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Hi Everyone!

Today, I’m comparing the eight cleansing balms I’ve tried so far. I have tried two others, but they are no longer available.

Previous posts on cleansing balms:

This or That | Banila Co vs Heimish

This or That | Clinique vs Pixi (no longer available)

Glow Recipe

These are the cleansing balms I will be comparing (in alphabetical order):

Banila Co. Clean It Zero Cleansing Balm (Original)
belif Aqua Bomb Makeup Removing Cleansing Balm*
Clinique Take the Day Off Cleansing Balm
Glow Recipe Papaya Sorbet Smoothing Enzyme Cleansing Balm
Heimish All Clean Balm
The Inkey List Oat Cleansing Balm*
Juno & Co (Juno Skin) Clean 10 Cleansing Balm*
Youth to the People Superberry Dream Cleansing Balm*

Ingredients for the cleansing balms:

Banila Co. Clean It Zero Cleansing Balm (Original)

Ethylhexyl Palmitate, Cetyl Ethylhexanoate, PEG-20 Glyceryl Triisostearate, PEG-10 Isostearate, Synthetic Wax, Onsen-Sui, Phenoxyethanol, Butylene Glycol, Lithospermum Erythrorhizon Root Extract, Tocopheryl Acetate, Fragrance, Ethylhexylglycerin, Water, 1,2-Hexanediol, Bambusa Vulgaris Leaf/Stem Extract, Aspalathus Linearis Extract, Angelica Archangelica Root Extract, Malpighia Glabra (Acerola) Fruit Extract, Polydiethyleneglycol Adipate/IPDI Copolymer, Acrylates/Ammonium Methacrylate Copolymer, Acrylates/Methoxy PEG-15 Methacrylate Copolymer

belif Aqua Bomb Makeup Removing Cleansing Balm*

Cetyl Ethylhexanoate, Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride, Peg-20 Glyceryl Triisostearate, Peg-10 Isostearate, Polyethylene, Sorbitan Sesquioleate, Water, Butylene Glycol, Citrus Limon (Lemon) Peel Oil, Citrus Aurantium Dulcis (Orange) Oil, Caprylyl Glycol, Citrus Aurantium Bergamia (Bergamot) Fruit Oil, Citrus Aurantium Dulcis (Orange) Peel Oil, Juniperus Mexicana Oil, Lavandula Hybrida Oil, Mentha Arvensis Leaf Oil, Mentha Viridis (Spearmint) Leaf Oil, Myristica Fragrans (Nutmeg) Extract, Citrus Aurantifolia (Lime) Oil, Melia Azadirachta Leaf Extract, Melia Azadirachta Flower Extract, Coccinia Indica Fruit Extract, Aloe Barbadensis Flower Extract, Solanum Melongena (Eggplant) Fruit Extract, Simmondsia Chinensis (Jojoba) Seed Oil, Corallina Officinalis Extract, Curcuma Longa (Turmeric) Root Extract, Ocimum Sanctum Leaf Extract, Methylpropanediol, Althaea Officinalis Root Extract, 1,2-Hexanediol, Stellaria Media (Chickweed) Extract, Alchemilla Vulgaris Leaf Extract, Equisetum Arvense Leaf Extract, Urtica Dioica (Nettle) Leaf Extract, Avena Sativa (Oat) Kernel Extract, Calendula Officinalis Flower Extract, Nepeta Cataria Extract, Rubus Idaeus (Raspberry) Leaf Extract, Baptisia Tinctoria Root Extract, Nelumbo Nucifera Flower Extract

Clinique Take the Day Off Cleansing Balm

Ethylhexyl Palmitate, Carthamus Tinctorius (Safflower) Seed Oil, Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride, Sorbeth-30 Tetraoleate, Polyethylene, Peg-5 Glyceryl Triisostearate, Water, Tocopherol, Phenoxyethanol

Glow Recipe Papaya Sorbet Smoothing Enzyme Cleansing Balm

Cetyl Ethylhexanoate, Sorbitan Oleate, Prunus Armeniaca (Apricot) Kernel Oil, Polyethylene, Aqua/Water/Eau, Camellia Japonica Seed Oil, Carica Papaya (Papaya) Seed Oil, Carica Papaya (Papaya) Fruit Extract, Papain, Vaccinium Angustifolium (Blueberry) Fruit Extract, Fragaria Ananassa (Strawberry) Fruit Extract, Alkanna Tinctoria Root Extract, Capsicum Annuum Fruit Extract, Maltodextrin, Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride, Levulinic Acid, Pentylene Glycol, Sodium Metabisulfite

