The most mysterious cleanser you've ever seen | Lagom CellUp Gel to Water Cleanser Review

Swedish word 'Lagom' in English means nothing else than 'just the right amount'. I guess that's a clever name for a skincare brand but would you believe it's the name of a South Korean skincare brand, not Swedish brand? I guess Sweden has to enjoy IKEA to the full while we are going to look through a mysterious product called CellUp Gel to Water Cleanser that looks like a transparent jelly and turns into water. 

What does Lagom mean?

I wish it would turn into wine instead of water but it's like with this song -  you can't always have what you want. Still, Water instead of a Foam can be a dream of many people and it sounds like a mild cleanser. You're not wrong Lagom CellUp Gel to Water Cleanser is a mild cleanser with pH 5,5 aka perfect pH for acne-prone skin. pH 5,5 helps us balance the skin if your skin's pH level is around 5,5 then it's a healthy pH and your skin is slightly acidic but that's actually good! I also saw information that this cleanser has pH = 6,2 and I honestly don't know which version is true because I have no tester - I can't get it in a drugstore, I have to order it so during all this period of time I totally forgot to order it for the test. Before we look at what's inside this foam we need some design. The design has a huge meaning because we need clear information on the concept, Lagom did it well - this foam looks like an iceberg and I guess Sweden has some icebergs. The name is a Swedish word and in general Lagom = minimalism, just like the word meaning "just the right amount", while the brand slogan says "not too little not too much". 

What's inside Lagom CellUp Gel to Water Cleanser?

Let's go straight to ingredients because I think it's the most interesting part. 

Water, Glycerin, Butylene Glycol, Hydrogenated Polydecene, Cetyl Ethylhexanoate, Cetearyl Alcohol, Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride, Panthenol, Polyglyceryl-3 Methylglucose Distearate, Citrus Aurantium Bergamia (Bergamot) Fruit Oil, Citrus Limon (Lemon) Peel Oil, Simmondsia Chinensis (Jojoba) Seed Oil, Citrus Nobilis (Mandarin Orange) Peel Oil, Citrus Aurantium Dulcis (Orange) Peel Oil, Myrothamnus Flabellifolia Callus Culture Extract, Cymbopogon Schoenanthus Oil, Hydrolyzed Vegetable Protein, Macadamia Integrifolia Seed Oil, Pyrus Malus (Apple) Fruit Water, 1,2-Hexanediol, Dimethicone, Hydrogenated Lecithin, Jojoba Esters, Cetearyl Glucoside,  Polyacrylate-13, Hydroxyacetophenone, Polymethylsilsesquioxane, Hydroxyethyl Acrylate/Sodium Acryloyldimethyl Taurate Copolymer, Polyisobutene, Caprylyl Glycol, Synthetic Beeswax, Polysorbate 20,Sorbitan Isostearate, Citric Acid, Sodium Citrate, Sodium Hyaluronate, Indole Acetic Acid, Maltodextrin, Tocopherol, Propanediol, Vegetable Amino Acids, Pentylene Glycol, Ceramide NP, Phytosphingosine, Polyglutamic Acid, Xanthan Gum, Disodium EDTA, Potassium Benzoate

It's not a surprise the INCI starts with Water, but then next is Glycerin, a Natural Moisturizing Factor (NMF). I'm aware that some people freak out when they see Glycerin but this ingredient is one of the most common moisturizers and you shouldn't be afraid of it - it is way better for your skin than you might imagine. Butylene Glycol seems to me as another ingredient which I see everywhere. It's a moisturizer that enhances penetration of the product. Is this needed in cleansing product? 

But Lagom Cellup Gel to Water is not only about moisturizers but also emollients such as Hydrogenated Polydecene, an ingredient ideal for sensitive skin and baby skin. It's delicate and it gives this velvet feeling on the skin just like Cetyl Ethylhexanoate. Another emollient is Cetearyl Alcohol and I'm aware that Alcohols are quite controversial but you shouldn't be scared of them. Drying alcohols like Alcohol Denat exist but there are also good alcohols like Cetearyl Alcohol - it's not only an emollient, it's a stabilizing substance as well. Are we done with emollients? Obviously not! Caprylic/​Capric Triglyceride is another one on the list. Then we got Hydrogenated Lecithin. Some of them have no colour and scent which makes them ideal for sensitive people. We will go back to emollients soon. 

