Time to spring clean your skin – from just £6.50

Spring cleaning is not merely an urge that strikes us on the home front at this time of year — it is also something we want for our skin.

Obviously, when asked what the most important skincare step is, i always answer ‘sun screen’. i turned 53 over Easter, and a 28-year-old friend wistfully informed me that she has more sun damage than i do. i am horrified to confirm that she’s right. But it’s never too late to start SpF-ing up.

Still, taking it right back to basics, cleansing will have a more obvious effect in the short-term. get it wrong, and you can render your face dry, dull, blotchy, spotty, or a combination of all four. get it right, and everything else should fall into place.

The key to finding the right cleanser comes down to personality: does the formula fit yours and your skin’s? read on to find the best match.

Budget-conscious puritan

ThE French pharmacy brand Bioderma was the inventor of micellar water, and its Bioderma Sensibio h2O Micellar Water for sensitive skin (from £10.40 for 250ml, boots.com) is prized by many celebrities, including Drew Barrymore and Selena gomez.

Even this gentle micellar, left on the skin, may cause irritation, so splash with water once your cotton pad is clean, or remove any residue with a budget milk by Simple, neutrogena, Cetaphil or The Body Shop.

Alternatively, if you have earned a splurge (even puritans deserve a treat), i dare you to experience the bliss that is votary rose geranium And Apricot Cleansing Oil (£44 for 100ml, cultbeauty.co.uk).

Nurturing craver

WhEn more unctuous remedies are required, Emma hardie Skincare’s award-winning Moringa Cleansing Balm ( now £41.60, cultbeauty.co.uk) is cherished as a facial in a jar, and an antidote to dullness in one’s complexion and life. Users become devotees.

i can’t resist Aromatherapy Associates nourishing Cleansing Balm (now £36, lookfantastic. com) for the same perfumed plumping effect. While Marks & Spencer’s scented revive nourishing Cleansing Butter in Calm (£12.50, marksandspencer.com) makes a great budget choice.

Sensitive skin sufferer

WhATEvEr rashes life throws at me, Cultured Biomecare Biome One Cleansing Balm ( from £ 12, cultbeauty. co. uk) never fails to set my skin straight. Ditto the bargain that is Bioderma Atoderm Cleansing Oil — which is perfect for very dry to eczema-prone skin (now £14.40 for 1ltr, boots.com).

For those with the most extreme reactivity, Oodee’s allergen-neutral halo purifying Foaming Cleanser (£24) is the only choice. Or invest in its Three-Step phenomenal Skin Edit (£105, oodee.com).

Party- slap addict

FOr those who want a full face of make-up removed in the blink of an eye, Japanese gel- to- oil tech is required. Shiseido’s Waso Shikulime gel To Oil Cleanser (now £22.10, boots.com) is as cosseting as it is utterly brilliant.

While Beauty pie’s Japanfusion pure Transforming Cleanser (members £10; non-members £25, beautypie.com) is similarly a swift and ingenious application.

Wake-up woman

i DiSlikE face washes as a rule, yet i adore the American smash hit Youth To The people Superfood Cleanser (from £12, cultbeauty. This ‘green juice for your face’ is invigorating, but also non- stripping, removing everything in its wake, while dousing skin in antioxidants. Massage in for 30 seconds to reap full benefits.

Charlotte Tilbury’s new 3-in-1 Magic hydration revival Cleanser (from £12, johnlewis. com) will cleanse, hydrate and prime your skin.

Pore obsessive

CErAvE SA Smoothing Cleanser with Salicylic Acid for dry, rough and bumpy skin (from £11.60, boots.com) is a face and body cleanser that tackles face breakouts and pimply chests and backs. Salicylic acid tackles clogged pores and uneven texture, while a cocktail of ceramides keeps sensitivity at bay.