Some of you might remember one of my earliest posts, which sang the praises of Clarins’ One-Step facial cleanser, a ‘bi-phase’ no-rinse cleanser with Orange Extract that I think is amazing for taking off all make-up (including eye!) in one easy swoop. If you want to read that post, click here.

Since the weather has turned warmer here in London, I have noticed that my skin has become really quite oily. It does this every so often, usually around this time of year, but this time I’ve had little pimply outbreaks on my face. Nothing serious – don’t hold the front page or anything – but enough to make me sit up and take notice.

So, I’ve had a little swap around with my Clarins cleanser, and started using one of the cleansing waters, ‘Water Purify One-Step Cleanser’. It has been formulated for combination/oily skins, and is lighter and fresher than the bi-phase cleanser, with mint essential water to purify and tone the skin.

Where the bi-phase would leave my skin a little oily (I liked this effect when my skin was drier), the Water Purify leaves it feeling very squeaky clean and toned. In terms of actual cleansing power, I was really very surprised; I thought that it would be pretty poor, being just a ‘water’, but it actually does a great job. It’s not as effective as the bi-phase Orange Extract cleanser, but it removes pretty much everything except the more stubborn mascaras. Good going, I think, for an oil-free cleanser!

Handy for taking to the gym, this one – it really does have quite a cooling effect, and the mint essential water helps to reduce redness, which is useful for people (like me) who come out of the gym looking as though they’re about to die of high blood pressure. I’ll be sticking with this one until my oil problem clears up.

Clarins Water Purify One-Step Cleanser, £17.50