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Niod Low-Viscosity Cleaning Ester review

I have a riddle for you. It looks like water but there’s not a drop of water in it. It melts anything away like an oil but it’s not an oil. You can wipe it away without water but it’s not a micellar water. So what the heck is it?

Niod Low-Viscosity Cleaning Ester. A new type of cleanser (oops, cleaner, sorry!) that has given up on greasy oils or drying surfactants. Instead, it uses isolated sugar and avocado esters to remove every trace of makeup and dirt and regulate sebum production without upsetting the skin. Is it a better way to cleanse your face? Should we all get rid of our cleansing oils and foaming cleanser and switch? Let’s put it to the test to find out:

Key Ingredients In Niod Low-Viscosity Cleaning Ester: What Makes It Work?

SUGAR AND AVOCADO ESTERS TO CLEANSE SKIN

Up until now, if you wanted to get rid of all the crap on your skin, you had to use either surfactants or oils.

Surfactants are the ones with the bad rep. Sodium Laureth Sulfate, Cocamidopropyl Betaine and co allow water to mix with oil and dirt, so they can be rinsed away. But, they tend to strip a bit too much natural oil from your skin, leaving it feeling tight and dry after cleansing. That’s why they’re usually recommended only for oily skin.

Oils are for everyone else. They work according to the “like dissolves like” principle. Olive oil, castor oil, argan oil etc attract and wash away the oils in your makeup and sunscreen and moisturize your skin to boot, leaving it soft and clean. But, they leave a greasy residue behind. 

Sugar and avocado esters work more like oils, but not quite. Here’s what I mean:

  • Fatty Alcohol Ethylhexanoic Acid Ester: An emollient ester that, just like oils, uses the enemy’s strength to break it down. Because it’s nearly identical to the emollients – including silicones and oils – used in your makeup and skincare products, it can melt them all away. By they way, don’t let the name fool you. It’s not a drying alcohol or acid.
  • Isoamyl Alcohol Lauric Ester: This is another skin-friendly ester that has nothing to do with alcohol. It’s here because it can break down UV filters, easily removing every last trace of even the most stubborn of sunscreens.
  • Catalyzed Avocado Butyl Alcohol Ester: An avocado ester that can get rid of everything that wouldn’t mix with water and keep sebum production under control. Basically, it works sort of like a surfactant, minus the drying effects.
  • Gallic Acid Ester: A cleansing ester that gets rid of Low Viscosity Cleaning Ester after its friends have removed all other impurities. Plus, it doubles up as an antioxidant.

These esters are quite revolutionary. They do everything that surfactants and oils do but much better and with a gentler hand. Why isn’t everyone else using them?

P.S. This cleanser does contain ONE oil. But that’s not what does the bulk of the cleansing work.

Related: What’s The Oil Cleansing Method And Should You Use It?

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The Rest Of The Formula & Ingredients

NOTE: The colours indicate the effectiveness of an ingredient. It is ILLEGAL to put toxic and harmful ingredients in skincare products.

  • Green: It’s effective, proven to work, and helps the product do the best possible job for your skin.
  • Yellow: There’s not much proof it works (at least, yet).
  • Red: What is this doing here?!
  • Isoamyl Cocoate: A natural emollient derived from sugar beets and coconut oil that makes skin softer and smooth without the oilier feel.
  • Plukenetia Volubilis Seed Oil: A plant oil rich in fatty acids, especially Linoleic Acid, to deeply moisturise skin. Plus, it has antioxidant properties too.
  • Tocopherol: A form of Vitamin E that has powerful antioxidant properties,
  • Ethoxydiglycol: A solvent that dissolves other ingredients in the formula.
  • Dimethyl Isosorbide: It helps active ingredients better penetrate skin.
  • Farnesol: It gives the cleaner a sweet, light, and floral scent. It’s also a common allergen.
  • Linalool: A fragrance ingredient that makes products smell good. But it’s also a common allergen.

Texture

This cleanser has a slippery, slightly oil-like texture. It feels like an oil, but it’s not an oil.

Fragrance

There’s no way around this. It stinks. It’s not necessarily a bad thing. It just means it’s fragrance-free. What you smell are the natural scents of the ingredients (yep, chemicals smell, too). Fragrances are irritating, so I’d take a smelly, fragrance-free cleanser over a beautifully scented irritating one every day.

