US brand Glossier launch their new cleanser today and if you’ve tried their Milky Jelly Cleanser, you’ll know their skincare is generally worth a look. This new Cleanser Concentrate is a departure. A golden honey-coloured liquid cleanser in a smart (and recyclable) glass jar, this is soft yet strong. You only need one pump, and it will give a nice soft lather on wet skin to lift dirt, despite containing no drying sulfates (it uses a naturally derived alternative). It is also fragrance-free – you don’t need added scent in your cleanser, nice as it might be to use.

This concentrate is designed to be quick and effective, and so it exfoliates too, with a blend of lactic and malic acids – gentle exfoliators that can be used by sensitive skin types. You’ll also spot ingredients such as niacinamide, which improves skin texture, along with actives such as fruit extracts and oils, and soothing calendula and chamomile flower extracts. I am enjoying using it – Glossier founder Emily Weiss’ own litmus test for a good cleanser is that you feel you don’t need to put anything on your skin after using it – ie the cleanser is not drying – and this stands up. It leaves skin feeling clean but not stripped, and I find it effective in removing make-up and SPF.

Beyond skin-clarifying benefits, it has good credentials too: it’s vegan and cruelty-free (a focus on TikTok at the moment, where everyone’s watching short film Save Ralph, featuring film director Taika Waititi, part of a campaign by the Humane Society International against animal testing: see www.hsi.org/saveralph).

Weiss is renowned for her beauty savvy, and Glossier began with the series of addictive Top Shelf features that delved into people’s bathrooms. So we listened hard when she talked about some of the beauty items she loves at the moment. She mentions a New York brand, Circumference (she’s using their rich botanical face oil) as one to watch (www.circumferenenyc.com). And she loves Palo Santo incense sticks by Incausa (incausa.co; also available via Trouva) – though we’ve since spotted that our own Nunaïa has some Palo Santo Wood Incense Sticks (€12.95, www.nunaia.com), ethically sourced from Peru. Use these highly aromatic sticks to “energise and cleanse a space”. Founder Nicola Connolly notes that “The fragrant smoke of this ‘holy wood’ has been used for thousands of years by traditional South American communities for its physical and spiritual benefits”, and describes them as very grounding. We’re bulk-buying …

On the website, you can also shop a collection of exciting young brands supported by Glossier’s Grant Initiative for Black-Owned Beauty Businesses. It’s a great source of interesting skincare, make-up and haircare specially designed for the most diverse range of skintones and hair types, and selected from more than 10,000 applications: discover Luna Magic cosmetics and Redoux fragrances.

Look out for a universal pro-retinol product launching later this year. Meanwhile, we still have a soft spot for Balmdotcom and find one in every coat pocket – there are now eight flavours, from rose and cherry to mango (€12). www.Glossier.com