Vichy Essentielles Foaming Facial Cleanser For First-Timers

Vichy’s latest skincare range, Essentielles My First Vichy is targeted at first-time skincare users (I assume those in their teens) and those with sensitive skins. The packaging is a departure from the usual Vichy colours of predominantly blue and white. Vichy Essentielles grabs your attention immediately when you look at their shelves of products because of the pink rose graphics on each of the products in the Essentielles range.

Although I’ve neither sensitive skin nor is this my first skincare, I was somehow inexplicably drawn to the range, maybe because I found the idea of using Rose Polyphenols in the products quite appealing. Rose Polyphenols are a powerful natural antioxidant extracted from the petals of Rosa Gallica or French Rose. The Polyphenols protect the flowers from external aggressions and ensures their freshness. As such, they’re used in skincare because of their hydrating and soothing properties.

Although the Foaming Facial Cleanser contains fragrance, it’s barely noticeable when I lathered it up from my palms on to my face. The amount of lather is satisfactory but you won’t get a super-duper amount of foam a la Japanese manufactured foaming cleansers. When it comes to foaming cleansers, I’ve found that few non-Japanese brands can come close to Japanese brands. Whether it be Shiseido or Kanebo, Japanese brands are tops where lather is concerned.

My face doesn’t feel dry or tight after the foam has been washed off. Apart from the Rose Polyphenols, the other main ingredients are Glycerin, Shea Butter, Allantoin and Vichy Thermal Spa Water. I’ve absolutely no complaints about its efficacy as it removes all traces of make-up other than eye make-up which I always advocate using a separate eye make-up remover for. However, when I accidentally got some of the foam in my nose while bending over the sink, it stung quite badly even though I was careful not to inhale. Even after I washed all vestiges of it from my nostrils, it was still stinging so be careful not to get any of it in your nose.

The Essentielles Foaming Facial Cleanser (100ml) retails at RM25 which is very reasonable for a skincare product made in France. Other products in this range include the Facial Emulsion for normal to combination sensitive skin (50ml/RM35), Facial Cream for normal to dry sensitive skin (50ml/RM35), Softening Shower Gel (200ml/RM25) and Body Cream-Milk (200ml/RM29).