Heimish All Clean Balm

Ethylhexyl Palmitate, Cetyl Ethylhexanoate, PEG-20 Glyceryl Triisostearate, Polyethylene, PEG-8 Isostearate, 1,2-Hexanediol, Butyrospermum Parkii (Shea) Butter, Tocopheryl Acetate, Citrus Aurantium Dulcis (Orange) Peel Oil, Lavandula Angustifolia (Lavender) Oil, Pelargonium Graveolens Flower Oil, Amyris Balsamifera Bark Oil, Eucalyptus Globulus Leaf Oil, Melaleuca Alternifolia (Tea Tree) Leaf Oil, Citrus Paradisi (Grapefruit) Peel Oil, Citrus Aurantium Bergamia (Bergamot) Fruit Oil, Boswellia Carterii Oil, Juniperus Mexicana Oil, Water, Cocos Nucifera (Coconut) Fruit Extract, Butylene Glycol, Citrus Aurantifolia (Lime) Fruit Extract, Citric Acid, Phenoxyethanol, Nelumbium Speciosum Flower Extract, Freesia Refracta Extract, Rose Extract, Leontopodium Alpinum Extract, Jasminum Officinale (Jasmine) Extract, Narcissus Pseudo-Narcissus (Daffodil) Flower Extract, Lilium Tigrinum Extract, Iris Versicolor Extract, Ethylhexylglycerin, Limonene, Citral, Linalool

The Inkey List Oat Cleansing Balm*

Prunus Amygdalus Dulcis (Sweet Almond) Oil, Cetearyl Alcohol, PEG-6 Caprylic/Capric Glycerides, Avena Sativa (Oat) Kernel Oil, Candelilla Cera (Cire de candelilla), Silica, Sorbitan Stearate, Tribehenin, PEG-60 Almond Glycerides, Avena Sativa (Oat) Kernel Flour, Aqua (Water/Eau), Benzyl Alcohol, Phenoxyethanol, Lecithin, 1,2-Hexanediol, Ascorbyl Palmitate, Tocopherol, Biosaccharide Gum-4, Helianthus Annuus (Sunflower) Seed Oil

Juno & Co (Juno Skin) Clean 10 Cleansing Balm*

Ethylhexyl Palmitate, Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride, Peg-20 Glyceryl Triisostearate, Synthetic Wax
Polysorbate 85, Fermented Japanese Pearl Barley (Saccharomyces/Coix Lacryma-Jobi Ma-Yuen Seed Ferment Filtrate), Citrus Aurantium Dulcis (Orange) Peel Oil, Vitamin E (Tocopheryl Acetate), Water, Butylene Glycol

Youth to the People Superberry Dream Cleansing Balm*

Helianthus Annuus (Sunflower) Seed Oil, Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride, Oryza Sativa (Rice) Bran Wax, Polyglyceryl-2 Sesquicaprylate, Polyglyceryl-6 Distearate, Water/Aqua/Eau, Polyhydroxystearic Acid, Simmondsia Chinensis (Jojoba) Seed Oil, Moringa Oleifera Seed Oil, Sorbitan Olivate, Hydrolyzed Sodium Hyaluronate, Sodium Hyaluronate, Opuntia Ficus-Indica (Prickly Pear) Stem Extract*, Aristotelia Chilensis (Maqui Berry) Fruit Extract, Euterpe Oleracea (Acai) Fruit Extract, Lycium Barbarum (Goji Berry) Fruit Extract, Moringa Oleifera (Moringa) Leaf Extract, Opuntia Tuna (Prickly Pear) Flower/Stem Extract, Melia Azadirachta Flower (Neem) Extract, Melia Azadirachta Leaf Extract, Ocimum Sanctum Leaf Extract, Curcuma Longa (Turmeric) Root Extract, Ocimum Basilicum (Holy Basil) Flower/Leaf Extract, Corallina Officinalis (Red Algae) Extract, Ricinus Communis (Castor) Seed Oil, Hydrogenated Castor Oil, Tocopherol, Sodium Laurylglucosides Hydroxypropylsulfonate, Caprylyl Glycol, Sodium Chloride, Ethylhexylglycerin, Phenoxyethanol, Hexylene Glycol, Fragrance/Parfum, Limonene. *Certified Organic Ingredient

For me, they all performed about the same. I don’t wear waterproof mascara or eyeliner, so I can’t say how well these cleansing balms work for those. I cleanse with a regular cleanser after using the cleansing balms, so I don’t mind if there’s a film from the cleansing balm.

