Garnier anti-shine cleansing gel review

Oh look a review for a product that came out this year! Hurrah! 
(I’ve already finished it tho ;D)

So Garnier skincare released the moisture match product lineup earlier this year, where they had a moisturiser for each category (dry, oily, normal, dull), + an extra product, which varied depending on the category e.g. scrub for dull skin, wipes for normal etc. 

I don’t know why but this year my T-zone was oilier than it used to be, so when this range came out I decided to buy the shine be gone cleansing gel wash, for oily to combination skin. I picked this one up mainly because it said it contained anti-shine, and because I like gel cleansers.

    This cleanser felt like it did a good job of cleaning everything off my face (I never use cleanser to take makeup off tho so I wouldn’t know) and I did need a moisturiser soon after, like most gel cleansers do. This doesn’t strip everything off your face like some cleansers do and that’s a good thing, because if a product takes all the natural oils of your face, your body’s going to freak out and try to protect your skin by increasing production of oil. In that sense this cleanser doesn’t increase shine, but I can’t really say if it helped to keep my skin less shiny than before since I was using a greasy-ass moisturiser (the Neutrogena spf 15) for most of the time I was using this, but I felt like it helped a little? It’s probably just in my head but if you’ve got a good moisturiser on hand and get a bit shiny, give this one a go. I don’t think it would help very oily skin types but combination skin would probably benefit a bit.

marketing stuff and how to use

    However there’s one thing I don’t like about the product and that’s the fact that it’s quite runny. This wouldn’t bother me too much except that in a squeeze tube, too much product tends to come out in one go, especially when you first start using it. This is rather annoying considering the problem would’ve been solved by either using less alcohol to thin the product or using a pump bottle. The packaging itself isn’t bad, (nice flexible plastic tube), but in combination with such a thin product, it’s a bit frustrating. 

see how thin that gel is?

    The cleanser doesn’t have a strong smell, just a vague ‘fresh’ kind-of smell, and fragrance is last on the ingredients list so unless you’re very sensitive it shouldn’t be a problem. It also foams up nicely, which is no surprise as sodium laureth sulphate is the second ingredient. Glycerin is 5^th on the list, which I think is relatively high for a cleanser, and may be the reason why I didn’t feel like this cleanser dried out my face, as glycerin is a humectant. 

Ingredients list

    This cleanser does partially sell itself on the green tea and moringa extracts, which don’t really seem to have much to do with the anti-shine aspect of the product. Green tea is known for it’s high antioxidant count, and I’ve seen moringa advertised is an oil controlling toner from Nivea, but in this product it’s touted specifically for it’s anti-oxidant and ‘purifying’ properties. Tea (Camellia sinensis) leaf extract is 8^th on the ingredient list so it is likely in high enough concentrations to have an effect, but Moringa pterygosperma seed extract is lower at 15^th on the list. Granted some extracts need to be in small quantities due to their effectiveness, but those kinds of ingredients are usually near the bottom of the list.

Overall this was a good cleanser, just a bit too runny for it’s packaging, so if you don’t mind that and you’d like a good cleansing gel for getting rid of excess oil, this product is a good option. Garnier is sold in Priceline, Target, Woolworths etc. and this cleanser is $9.99 for 150 ml.

Effectiveness: 7/10

Feel: 6/10

Packaging: 7/10