Product Review: Live Botanical Nourishing Cleansing Oil

Live Botanical is the Green Beauty brand to most recently capture my imagination (and my heart). They are a small-batched, wildcrafted, mostly organic brand hailing from Portland Oregon. I was first drawn to this brand because they reminded me so much of my beloved Earthwise Beauty, a legendary Green Beauty brand that I've talked about extensively on La Petite Rose but has sadly closed as of late February 2023. But, though all good things do come to an end, there are always new beautiful things to be discovered, and I feel lucky to have found Live Botanicals when I did to replace staple favorites from Earthwise and just continue beauty experiments in general and at a fairly affordable price for a small-batch organic brand Not to mention, the items I have sampled from them so far (using the half-size minis they offer of nearly every product on their website) have all genuinely impressed me. But the most instant hit for me-- destined to become a classic in my routine-- is their Nourishing Cleansing Oil.

Cleansers are often where testing a new brand starts for me, and Live Botanical offers three fabulous cleansers currently in their lineup. One is a refreshing cleansing gel, the other a buttery rose-scented balm (To be discussed in a bit) , and the other is their cleansing oil. I choose the Cleansing Oil as my first product to highlight here because it offers a perfect hybrid in effect and textural feel of the other two. combining the supple, massage-worthy, indulgent feel of a balm with the refreshing clean rinse of the gel. This is because though this is an water-free oil cleanser, it does contain an emulsifier, meaning it lathers slightly will break down when water is added and rinse completely away without the need to be removed with a cloth. This makes using an oil cleanser to get the soft and skin supportive cleansing experience much quicker and easier than always having to steam it off with the cloth, which can be time consuming. Yet, this cleanser makes the skin feel super silky and smooth, but because of its oily nature it makes short work of breaking down makeup and/or sunscreen. You may just need to double your amount for heavier-duty product removal. Normally, one or two pumps is plenty for the morning or nights where I don't need to take off makeup and two to four are good for making sure all the makeup goes. As far as skin type is concerned, my skin is quite dry but is sensitive and reactive, but this cleanser does a great job at keeping it calm while making it feel cleansed yet comforted, even with one cleanse and using this product only. I see this product working for essentially anyone due to its simple yet seemingly-well rounded combination of herbs (that we will get into), but if you had quite oily skin, you might feel more comfortable using this as a makeup remover or first cleanse and then following up with something more clarifying.

The most impressive thing to me about the Nourishing Cleansing Oil is, though the emulsifier is there, it is not too strong and is in fact the most mild of any emulsifying oil cleanser I've ever used. I always thought they were luxurious and skin nourishing before, but never have I felt one quite this good. And the herbal experience is fantastic both in scent and benefits for the skin too. For starters, the base oils include sunflower and jojoba which are very conditioning and lightweight, as well as pumpkin seed oil (an ingredient common to many products in Live Botanical) that encourages healthy cell renewal and can help create not only smoother skin but a stronger barrier. Then there is the more scented herbal cocktail of rose flower oil, lavender, chamomile, and lemon balm, all of which offer a host of healing properties including addressing inflammation and working to clear and refine the pores and also providing more antioxidants. As far as the scent profile is concerned, I smell mostly chamomile, a very warm, buttery version of the herb with a semi-sour green twist of the lemon balm, but the smell is calming and not at all strong or too astringent and perfect for morning or evening skincare alike to perk me up for the start of the day or relax me before bed.

Overall, I cannot think of a single drawback to the Nourishing Cleansing Oil from Live Botanical, and I am always happy to try things from a small brand that seems to take such care in ingredients, creating products that are not only effective and nurturing to the skin but are also so pleasurable to use. I cannot wait to try more and share more from this lovely brand with you. You can try the Nourishing Cleansing Oil for $40 USD for the full 3.4 oz size, or the 0.5 oz mini for $14 USD at LiveBotanical.com