Texture

Youth to the People (YTTP)’s cleanser is the most crumbly and it’s not as emollient as the others. Due to the texture being more crumbly, it didn’t remove my makeup as well. I had to work it in longer than the others. The Inkey List one comes in a tube, so it’s a more runny texture. I have to make sure to massage the tube first before squeezing any out. I was sent the Juno & Co cleansing balm and it came melted . They sent me a new one, but I’m worried about how easily it melted.

Comparing the textures to food: The YTTP one is like mashed potatoes (with nothing added in). The melted Juno & Co one was like melted butter that had cooled down a bit (still runny, but not completely liquid). The new tub I was sent still wasn’t as solid as the other ones.

Packaging

The K-beauty cleansing balms come with spatulas, while most of the others don’t come with one. Glow Recipe wins for best packaging since it comes in a glass jar that closes nicely. I wish the spatula could fit inside the jar, but I understand why they have a larger one since the jar is quite deep. I keep all of my spatulas in a little glass container, but it’d be nice to have it in the jar if you travel. The Youth to the People one also comes in a glass jar, but when I unscrew the lid, it doesn’t feel as smooth as the Glow Recipe. The Clinique, Heimish and Banila Co. cleansing balms come in sturdy, plastic containers. When you open the lids of the Heimish and Banila Co balms, there is a spatula inside. The Juno & Co one is a cheaper container that I sometimes have trouble closing if the inner lid isn’t perfectly aligned. The Inkey List one comes in a tube. This is my least favourite packaging since the cleansing balm is already more emollient than the others. I would not travel with the Inkey List or Juno & Co ones. A few times, I’ve had to wash off both of them because the products got onto the packaging.

Cost

In the table below, I’ve calculated the cost per mL for the cleansing balms I’ve tried. I also added others that are available on Sephora and K-beauty ones I want to try.

	Price (CAD)	Size	Cost per mL	Packaging
Banila Co. Clean It Zero Cleansing Balm (Original) - 100mL	25	100mL	0.25	plastic with spatula
Banila Co. Clean It Zero Cleansing Balm (Original) - 180mL	37	180mL	0.206	plastic with spatula
Beauty of Joseon Radiance Cleansing Balm	24	100mL	0.24	plastic with spatula
belif Aqua Bomb Cleansing Balm	48	100mL	0.48	plastic with spatula
Clinique Take the Day Off Cleansing Balm (mini)	17	30mL	0.567	plastic, no spatula
Clinique Take the Day Off Cleansing Balm	47	125mL	0.376	plastic, no spatula
Clinique Take the Day Off Cleansing Balm (value)	62	200mL	0.31	plastic, no spatula
Drunk Elephant Slaai Makeup-Melting Butter Cleanser	45	110g (110mL)	0.409	plastic with spatula
Farmacy Clearly Clean Makeup Meltaway Cleansing Balm (mini)	30	50mL	0.6	plastic, mini probably doesn't come with a spatula
Farmacy Clearly Clean Makeup Meltaway Cleansing Balm	46	100mL	0.46	plastic with spatula
Farmacy Green Clean Makeup Removing Cleansing Balm (mini)	30	50mL	0.6	plastic, mini probably doesn't come with a spatula
Farmacy Green Clean Makeup Removing Cleansing Balm	46	100mL	0.46	plastic with spatula
Glow Recipe Papaya Sorbet Smoothing Enzyme Cleansing Balm	42	100mL	0.42	glass jar with spatula
Heimish All Clean Balm	25	120mL	0.208	plastic with spatula
I'm From Fig Cleansing Balm	40	100mL	0.40	plastic with spatula
The Inkey List Oat Cleansing Balm (mini)	5.69	50mL	0.114	squeeze tube
The Inkey List Oat Cleansing Balm	13.99	150mL	0.093	squeeze tube
Juno & Co (Juno Skin) Clean 10 Cleansing Balm	21	85g (85mL)	0.247	plastic with spatula
Youth to the People Superberry Dream Cleansing Balm	45	100mL	0.45	glass jar, no spatula

Looking at the cost per mL, I was surprised which ones were more expensive. The Drunk Elephant one actually isn’t the most expensive one on the list.

