Sanctuary Polishing Hot Cloth Cleanser

Why I bought this brand: So, I'm getting straight into the review today, and the reason I bought it was quite simple! I had a £5-off voucher from Boots, which included the Sanctuary facial skincare range! Well, that's only half the reason, to be fair. I've actually tried a couple of Sanctuary products over the years, and I have to say that I'm always really impressed.

Yes, Sanctuary is expensive, but sometimes, I think that it's nice to have some expensive spa-type products, that I use occassionally, meaning that they last longer, and because they were expensive and only used rarely, when I actually do use them, they feel kinda special, and it makes the event a nicer one.

Why I chose this specific product: In all honesty, it was because it was one of the cheapest products in the Sanctuary range, that a. my local Boots stocks, and b. that I haven't tried in the past.

I was also interested as to how a "hot cloth cleanser" would work, and I was quite intrigued as to what would actually be in the box. So, this is a completely new experience for me.

So, what does come in the box? More than I expected actually, since I wasn't expected much more than a fancy face cloth. But, inside the box was:

• A Muslin Cloth - This is different to a normal face cloth, because they are made using a tighter weave, and some experts claim that they they slightly exfoliate your skin, in a gentle way. I don't know if this is true or not, because I've never used muslin, or even really heard of it, other than in passing.
• 125ml tube of Cleanser

 How do you use it? This product is really easy to use:

1. Soak the muslin cloth in hot water (from the tap is fine), wring it out quickly, and open it out before placing it over your face. This is done to open up your pores, allowing the cleanser to get into them.
2. Squirt a little of the cleanser onto your hand, and carefully massage the product all over your face and neck. The packaging recommends doing this is circular motions.This works at clearing grease and dirt out of your pores.
3. Soak the cloth in the probably now warm water, and carefully wipe off the cleanser. The packaging calls this "polishing", but to me, it's just a fancy marketing term for wiping it off!!
4. Run your cloth under the cold tap, and rinse the product off it.
5. Whilst the cloth is still cool place it flat over your face for roughly 30 seconds. This will close your pores up, ensuring that no dirt can get inside them. 
6. Pat your face dry using a clean towel.
7. Apply a good facial moisturiser, of your choice.

What did I think of the cleanser? Personally, the cleanser didn't smell particularly nice at all. It was a very light, but strange smell that I just couldn't describe at all. It was a much thicker cleanser than the kind I typically use.

What did I think of using the Muslin cloth? I actually really enjoyed the whole process of laying a warm and then cold cloth over my face. There was something quite relaxing about it, especially when I was using the cloth hot.

I've read a few people saying that they use muslin cloth for their cleanser, instead of using cotton wool, and I can definitely understand why they do, for a couple of reasons:

1. I sometimes find that cottom wool has hard bits of cotton in. Of course, we have to remember that cottom is a natural product so it's inevitable for these bits to get left behind sometimes, but I find that they can be harsh and scratchy.
2. Let's face it, throwing away cotton wool after every use isn't very environmentally friendly. So, the fact that you can machine wash a muslin cloth, and many claim that they last a very long time, the environment likes them much better!

Overall Result: My skin felt really great after the very first use. It felt really clean, and refreshed. Nicely, it left my skin feeling slightly tight, but not as irritatingly tight as some mud packs do, where you have to exercise your face just to stop it feeling so weird. Instead, the tightness is more gentle, and feel more normal, if that makes sense.

Was it worth the money? Was it worth the £5.20 that I paid with my £5-off voucher? Yes, it definitely was. I certainly intend to keep using it, as it was intended (you know how sometimes you buy these fancy sets, but you only end up using part of it, because the whole process is so fiddly?).

Was it worth the original price of £10.20? Honestly, I'm not so sure. On the one hand, I can imagine both the cleanser and the muslin cloth lasting me a long time, but on the other hand, I can imagine that it's possible to have a similar experience cheaper, by buying a pack of muslin cloths, and a normal cleanser.

But, despite that, I'm glad to have learnt a new way of cleansing, instead of having to buy cotton wool every couple of months!