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I started using Neutrogena’s Oil Free Acne Wash ($4.79) in high school when my mom — who worked as an esthetician — told me to. I’ve been using it happily for over a decade, because that’s just how much I trust my mom’s wisdom. I impressed the virtues of the face wash on my coworkers, and even got my girlfriend using it on an almost-exclusive basis. I was a freakin’ Oil Free Acne Wash evangelist until a recent Come-to-Jesus moment: when I got the Malin + Goetz Grapefruit Face Cleanser ($34) in a gift bag.
I didn’t head home that night with the intention of having my world upended, but I can’t look at that bottle of orange Neutrogena goop without seeing an old, worse version of myself. One who doesn’t even spend more than $5 on face wash — who was that man?!
This cleanser only has a teeny bit of grapefruit extract in it, but it’s enough to get that beautifully acidic scent; I haven’t ever enjoyed washing my face until now. It leaves my skin feeling fresh and healthy — like someone who’s actually eaten a grapefruit; unlike me, a person who exclusively tosses garbage down the hole in my face.
To recap: Malin + Goetz Grapefruit Face Cleanser, 10/10. Grapefruit, the fruit, TBD.