How To Use It

Like every other cleanser, use it morning and night, as the first step of your skincare routine. You don’t need to double cleanse with this.

Packaging

This cleanser comes in a big, see-through bottle that’ll last you for a while. It’s not the prettiest, unless you like the whole sciences-look, but it’s functional and doesn’t waste product.

Performance & Personal Opinion

Do these cleansing esters live up to the hype when they come face to face with makeup? Yep. Low-Viscosity Cleaning Ester takes EVERYTHING off. Waterproof eyeliner, bright lipstick, stubborn sunscreen… You mention it, it melts it away. Quickly. I don’t have to tug and pull at the skin to get it to do its job.

I do find it works better when rinsed away with warm water, though. Using a cotton pad without rinsing it off isn’t as effective. You do have to use a bit more product to get the job done that way. Did I mention it leaves my skin super soft afterwards? Not once I’ve experienced that tight feeling after washing since I’ve started using it. If you’re looking for a cleanser that gets the job done quickly and gently, this is hard to beat.

But, if you like your skincare products to come with bells and whistles, this will leave you wanting for more. When it comes to cleansing, Niod Low-Viscosity Cleansing Ester goes back to basics. The slippery, slightly oil-like texture doesn’t feel particular luxurious and the scent… Well, it stinks. For me, the scent is its only flaw. That aside, I’m totally in love with this cleanser and I’ll definitely repurchase it.

How Does Niod Low-Viscosity Cleaning Ester Compare To Niod Sanskrit Saponins?

Despite the oilier texture, I prefer Niod Low-Viscosity Cleaning Ester Compare to the balmy Sanskrit Saponins. Plant saponins have been used since the dawn of time to clean skin – they effortlessly remove every last trace of excess sebum, makeup, and other impurities -, but they’re a bit messy. But that’s not my issue here. One: this cleanser smells just as badly as the other one. Two: the packaging makes it hard to get every last drop of product out. I don’t know how about you, but I don’t want to spend money on something I won’t be able to get out of the tube completely…

What I Like About Niod Low-Viscosity Cleansing Ester

  • Removes every last trace of grime and makeup effortlessly
  • Doesn’t dry skin
  • Makes skin softer and smoother
  • Packaging is big, so the cleanser will last you for a long time

What I DON’T Like About Niod Low-Viscosity Cleansing Ester

  • Smells bad – even though it has fragrant components that may irritants skin
  • Texture is oily

Who Should Use This?

Anyone who has a face. Seriously. Unless you want something that smells good (and I can’t blame you if you do) or you’re allergic to one of the ingredients, you’ll love this.

Does Niod Low-Viscosity Cleansing Ester Live Up To Its Claims?

CLAIM TRUE?
LVCE is a skin cleaning system that respects dermal barriers while regulating visible sebum production, cleaning the skin thoroughly and removing all traces of makeup in a single step. True.
LVCE contains no cleansing plant oils, no detergents and no water but instead uses isolated sugar and avocado esters to remove every trace of dirt and makeup with or without water.  True again.
While the skin feels comfortably hydrated after each use, the technologies in LVCE will actually further act as delivery boosters for topical treatments applied after cleaning.  True, but then you could argue that all cleansers, by removing the dirt on the surface of the skin, make it easier for whatever you apply next to penetrate.

Price & Availability

£36.00 at Beauty Bay, Brown Thomas, Cult Beauty, Look Fantastic, Niod, and Selfridges

The Verdict: Should You Buy It?

Yes. This is one of the best cleansers I’ve ever tried. Period. And I don’t say this lightly.

Dupes & Alternatives

I honestly don’t know of any dupe for this product.

Ingredients

Cetyl Ethylhexanoate, Isoamyl Laurate, Isoamyl Cocoate, Butyl Avocadate, Plukenetia Volubilis Seed Oil, Tocopherol, Propyl Gallate, Ethoxydiglycol, Dimethyl Isosorbide, Farnesol, Linalool.

About Gio

Hi, I'm Gio. I'm a no-nonsense, tell-it-like-it-is skin coach and writer on a mission to help you achieve your best skin day ever - every day. I bust skincare myths and debunk marketing jargon to help you figure out what's worth the splurge and what's best left on the shelf - using science, not hype. I also offer skincare consultations to help you create the best skincare routine for your unique needs.