Farmacy Green Clean Cleansing Balm Review
I've been there, the last thing you want to do after a long day is to go wash off your makeup. But that's where a pleasant skincare experience comes in, gotta treat yo self. I purchased a Farmacy set back during the holidays and absolutely fell in love with the Green Clean Makeup Meltaway Cleansing Balm!
Read on for the full review!
Quick facts:
Makeup Alley Rating: 3.5/5 from 40 reviews
EWG's Skin Deep® Database Rating: EWG Rating of 3 - Data availability limited
Formulation: vegan, cruelty-free, mineral oil-free and gluten-free, paraben free, alcohol and fragrance free
Potential irritants: The cleansing balm’s formulation includes natural oils and scents which may cause skin irritation.
Texture: This sorbet-like balm melts into a silky oil when you massage it in between your hands. When you begin to emulsify a bit with water, it turns into to a milky lather. The texture is light and refreshing.
Price: $44 CAD, $34 USD for the full size
Where to purchase: Sephora, Amazon (both US and Canada), and then Farmacy, Walmart in the States
Scent: A light sweet refreshing blend of citrus and bergamot that does not overpower and dissipates after application.
Packaging: Green Clean Makeup Removing Cleansing Balm comes in a 100% recyclable outer packaging box. The product comes inside a 1/7oz/50 ml or 3.4oz/100ml white jar with a screw top and comes with a small white application spatula. *I got the smaller size for review purposes and that lasted me about two weeks with regular use.
Main pros: It is effective at removing both eye and face makeup and gentle on the skin. The texture is also really nice and doesn't separate (unlike the INKEY List Oat Cleansing Balm).
Main cons: The additional antioxidants/ingredients in this may not make that much of an impact since it gets cleansed off quite quickly. It is a little pricey for a cleansing balm.
About The Farmacy Green Clean Cleansing Balm
The Farmacy brand website notes that this product is a "makeup remover balm and face cleanser in one that instantly melts virtually all makeup, removes impurities and gently cleanses! Leaves skin hydrated and silky smooth. 100% recyclable jar.
92.4% of users felt that Green Clean left their face feeling clean and fresh. 90.9% of users felt Green Clean removed their makeup effectively. 92.4% of users felt Green Clean helped their face feel calm, soothed and comfortable. After just two weeks… 84.8% of users felt the Green Clean product helped improve the overall appearance of their skin. 84.8% of users felt the product improved the texture of their skin."
(One thing to keep in mind with these claims though is: what are the users comparing the cleansing balm to? Another similar cleansing balm or just water or nothing? We don't have a proper control group, there's no links or third party research data to back up these "proven results".)
Farmacy Green Clean Cleansing Balm Ingredients
We will be breaking down some of the key points below, but you can also read our in-depth guide on how to read skincare ingredient labels to see if the formulation would be right for you.
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:
- Sunflower + Ginger Root Oils: Melt even stubborn makeup (including long-wear) without stripping or drying skin.
- Turmeric + Moringa Extract: Help remove impurities, sunscreen residue and effects of pollution.
- Papaya Enzymes: Naturally lifts impurities from pores.
According to INCIDecoder and EWG, the essential oils in the formulation (orange, ylang ylang, lime) can be irritating to some, so that's something to keep in mind.
Many of the key ingredients in the formulation are supposed to work as antioxidants that soothes and brightens the skin. However, since everything still washes off (and I prefer to double cleanse anyway), I haven't seen a ton of those additional benefits come through.
How to use:
- Scoop a generous amount (I'd say quarter sized, don't be too generous) 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 cleanser and tone + moisturize as usual!
Summing up this Farmacy Green Clean Cleansing Balm review
My initial impression was that this balm was so easy to use and I loved the texture. It had a very pleasant light scent and it performed well, removing all of my makeup during the first step of the double cleanse method.
My only gripe was that I used mine up too quickly and it's kind of expensive to repurchase once a month (if you're using it daily). If you're a fan of the brand and want to support vegan, cruelty free though, this is a great cleansing balm to purchase.
Let me know if you end up trying it or if you already love this below! :)