Aldi vs Emma Hardie cleansing balms: Can the supermarket’s £7 dupe rival the original?

This buttery soft balm is one of the most popular cleansing balms on the market, but at nearly £50, it’s definitely an indulgence and one that’s been in our skincare routine for years.

Enriched with moringa seeds, wild sea fennel, vitamin E, orange neroli, jasmine, rose and mandarin, it feels luxurious on the skin while being incredibly effective at dislodging the most stubborn make-up products.

It’s beautifully scented too, feeling like a spa in a jar without being overpowering. We've never found it irritating on our sensitive, acne-prone, oily-combination skin.

The best part of the cleansing balm is how long it lasts – we typically use a 10 pence-sized amount, which is plenty to cover your face and neck for a thorough cleanse.

The extra “tools” that come with skincare products, such as spatulas, are often useless and thrown away, however, with every purchase of an Emma Hardie moringa cleansing balm, you also receive a matching muslin cloth that’s high quality and helps remove the product with ease.

Undeniably inspired by Emma Hardie, this budget balm left us very impressed. It melted down our most stubborn waterproof mascara – the Bobbi Brown no smudge waterproof mascara (£25, Johnlewis.com).

It too contains moringa oil, but with added cocoa butter and shea butter in a 90g tub, so, while you get less product, you’re still saving a hefty £40 for a product with the same principal ingredient.

Aldi’s version has a much oilier texture that’s less solid than Emma Hardie’s offering, and some of the oils do pool at the bottom of the tub.

But with its whipped consistency, we found you need even less to remove a full face of make-up than with the high-end version. We’d recommend using it sparingly.

There’s also an accompanying flannel, which we were pleasantly surprised to find was good quality and effective at sweeping away make-up, SPF, dirt and the balm.