This formula is clearly good for sensitive skin so Panthenol shouldn't be a surprise. Panthenol is also known as provitamin B5. A soothing moisturizer, it can be used on inflamed skin. The next ingredient it might be scary because it's long - Polyglyceryl-3 Methylglucose Distearate. An emulsifier derived from veggies. Are veggies that scary?

But the heaven for sensitive skin has to end and it's this moment. Citrus Aurantium Bergamia (Bergamot) Fruit Oil has an amazing smell and I personally love it but not every skin will love it so please remember about patch test before you use it. It's not the only perfuming oil used in this formula, next to Bergamot Oil, we can find ingredients such as Citrus Limon (Lemon) Peel Oil, Citrus Nobilis (Mandarin Orange) Peel Oil and Citrus Aurantium Dulcis (Orange) Peel Oil. Some of them are milder than others but still make sure you test the product before using on the entire face. On the other hand, we've got here Simmondsia Chinensis (Jojoba) Seed Oil. Jojoba Seed Oil is very similar to our sebum that's why skin loves it, still, we cannot suspect that every skin will react to each ingredient the same and it might be comedogenic. 

Myrothamnus Flabellifolia Callus Culture Extract is quite unique ingredients. The plant called Myrothamnus is a plant which you can see in South Africa. It's also known as the resurrection plant or poikilohydric plant because it can survive in a very extreme environment. This plant can be dead but once it starts to rain the plant is alive again. It is told that this ingredient has moisturizing properties and it makes skin radiant and looking healthy. Cymbopogon Schoenanthus Oil also known as Lemon Grass Oil, it's an essential oil, a perfuming ingredient with antibacterial and antifungal properties but it can be not the best choice for sensitive skin. Next is Hydrolyzed Vegetable Protein, pH balancer and Macadamia Integrifolia Seed Oil - Macadamia Seed Oil, an emollient and moisturizer. Oily skin might not like it. 

Dimethicone is another ingredient that people don't like because it's silicone. It's an occlusive ingredient that can be comedogenic but similar to alcohols - not all silicones are bad, this one is not only occlusive but it's also an emollient. Hydroxyacetophenone is an antioxidant on this list and Hydroxyethyl Acrylate/​Sodium Acryloyldimethyl Taurate Copolymer is a stabilizer. We can also find here Synthetic Beeswax which is a clever move because there's a huge group of people who don't want to use natural Beeswax. If you still need more moisture then Sodium Hyaluronate is here for you, just like Vitamin E - Tocopherol, an antioxidant and natural preservative. Surprising for me, we can find here Ceramide NP as well.

My experience with Lagom Cellup Gel to Water Cleanser

The ingredients aren't that short but is this weird product worth a try? Yes and no, it's definitely a product which you can use during the morning or if you use multi-step cleansing so, for example, you use micellar water, emulsifying oil cleanser and then this cleanser because it's a delicate cleanser. If you want to remove heavy makeup with only this product - good luck, it might not be enough or you're going to use more cleanser than you expect. The texture is really weird and it doesn't change into a foam. If you mix it with water you won't see it - it completely disappears. The face is clean but not dry and that's a good thing because dry skin would tell me that this product might be too strong for my skin - you don't want to dry out your skin because if the skin doesn't have this feeling of hydration or some delicate kind of "oiliness" it might end up with your skin producing even more sebum to "save" skin from dehydration. The packaging is really nice, you can see the level of the product and when you need to change it. It's not a product that lasts over 6 months but one tube (220ml) of Lagom Cellup Gel to Water Cleanser should last about 3 months of daily use. According to Skinsider, this product got sold out the first day after it got launched in the US. My skin is sensitive but I didn't react to this oil even if it has lots of essential oils still be careful and patch tests it before using it on the entire face. If you have lots of fresh wounds then you can feel it in such spots but personally, I had no bad experience with this cleanser. This cleanser can be used instead of oil cleanser - if you don't use heavy makeup/makeup at all and it can be followed by Lagom Cellup Micro Foam Cleanser - a cleanser which I'm going to review for you soon. 

Lagom Cellup Gel to Water Cleanser costs £20.00 on Skinsider. I won't tell you if this is a good or bad price because everyone wants to spend a different amount on a cleanser but it's definitely a product you want to try at least once in your life. 

Have you ever tried any Lagom products?

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*** This post was made in collaboration with Skinsider, even though it still shows my personal opinion on the topic and product**