Ten years ago, beauty editor Nicola Bonn fell in love with Emma Hardie Cleansing Balm. Cheap date it was not. But as other cleansers have come and gone, this a love affair that's endured. And now it has a little gel sister too...
My heart will always belong to Emma Hardie Moringa Cleansing Balm . It was the first beauty product that I really fell in love with and totally sparked my passion for skincare. It was also one of the first products that I wrote about in my fledgling career as a beauty columnist.
The first time I tried it I was utterly hooked. Forget the fact that it was more expensive (£47) than any cleanser I’d used before, I just found that the whole experience of using it made me feel great. The beautiful fragrance, the way that it took my makeup off so effortlessly, the way that it made my skin look and feel so healthy.
The ‘moringa glow' is down to the urge I get to massage my face as soon as I dispense them into my hands
Moringa has been my faithful friend for the past 10 years (Emma Hardie celebrated their 10th birthday recently). Sometimes I’ve been lucky enough to get sent it but more often than not, I save up my pretty pennies or beg for a pot for birthdays and Christmas. When I don’t use it because I am testing another product, I can definitely see the difference in my skin.
Anyway, I was recently introduced to Moringa Balm’s little (and less expensive) sister, Moringa Light Cleansing Gel, £34 and I’ve fallen for it in much the same way that I did the balm. In essence, the gel is exactly the same as the balm from an ingredient perspective but it doesn’t contain beeswax which gives it a much lighter feeling on the skin.
Like the balm, the gel gets every last scrap of makeup off but unlike the balm which lives in a pot, the gel comes with a pump which makes it perfect for travelling or using in the shower.
The ‘moringa glow' that I get from both products I think is down to the urge I get to massage my face as soon as I dispense them into my hands. It’s also the beautiful ingredients including omega 6 and vitamin E from grapeseed oil, moringa seed peptides and sea fennel extract which apparently improves the barrier function of the skin. The moringa tree, which is native to the Himalayas (in India it's used in Ayurvedic medicine) and thrives in harsh environments all over the world, is also called the tree of life as it has so many uses and health benefits. The oil, which comes from the seeds has been used in skin and hair care for centuries.
If you’ve never used Moringa Balm/Gel then it’s hard to describe how sublime the fragrance is. They both contain bergamot, orange peel and jasmine and whilst many fellow beauty experts argue that fragrance in a skincare product is bad, I’ve never had any side effects other than glowing skin and a feeling wellbeing and positivity. In fact, the ritual of massaging the products into my skin is as close to meditation as I’ve ever got.
I hope that whether you try the balm or ge l, you feel a bit of the magic that I do when I use it.
Emma Hardie Moringa Light Cleansing Gel, £34
Emma Hardie Moringa Cleansing Balm, £47
Nicola Bonn hosts the Outspoken Beauty Podcast.