There are face wipes, and then there are face wipes that are fully dissolvable, come housed in a chic aluminium canister, and are infused with nourishing skincare ingredients. Today, we’re talking about the latter, courtesy of make-up artist Isamaya Ffrench and Natassia Grace (a biochemist and the founder of Conserving Beauty), who have collaborated on new face wipes that are as cool as they are clever.
The Hyaluronic Cleansing + Conditioning Cloths harness Conserving Beauty’s world-first InstaMelt dissolving technology, which means that when you’re done with each wipe, you can run it under the tap and it will dissolve. This clever technology might just be a solution to the volume of environmentally unfriendly wipes we currently use – demand for cosmetic wipes rose 4.3 per cent a year between 2017 and 2021, and continues to do so – many of which may say they’re biodegradable, but don’t give details of how long they actually take to break down.
“As someone who has worked in the industry for 15 years, doing the make-up at hundreds of fashion shows, I’m constantly using disposable wipes and am conscious of the environmental impact that beauty products have on the world,” Ffrench tells me over the phone. “It never makes me feel good, even though there hasn’t been an alternative. Many wipes say they’re biodegradable, but it could be 50 or 100 years before they do, so collaborating with Conserving Beauty has been a great opportunity to create something that would work for lots of different people.”
Ffrench has been using the brand’s wipes for a while (professionally and personally), but has given them a slight upgrade, not least with the excellent packaging twist. “It’s a cleansing cloth that’s hypoallergenic, and perfect for pre- and post-make-up,” she explains. “I loved Natassia’s original wipes, but I wanted to be able to have a roll of 200 so that they could be used in the bathroom and beyond. They had to be suitable for children’s skin – literally, babies’ bums – and have active ingredients that are good for the skin. So that’s what we went for.”
Super gentle, they are infused with a gel serum that blends niacinamide, hyaluronic acid, squalene and panthenol to hydrate and restore the skin, while being the right kind of texture that would suit all skin types. “They had to be softer than her current wipes to be suitable for children’s skin, but they still needed a bit of grip to pull off make-up,” says Ffrench. “They’re really fantastic, and get all oil, dirt and make-up off your face.”
They’re also an excellent primer before make-up application, because while some wipes leave the skin looking dry, and others super oily, these deliver the right level of dewiness – which is what we all want, right? As a make-up artist, Ffrench has done her research over the years, and has channelled everything she’s learned into the wipes. Meanwhile, Grace’s game-changing technology is the perfect partner.
They may be on the pricey side, but with myriad skincare benefits and 200 wipes in a pack… get these in your shopping bag, stat!
