Luxury Skincare: Ranking The Best Face Cleansers Worth the Splurge
Washing your face is an important first step in every skincare routine. Making sure that your skin is cleansed of any makeup or dirt is the key to healthy, glowing skin and given most of us use our cleansers daily, why not make your face washing an indulgent and spa-like experience each time?
Read on if you’re looking to treat yourself to a luxury face cleanser that’s truly worth the splurge and formulated to deliver on its promises.
Best Overall Luxury Face Cleanser: Motif Abundance Plumping Phyto Ceramide Face Cleanser
Motif is one of the few luxury skincare brands that's formulated with a board-certified dermatologist. Their products effectively repair and enhance all skin types through many of the environmental and hormonal changes that our skin encounters. Their hero product, the Abundance Cleanser is clean, pregnancy-safe, fragrance-free, vegan, designed for sensitive skin, and formulated with eczema and rosacea in mind. It’s truly a product that not only checks all the boxes, but also goes above and beyond cleansing as it doubles as a brightening mask when left on for 30-60 seconds.
The Abundance Cleanser is a gentle cream cleanser that leaves your skin feeling supple, hydrated, and fresh. The science behind this product speaks for itself — it features a pH-balanced formula to support the skin’s natural moisture barrier and doesn’t leave the skin feeling stripped. It’s $65 price tag is certainly worth it considering it’s powered by 15+ actives made of high-quality botanical extracts that are dosed in effective quantities such as:
For hydration and plumping:- Pineapple ceramides
- Hyaluronic acid
- Grape seed oil
- Shea butter
For brightening:
- White orchid extract
- Monkey Fruit
- Licorice root extract
- Fermented rice extract (sake)
For soothing:
- Bromelain
- Niacinamide
For exfoliation:
- Luffa fruit fibers
- Pink kaolin clay
Best BHA Luxury Face Cleanser: Tata Harper Regenerating Cleanser 
Tata Harper is a popular luxury skincare brand that features natural formulas. Tata Harper’s Regenerating Cleanser ($88) is a natural exfoliating cleanser that contains BHA from white willow bark for chemical exfoliation and apricot microspheres for physical exfoliation. It’s great as a polishing and pore-minimizing treatment for those with dull or textured skin. Other luxurious ingredients include pomegranate enzymes, sunflower seed oil, and aloe vera.
While it’s recommended for daily use, this cleanser is quite powerful — i.e. using a BHA-product daily may be fine for some, however those with sensitive or rosacea-prone may not be able to tolerate it. And as with most Tata Harper products, this is heavily scented with natural essential oils so while it certainly offers a spa-like experience, it can be irritating for sensitive skin as it contains common essential oil allergens such as limonene, citral, and linalool.
Best Luxury Foaming Face Cleanser: La Mer Cleansing Foam
La Mer is a cult-favorite luxury skincare brand. You might have heard about their famous Crème de la Mer moisturizer but their cleanser is also another fave. If you’re a fan of foaming cleansers, the La Mer Cleansing Foam ($95) is a pricey but solid option for those looking to purify and revitalize the skin. It features La Mer’s signature Miracle Broth complex (a medley of various sea kelp) which also helps to soothe and restore the skin.
It’s formulated without parabens, phthalates, and sulfates making it gentle for everyday use, however it does include Fragrance (Parfum) so it might not be suitable for those who are sensitive to synthetic fragrance.
Best Luxury Cleansing Balm: Eve Lom Cleanser
Another luxury skincare brand that's known for its holy grail cleanser is Eve Lom. Eve Lom's cleansing balm ($145) is great for removing make-up, sunscreen, and build-up. It's a cult-favorite for good reason — its formula melts onto the skin without clogging pores and features cocoa butter for added hydration.
It’s formulated without paraben, sulfates, phthalates, and synthetic fragrance. However it features Clove and Eucalyptus oils which can also be sensitizing for those who don’t react well with essential oils and also contains allergens like eugenol and limonene.
