Oh, hallelujah: I thought that the glorious Elemis Pro-Collagen Rose Cleansing Balm was on a limited run,  once-it’s-gone-it’s-gone, but I’ve just seen that it’s now a permanent addition to their Pro-Collagen line. (It took me four attempts to spell “hallelujah” correctly, just in case you were wondering. It’s on a par with “diarrhoea” and “manoeuvre”  in terms of complicated, non-sensical letter groupings.)
The Elemis rose cleansing balm falls into the “treat to self” category, I think, because it’s a want product and not particularly a need. There are far cheaper cleansing balms that do the job perfectly well…they just don’t do in such a luxe-feeling and divine-smelling way as this one. And sometimes I want a luxe feel and a divine smell. The ultimate luxe-feel-divine-smell (LFDS) cleanser being, of course, Darphin’s Aromatic Cleansing Balm. One of my all-time favourites. The aromatherapy blend has a scent that’s truly relaxing and mind-transporting and it’s difficult to get to the stage where you want to flannel the balm off. The Elemis Rose Cleansing Balm has a rose scent (funnily enough!) rather than an aromatherapy blend, but the same sort of “special occasion effect” on the mind.

In terms of texture the Elemis is very similar to Darphin’s cleanser; a perfectly smooth, easy to spread balm that’s neither too waxy nor too quic...