The Konjac Sponge (that bears an uncanny resemblance to Kojak)

Used by the Chinese for over 1,500 years and coming from the potato family, the Konjac sponge is new to Irish shores and going down a treat. (Eh, naturally, it's a bidayto!)

These sponges are made with 100% natural Konjac fibre (a vegetable fibre from the root of the Amorphophallus konjac plant) and are one of the softest sponges I've tried.

There are 6 to choose from, ranging from the Pure Natural Baby Sponge to the Bamboo Charcoal Sponge Puff and they're very reasonably priced (all under €8), considering the savings to be made on cleansing products.

The sponges are moist in their original packaging but do dry out when not in use. 

The Konjac Sponge Company advocate using this baldy little feller with just luke warm water, so as to save products i.e. money and of course the environment. Because it's 100% natural and PH balanced, absolutely you can do that and I have but I've found myself preferring to use it with minimal cleansing products instead.

I spoke last week about my new love for Liz Earle Cleanse & Polish Hot Cloth Cleanser and the fact that I found every day use with the provided muslin cloths just too harsh for my skin. This little blighter is perfect though. I find myself using less product as the surface of the sponge is slightly shiny and doesn't absorb as much as a normal sponge. It also doesn't pull or tug the skin as you cleanse, instead it works with you to gently clean off your make up and slightly buff and exfoliate the skin, removing old cells.

If you're a fan of make up wipes for stress free (read quick as you can) make up removal, I'd highly recommend one of the Konjac sponges as it only needs to be dampened to do the trick with no nasty skin hangover or side effects the following day.

Just one point I've found though, if you're a lover of long wear mascaras, as I am, you may need to cleanse your eyes separately first if you use the sponge solo but other than that I really am thrilled with the results I've been having with my little Kojak.

Available now from Misebeauty.com and very soon from Beautyemporium.ie, will you be looking for your own little Kojak?


The Konjac Sponge was sent as a PR Sample
But I've since bought 2 as pressies!

Liz Earle - Cleanse & Polish Hot Cloth Cleanser

Ok, so I'm fairly late to the Liz Earle party but anything that makes me actually look forward to washing my fizzog has to be worthy of a blog post, surely?

While I've gotten exponentially better at cleansing, toning and moisturising (wipes were once a luxury to me) it has still always seemed like a chore. I'm guessing that's because I regularly see 2am on the clock before I'm hitting the hay so squeaky cheeks are the last thing on my mind. (steady now)

Having heard so much about this Liz Earle cleanser I was thrilled to be sent a package as a gift from The Irish Times. The first thing I noticed, once into the box was the packaging. From the first sheet of tissue paper (there are many) to the soft mint zip up wash bag this just feels like something special.

Minty Luxe

Made with eucalyptus and cocoa butter, Cleanse and Polish is the only cleanser in the Liz Earle range as it is intended for use on every skin age and type. It's a two phase treatment, the cleanser itself works to lift all of your make-up (including They're Real mascara(!)) and then the muslin cloth (there are two per pack) works to exfoliate your skin, remove all dead skin cells and gently buff and polish the skin.

One pump is the perfect pea sized amount

Unctuous Eucalyptus Scented Goodness 

The Muslin Cloth used to polish your face (NOT your lips) (Learned that the hard way)

As I say, I'm thoroughly enjoying using Cleanse and Polish so far. My skin appears brighter and tighter and my make up glides on now that every single trace is removed the night before. While it's recommended that you use this both night and day, I have to admit that I'm a little afraid to do so. Not only is the cleanser a little rich to be used on my skin twice a day but I can't see muslin cloths being too gentle on your skin in the long term either, though they are ideal for exfoliating your bod - KP (chuck feed arms or legs especially).

As a matter of fact, I've recently switched the cloth and am using my Konjac sponge (he's called Kojac round here because of his likeness to a little, fat, baldy head) I find I'm using less product and getting a much gentler but still effective cleanse.

Liz Earle's Cleanse & Polish Hot Cloth Cleanser Starter Kit retails for €17 or, of course, you could pick up the pump alone for €15.25 and the Konjac Sponge for €7.47. That'd be my recommendation. I'll have a full Konjac review up next week should you not be convinced (yet).

Have you used Cleanse & Polish yet? Love it as much as Moi?