Dissolve Cleansing Balm

Firm and cool in the jar, oil the instant it meets warm skin. It takes the day with it, sunscreen and long wear foundation and the mascara that claimed to be waterproof, and then rinses away instead of sitting on you as a film.

Shea butter is what keeps it from stripping. The balm lifts everything off without taking your skin's own comfort with it. Massage a fingertip's worth over dry skin, eye makeup included, and give it a slow thirty seconds, because this is the part worth not rushing. Add water until it turns milky, then rinse warm. What is left is skin that feels soft and supple rather than tight and squeaking.

First cleanse of two on a full face of makeup. The only cleanse you need on a bare one.

The jar is heavy frosted glass with a fluted metal lid, weighted so it sits on a shelf like an object rather than a product. The kind of thing you keep long after the balm is gone.

• Net wt 3.17 oz / 90 g
• Scent: iris, white fig, ambrette