Make-up remover or double cleansing balms?
How about a little bit of both?
I bought the IT Cosmetics Bye Bye Makeup cleansing balm back during the middle of the OG lockdown (I wrote about the initial purchase here) and I have finished it, but I’ve also bought 3 more balms to try out?! So here’s a review of them all!
IT Cosmetics Bye Bye Makeup
I did a quick little overview in my initial blog post linked above, but if you don’t want to check that out, I’ll do another one here. Initially, I did like this one. I found that the scent was really nice and it does work. I had no issues with it. I enjoy the fact that application happens on a dry face and that the product goes from a solid to an “oil” once it’s warmed on the skin.
I found that it worked at removing the majority of makeup brands (that I’ve been using and trying) with minimal fuss and I didn’t have to rub excessively hard on my eyes. The only one that it didn’t work great on is the eyeliner and mascara from Shein (that’s under $5 CDN). It didn’t really remove the mascara that well and I had to tug at my eye to remove the liner. But that stuff is legitimately hard to take off, so I don’t hold that against it too much.
Heimish All Clean Balm
This is the balm I’m currently using and am truly enjoying. I don’t notice any smell with it and I enjoy using the little spatula to take the product out. It melts quickly and easily and makes my skin feel really soft. It removes all makeup (even that tough eyeliner) and it makes for a nice way to end the day. Even if I’m not wearing any makeup I still enjoy doing the double cleanse with this balm. It doesn’t irritate my skin and washes away cleanly without any residue.
I love the packaging. The little flip-top makes it extremely easy to access the spatula.
It’s not extremely pricey either so that makes it more tempting as a repurchase. This one I ordered through Sukoshimart, but it’s also available on Amazon. On Sukoshimart, they also offer 2 sizes.
Farmacy Green Clean balm
I wanted to like this one. I feel like I’ve been eyeing Farmacy products for so long but I just didn’t like it. I found the balm to be a little chunky and didn’t “melt” easily. It worked for removal but wasn’t anything special to shout about. I didn’t really like the smell of the product (probably the papaya scent) and just wasn’t overall impressed.
It probably didn’t help that I do think that my skin was low-key irritated by it and definitely with other products that I used by them. Unfortunately, this would be a big miss for me.
The Ordinary Squalane Cleanser
This one isn’t marketed as a balm but since it’s a cleanser that goes on dry skin and becomes more creamy, I figured it would work here. This one also isn’t a huge favourite of mine, and I’m usually a huge fan of The Ordinary. I think I’m just not a huge fan of the squalane ingredient. I have another squalane cleanser by another brand and it’s just alright as well.
I find this one doesn’t really leave my skin feeling cleansed and does require a double-cleansing. It does remove makeup though and it is gentle and non-irritating which is a plus.
Final Thoughts
Overall, I think the Heimish one is my biggest winner. Especially when it comes to the price point in comparison to the Bye Bye Makeup. Heimish comes in at $24.75 for 120mL compared to $50 for 83mL.
Of course, that literally means nothing to me because while I would repurchase the Heimish one, I’m most likely going to try other brands balms before I do a repurchase.
Which balms do you like? Have you tried any, or have any others to recommend? Let me know!
J x