The Clinique one was the first one I tried. I finished it before trying other ones, so I wasn’t able to compare them side by side. I liked it a lot because it doesn’t have a scent and I don’t remember it having a filmy feeling after using it. I will buy it again once I’ve finished my current ones and update this post with a final verdict. For now, I will exclude it from the ranking. My favourite is the Glow Recipe Papaya Sorbet Smoothing Enzyme Cleansing Balm. It is on the more expensive end, so for the lower range, I would pick the Heimish All Clean Balm. It doesn’t have any added fragrances and you get more in the tub (120mL vs 100mL for most of the other brands).

Have you tried these cleansing balms? Which is your fave?

Love,

Products marked with * were sent to me for review.

Hi Everyone!

Sorry I haven’t been posting very much in the last month, but we were preparing for our trip to Mauritius where my sister tied the knot at the Hotel Sofitel Mauritius L’Impérial Resort & Spa! My parents and I didn’t stay for very long in Mauritius, but the beaches were absolutely beautiful! As Canadians, we definitely weren’t used to the heat especially since it is summer in Mauritius- even their winter time is warmer than Canadian summers, so you can imagine how hot it was for us. Thus, the reason for our short stay of one week (technically, it was 5 days when you take into account the two full days of travelling there and back).

The Sofitel was paradise, as soon as we walked in, we were blown away (see photos below). They definitely made the right choice in picking the Sofitel for their beach wedding. Especially since they basically chose the venue based on pictures. You know how you look at pictures and then you go somewhere and it’s not what you imagined (in a bad way)? Well, the Sofitel’s pictures did not do it justice; it was even more beautiful in person than the pictures.

For the first half of our trip, we stayed at Le Méridien Ile Maurice (pictures below), which was beautiful as well, but obviously not as breathtaking as the Sofitel (since Le Méridien is a 4-star hotel and Sofitel a 5-star). Regardless, the view of the water was equally breathtaking at both resorts. Each day, we got a buffet breakfast, the danishes and croissants were to die for, as well as the salted butter from Australia. For the three days we had breakfast at Le Méridien, I had the potatoes (which they served differently each day- potato wedges, fried potatoes with onions, sliced potatoes with chives). My parents said that the banana croissants were also tasty. At breakfast, they served oatmeal, omelettes, pancake crepes, congee, fruit, etc. One day, they even served noodles with meatballs (I’m not used to eating breakfast so that was way too heavy for me at 8 in the morning). We decided not to get dinner each night since we didn’t know if we’d be eating out or not. I would highly suggest getting breakfast and dinner included because the buffet was very expensive at dinner time. Since you probably want to be back at your resort before dark, you’ll be back in time for dinner anyway.

It gets very dark in Mauritius- it started getting dark around 7pm and our resort was pitch black by 8pm. Their streets are very different from Canada and they don’t have street lamps, so the only source of light is coming from the car. I’d say it’s best to be back by your resort earlier than later if you have rented your own car.

I didn’t get to tan very much because we arrived a few days before the wedding and I didn’t want to get a sunburn. The day after the wedding, we went on the beach, but it started to get a bit cloudy by the afternoon. I may have gotten a slight tan, but it’s not super noticeable, the most tanned parts of my body are my feet. Don’t forget to slather than sunblock on! I used SPF 110 and SPF 60 (face). Also, make sure to bring insect spray especially if you’re going to the botanical gardens or seven coloured sands! In the travel guide, it says that insect spray is expensive there, so make sure you pack some in your suitcase! We didn’t buy a lot of souvenirs, but I brought back about 10 bug bites (all on my legs).

We heard that the lychee jam was delicious, but didn’t have time to try it in Mauritius, so we bought some at the airport and have yet to sample it.

I’m still recovering from the time change, so I will slowly be uploading some pictures and writing more posts on the wedding and our trip, so stay tuned for more!