philosophy purity made simple - one step facial cleanser, 16 oz

I have been using this product for YEARS. I never thought much of it, but it came recommended to me by numerous friends and various family members - one of which refused to leave her home for overnight trips without her travel bottle of Purity. I didn't understand the hype, but I was having a hard time with oily skin, breakouts, dry skin, pronounced pores...the works. I tried A LOT of products. If one product worked, it was too drying. If it was gentle enough to not dry my skin out, my skin would breakout and was oily. It was a fine balancing act. Purity didn't deep clean like some of the stronger products and didn't help with the more pronounced pores. It wasn't the most gentle and my face is a little dry while using it. It did, however, keep my face quite clean and for the most part, kept breakouts to a minimum. Plus a little goes a long way. The 16oz bottle lasted me the better part of half a year with twice a day use. It was a reliable product, but I did not feel it was the miracle worker everyone had sold it to me as. It wasn't until this product was backordered and I had to purchase another brand or go without anything that I realized how well this product was working for me. I switched to another brand that was also highly recommended, my face was more oily. It seemed to have a hard time with removing makeup, and within a few days on the other product, it was like being a teen again: acne city! So disheartening. Even though I had an almost full bottle of "the other stuff", the Purity was back in stock, so I ordered it, got it the next day and started using it immediately. It did a better job with makeup removal and almost overnight, the acne went away and my face just felt cleaner. It was the perfect situation of not missing something until it's gone. I will make sure to not run out again!

Since high school, I've used hundreds of facial cleansers over the years to try to properly moisturize and clean my face at the same time. I've never used the same cleanser more than twice- none of them have really worked for me in the long run. They'd either make me break out, make my skin really red, and/or make my skin too dry.Nah, not this one, son. This is by far the best cleanser I've ever used. Perfect balance of moisture and cleanliness. I have combination skin, so it did an amazing job of keeping ALL areas of my face moisturized without having it really oily. Never has this cleanser made my face dry either, which was my biggest concern when purchasing this product. My face just feels healthier and firmer after using this. You really don't really need to use a lot of it either. My favorite thing about this is that it's clean and organic.FORTUNATELY, I didn't receive a counterfeit one as some of these reviews have stated. How sad, because I really wish that first time users were able to experience this gem of a product. With that being said, I don't think I will be ordering this product on Amazon again for fear of getting a fake one. Do yourself a favor and buy the new limited edition that Sephora is offering on their website. It's $15 for 12 oz, so compared to the $30+ version for 16oz, that's a great value and a steal. I just snatched one up from their website just now! :)

Allow me to "preface" (Ha..Ha...)I'm a 24 year old woman, who was never too considerate of her problem skin until this year.When I moved up to Northern California for grad school, my skin decided to reap revenge on me.Now, i've always had "problem" skin, to the point that I was on accutane for several years (yuck)Luckily, I grew out of it with the occasional end of the month breakout.Ladies, when I say my skin took revenge on me, I mean it - I lived out a solid two months feeling like a red-faced teenager, it was SO embarrassing.I tried all sorts of face washes, creams, even doxycyclin didn't help, & there was no I was going back on accutane.Cue the clairisonic aria and purity cleanser.I can't say if it made me break out worse for any amount of time in the beginning since I was such a hot mess, but within about three weeks my skin cleared up, and when I say cleared up, I mean it looks the best it has EVER looked. Even the blemishes I do have go away much faster and my skin is moisturized, & dare I say it.. Glowing?!I use the aria + cleanser every night, & my face feels so squeaky clean when I'm falling asleep it makes me giddy!Also, Girls, if you're cross shopping for any philosophy, Amazon pretty much always has the best prices plus free shipping :] Can't beat it.There's also a few other things along with Philosophy and aria I use for my "Beauty routine"1) The Philosophy foaming cleanser for make-up removalhttp://www.amazon.com/Philosophy-Purity-Simple-Foaming-Cleanser/dp/B001KYTWLS/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1358998632&sr=8-1&keywords=philosophy+foaming+cleanser2) Kiehl's: Rosa Arctica lightweight moisturizer (daily wear, great for foundation application), rare earth pore cleansing mask (there's something you can't beat with a quick drying mud mask), & their overnight biological peel (for the love of god, get a sample of this stuff - It has a small concentration of hydrogen peroxide that makes your skin tingle and has you waking up looking so refreshed.)

I love this product. I use the whole line, face wash, eye cream, mask, and the moisturizer. I recommend this product, it is light and not abrasive.