the back of the bottle says that the active ingredients are: triglycerides, witch hazel, cucumber extract, and hydrating complex “NMF.”  Nice.

There is no mention of essential oils (which surely would have been a good selling point) and the smell is nice and fresh although artificial which makes me think that there is the dreaded ambiguous “fragrance” in the formulation.  Since the product is creamy that also makes me assume that there are preservatives contained within and based on the price point (€11.50) the likely preservative are probably parabens since they are so cheap.  The product was pleasant enough to use.  It felt nice gliding on the skin.  I removed it with warm water and a muslin cloth rather than toner and a cotton pad.  Maybe if I had done a double pass this would have been more helpful for my breakouts.  Who knows!

Because of the poor state of my skin it’s a bit unfair to review this product as I know it wasn’t the single cause of my broken-out, stressed, and dull skin.  However without an ingredient list I can’t in good conscious recommend this product as I have no idea what’s in it.  Based on the selection in front of me at the erboristeria it was the best option that I had at the time and it certainly has served its purpose.  However, facial cleanser will be the first thing I pack on my next trip!