Yuli Skincare – Halcyon Cleanser

Whenever the cult brand, Yuli, announces a new product, my antennae automatically stand up for a simple reason – Their products make an impact. Green beauty world has seen lots of cleansing grains, balms and oils, but there exists a huge gap in the cleansing gel space. Growing up, the only type of cleanser I used was the gel, soapy kind. So, I’m of the mindset, if the gel cleansers worked for me as a kid, why can’t they still work for me (minus the soapiness and surfactants, of course) as an adult? I love cleansing grains and balm cleansers, but sometimes, I just want to quickly wash my face and go to bed, and when it comes to ease of use, gel cleansers will probably be on top of everyone’s list.

I’m happy to say that Yuli’s Halcyon Cleanser gets a bright green signal from a girl whose skin changes with every season. I have combination acne-prone skin and even though I love the experience of using cleansing grains and balms, I just can’t trust my skin to behave well without incorporating a “traditional” cleanser (minus the suds). For this reason, I was extremely enthused when Yuli announced a traditionally functioning, gel cleanser.

The cleanser is housed in a dark, Miron glass bottle with a pump dispenser. I’m okay with cleansers bottles in glass containers since I wash my face at the sink with filtered water (never in the shower). For most of this year, this has been in regular rotation as part of my AM cleansing routine. On an average, I use it about 3-4 times a week (I am a huge cleanser hoarder and find it difficult to stick to just one product). I’m almost out of my first bottle. Now that I’m in the last dregs, I did notice that the pump doesn’t dispense the product (only some foam); so, I have to unscrew the top and pour some cleanser – minor packaging irritation For PM cleansing, I like something a little more exfoliating, but if I’m really tired, I’ll just grab this. I don’t wear makeup (except minimal eye makeup) or sunscreen, so can’t really say if this cleanser will work on those, but on a makeup/sunscreen free face, it absolutely does!

I usually apply 2-3 pumps of the cleanser on damp skin, really massage it in, and then let it sit for a minute or two. After rinsing, my face feels so soft. Not tight, just a very clean feeling. Not having to double cleanse is a blessing for this lazy gal! 😉

This cleanser has so many lovely active ingredients and I hate to remove it immediately. Plus, the light, fresh floral scent just wakes me up! Yuli as a brand is very conservative when it comes to adding essential oils, which is why I am really surprised that even though there are no fragrance delivering ingredients, this cleanser still manages to deliver a lovely sensory experience.

One thing to note is that the cleanser doesn’t lather much. I see very tiny bubbles that die out extremely quickly – this might bother some of you, but honestly, doesn’t matter to me much. I’d rather take this than rub surfactants all over my face.

Ingredients from the website:

H. italicum/L. angustifolia hydrosol blend*, herbal infusion of (T.pratense*, C. sinensis*, S. media, Z. officinale*, O. fragans), D-aloe barbadensis,vegetable glycerine, sodium cocoyl isethionate (vegetable source), peptides derived from Amaranth protein, jojoba ester*, Rhodophyta (Red Algae) ferment, G.lucidum (Reishi) tincture*, zeolite, tocopheryl acetate (vitamin E), vitamin C ester, biodynamic fruit enzymes, petitgrain sur fleurs oil*, bergamot (bergaptene-free) oil*, collidal silver 

Available for $52 for a 100 ml bottle at either Yuli or Spirit Beauty Lounge. Also refer to The Beauty Idealist’s comprehensive review of this cleanser.