Review and how to use Nature Republic Forest Garden Argan Cleansing Oil | Close dupe for Shu Uemura

I adore Shu Uemura cleansing oil, but as we know, it costs an arm and a leg. I saw a Cebu-based seller on Instagram carrying Korean products for lower than retail prices, and this Nature Republic cleansing oil looked interesting to me.



I had never heard of Nature Republic before, so I did a bit of reading online before deciding to buy this. I chose the Argan one for its nourishing benefits. The cleansing oil also comes in a few other varieties, like chamomile and green tea. I like the packaging; it's pretty with the floral design, and the pump dispenses just the right amount.

The instructions on the carton say you should use two or three pumps, but really, just one pump is enough. That's all I needed to remove a full face of makeup - foundation, brows, eyeshadow and liner, mascara, lipstick.

To use, start with clean hands and a dry face. Dispense one pump's worth onto your palms, then massage all over the face. I leave the eye area last so I don't spread my liner and mascara everywhere. I use my fingertips to massage the product over eye makeup. If it feels too sticky or it's not emulsifying enough, add just a little water on your palms, then continue to massage it all over the face. Rinse thoroughly.

I noticed that this does need a bit more rinsing than the Shu Uemura cleansing oil, but I was so pleased with the result that this doesn't bother me. All my makeup had come off and my skin felt really soft and smooth, and clean without that dry or tight feeling that you may get from normal facial washes. Overall, it worked very similarly to Shu Uemura cleansing oil for me and also gave me a very similar result after cleansing, although Shu is just a little bit more moisturizing than this one.

To see if the product had really removed most of my makeup, I followed it up with a toner by Etude House that I also bought from the same seller. Very little excess makeup came off, mostly in areas like my neck and near my ears that I had missed with the oil.

I purchased this 200ml bottle for P550 from Dara Cafe on La Guardia St. in Lahug. You can also view their products on their Instagram account @darabeautymarket.