Bobbi Brown Extra Balm Rinse

Sometimes the best products are those that sneak their way into our lives, without us really placing too many expectations on them and this is certainly one such product!

When I bought the Bobbi Brown foundation palette, the website offered me a selection of special offers to choose from, including a sample of the Extra Balm Rinse. The picture showed the full size, which is 200mls (£42) and stated the sample would be 30mls. I honestly thought I would get a few sample sachets; I did not expect to get a miniature version of the actual packaging! This 30ml pot is about the same size as a regular moisturiser pot.

It took me about 2 weeks of it sitting in my bathroom cabinet before I even bothered to try it out. It's for super-dry skin and since my skin is generally normal, I wasn't that fussed about it. However, all you need to do is unscrew the lid, stick yer nose in and breathe in deeply and you'll be hooked! It's GORGEOUS! It smells exactly like Lemon Curd, which is perhaps not to everyone's taste, but I think lemon is the perfect all-year round smell (it's as festive as it is summer fresh). I actually (and unbelievably) had whooping cough over Christmas and the citrusy smell was the perfect tonic to my sore face, chest, nose etc).

The texture is like a very soft balm. It sits as a solid in the jar, but is very gooey and soft once it's in your hands. The 'instructions' are to soften a small amount in your hands for a few seconds and apply all over to dry skin. I suppose, in a way, it works in a similar way to 'melty face oils' - you know, the ones that turn to emulsion when water is added? It does that - it takes a little bit of warmth and work to move it across dry skin, but once it starts to warm up it spreads easily. My preference is to then sweep it off my face with a hot flannel, especially as the heat then reinvigorates the smell all over again!

In terms of it's performance, I've found it brilliant at melting off my makeup and it's been perfectly fine to use around my eyes, even removing my mascara (I don't know how well it would fare removing waterproof mascara). If I have heavy makeup on, I will do it twice, to ensure it's all removed but I think this is just a mini-ocd.

Because it's aimed at those with super-dry skin, I find my skin feels very comfortable after use and I don't feel like I immediately need to rush to the cabinet to get my moisturiser. At the same time, my skin doesn't feel 'cloggy' like some dry skin products can, it still feels nicely refreshed and soft.

Overall, this product has been a massive winner for me and testament to that, I have since received a full-size jar as a birthday present. However, I wont be needing to crack that open for another few weeks. I've used this 30ml pot twice a day, almost every day for about 6 weeks and it's still going! Excellent value for money!