This Fizzy Cleanser Is Like Pop Rocks For Your Face

I am a self-confessed face-wash fanatic. Every night, I double cleanse using an oil (Tata Harper, if you were wondering), followed by a gel (Sunday Riley). I exfoliate about four to five times a week, since every facialist I've ever seen has told me that I can afford the extra grit since I'm basically never without a full face of makeup. I also use a cleansing brush (Philips) each morning. In short, I spend a lot of time in front of my bathroom sink, so the products perched in and on my medicine cabinet are the most tightly-edited in my entire routine.

You're probably thinking, he's crazy. But, there's good reason for you non-beauty-editors to get diligent about your cleansing rituals, too. Sleeping in makeup is just about as gross as laying face-down on an NYC sidewalk. And, most of us are so lazy about how we wash (did you know experts recommend you rub your cleanser on the skin for a full two minutes before you even think about washing it off?) that we need to invest in products that really do double duty. This truth applies tenfold to city-dwellers, since there are studies that show that particulate pollution commonly found in urban areas can accumulate on top of your skin, causing hyperpigmentation and accelerated signs of aging.

This is why I've become newly obsessed with Nude's Brightening Fizzy Powder Wash. Basically, you put about a dime-size amount (I'm greedy, so I prefer a quarter) of powder into the palm of your hand. Then, you wet the other palm, and slowly mix your two hands together, quickly delivering the product to your face. What happens next can only be described as pure bliss: an effervescent tingling that tickles all over. It is, as the title of this story puts it, like pop rocks for your face — in the best way possible.

But, it gets better: The fizz is not just a marketing parlor trick used to deceive you into forking over $42 for face soap. Nude is known for its well-sourced formulas, which are made without parabens, sulfates, mineral oils, silicones, etc. Instead, there's a whole host of ingredients that become activated once you wet the powder, including lemon and lime extracts to brighten, rosehip and vanilla seeds to delicately polish, and a blend of enzymes to chemically exfoliate. The powder is also infused with a cocktail of oils — açai, virgin coconut, and Inca gold. They serve to nourish, so this is not a stripping experience.

And, that's sort of my favorite part about using it — other powders tend to have a high concentration of actives, which makes them more like a polish or a scrub and less like a wash. Since I exfoliate frequently, I like to do so with something that I feel is an indulgent, luxurious experience — not a torture session. For now, this guy is doing just the trick. It's the perfect product for perking up your complexion for a big night out, or just for getting rid of all that nasty grime. The fizz? Just a fun little bonus.

Nude Detox Brightening Fizzy Powder Wash, $42, available at Sephora.