Beauty of Joseon Cleansing Balm Review [Updated]
If you're looking for a super simple yet effective makeup cleansing balm, this might be for you! No spoilers here, read on for the full Beauty of Joseon Cleansing Balm review!
Quick facts:
Formulation: cruelty-free, vegan and does not contain polyethylene, sulfates, artificial colorants, beeswax, fragrances, or essential oils (old formula had beeswax and fragrance I believe)
Potential irritants: no common irritants are found in the ingredient list, but if you're gluten-sensitive, note that this contains rice bran oil, rice seed water, rice extract and oatmeal extract (these would be soothing ingredients if you're not gluten-sensitive).
Texture: The texture of this balm is initially a bit on the harder side but melts easily into a silky oil when you massage it in between your hands. When you begin to emulsify it on your face with a bit with water, it turns into to a milky lather. The texture is light and non-greasy.
Price: Around $17 USD
Where to Buy: Amazon, or I purchased mine from StyleVana (a littler cheaper than Amazon but you also have to consider shipping)
Scent: Made without fragrances/oils - the mild scent that comes from this cleansing balm is natural with a slightly sweet fresh and clean smell (probably derived from it’s mix of rice/oat oils)
Packaging: The product is in a round white jar. When you open it up, there’s an internal cap that holds a small spatula for scooping. You'll need to twist off the cap to remove the internal cap first.
Main pros: It is effective at removing both eye and face makeup and gentle on the skin. The texture is also really nice and massages well over the skin (you know how some oils/balms are so heavy and almost drags around? Well, this doesn't do that)
Main cons: Not really any cons, this works well and feels great on the skin! Just be sure to double cleanse.
Verdict: 9/10. I really really enjoyed using this cleansing balm and highly recommend it!
Is Beauty of Joseon a good brand?
About the Beauty of Joseon brand, their ingredients are inspired by the beauty routines of the Joseon Dynasty, who focused on inner beauty rather than outer beauty. They have a products inspired by natural, traditional herbal ingredients. I have heard that the BOJ brand specifically markets to westerners and isn't as popular in korea, but the quality is pretty good! You have to read my findings about the ingredients for this cleansing balm below.
The Beauty of Joseon cleansing balm is a very soft, balm type cleansing balm that gently melts away makeup, excess sebum and skin impurities. It's free of polyethylene, sulfate, fragrance, artificial colorant, beezwax and essential oil.
Beauty of Joseon Cleansing Balm Ingredients
I'm a huge fan of cleansing balms as a part of my double cleansing routine and so naturally, I've tried quite a few out there. I've recently reviewed the Farmacy Green Clean Cleansing Balm and was happily surprised to find that the Beauty of Joseon one had the same first 3-4 ingredients (the base and texture are similar).
More over, it also has less ingredients in general, which means it'll be less likely to be sensitizing (since the Farmacy one contains citrus extracts). More info on how to read ingredient labels here!
Here's Beauty of Joseon's Cleasing Balm ingredient list:
Cetyl Ethylhexanoate, Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride, PEG-20 Glyceryl Triisostearate, Synthetic Wax, PEG-10 Isostearate, Lactobacillus/Soybean Ferment Extract, Hippophae Rhamnoides Oil, Oryza Sativa (Rice) Bran Oil, Oryza Sativa (Rice) Seed Water, Avena Sativa (Oat) Meal Extract, Coix Lacryma-Jobi Ma-yuen Seed Extract, Oryza Sativa (Rice) Extract, Water, Sorbitan Sesquioleate, Glycerin, Propanediol, Butylene Glycol, 1,2-Hexanediol, Caprylyl Glycol, Ethylhexylglycerin beautyofjoseon.com
vs Farmacy Green Clean Makeup Removing Cleansing Balm's ingredient list:
Cetyl Ethylhexanoate Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride Peg-20 Glyceryl Triisostearate Peg-10 Isostearate Polyethylene Echinacea Purpurea Root Extract Carica Papaya (Papaya) Fruit Extract Moringa Pterygosperma Seed Extract Moringa Oleifera Seed Oil Zingiber Officinale (Ginger) Root Oil Helianthus Annuus (Sunflower) Seed Oil Sorbitan Sesquioleate Citrus Aurantifolia (Lime) Oil Citrus Aurantium Bergamia (Bergamot) Fruit Oil Glycerin Melia Azadirachta Leaf Extract Melia Azadirachta Flower Extract Corallina Officinalis Extract Citrus Aurantium Dulcis (Orange) Peel Oil Amber Powder Cananga Odorata Flower Oil Coccinia Indica Fruit Extract Solanum Melongena (Eggplant) Fruit Extract Curcuma Longa (Turmeric) Root Extract Ocimum Sanctum Leaf Extract Water/Aqua/Eau Butylene Glycol Disodium Phosphate Citric Acid Phenoxyethanol Citral Limonene Linalool farmacybeauty.com
Key ingredients:
- Rice Bran Oil
- Rice Seed Water
- Rice Extract
- Oatmeal Extract
The key ingredients are meant to help your skin combat collagen-damaging free radicals, are part of an important group of anti-aging ingredients and reduce inflammation while soothing the skin. They're claimed to have anti-inflamatory properties, etc. and is beneficial for those with dry/sensitive skin
*I don't feel that the 'key ingredients' in here will have a significant impact on your skin in terms of benefits, especially if you're following up with a second water-soluble cleanser, however, the rice and oatmeal ingredients feel soothing and gentle on the skin.
How do you use the Beauty of Joseon Cleansing Balm?
- Scoop a generous amount and warm in palm of hands. Apply to dry skin.
- Use your fingertips to massage into skin with gentle upward and outward circular motions, focusing on areas that need more attention (I find that it breaks down my waterproof eye makeup OK).
- Emulsify with a bit of warm water, then rinse.
- Can be used as step 1 of a double cleanse, so finish off with your secondary water soluble/gentle cleanser and tone + moisturize as usual!
Summing up this Beauty of Joseon Cleansing Balm review
This Beauty of Joseon Cleansing Balm was so easy to use and had a great texture and mild scent. It performed well, removing all of my makeup during the first step of the double cleanse method, and I think it makes for a better Farmacy Green Clean dupe as I mentioned above!
When I run out I might either repurchase this or the Heimish All Clean Balm (I used to love that one as well).
Let me know what you think and if you've enjoyed this review be sure to check out my all time favourites list! :)
*This post contains affiliate links but all opinions are my own and products are purchased myself.