Review: Heimish All Clean Balm

Korean skincare, where have you been all my life? I came across this world of amazing products earlier this year and it’s being wowing me ever since. It seems to me that aside from just creating products with great ingredients in them, they really want you to have a spa-like experience when you are doing your skincare routine. This cleansing balm is no exception.

I came across this product while watching Gothamista’s video on her Korean Skincare Haul & Review. I had been looking for a great cleansing balm since I had read over and over again that balms/oils are much more effective at removing makeup and gentler on your skin than makeup remover wipes. In my Skincare Do’s and Don’t post, I went into why it’s so important to double cleanse your skin to get the most effective results. This cleansing balm would serve as your first step – to remove all makeup/sunscreen/grime from your skin so that your cleanser can effectively clean your skin. In the past I used just a cleanser to remove makeup and clean my face and I was always so dumbfounded when I went in with my toner only to find residue still coming off my skin. This has not happened since I started double cleansing.

So, about the Heimish All Clean Balm. It comes in adorable, tropical packaging and when you screw off the top lid, there is a plastic topper with a spatula that helps you scoop out the product without making too much of a mess. Balms are essentially the solid version of an oil. Now, I’ve read reviews on this product and while it is supposed to be a complete solid, many people have said that upon getting it in the mail, it was more of a solid/liquid mix. Mine came like that too. I suppose in the varying temperatures that it must go through in the process of delivery, the texture must be getting compromised. However, this did not affect the quality of the product for me whatsoever.

To use: I scoop a small amount of the balm with the spatula (a little goes a long way, trust me) and I massage it into my skin with dry hands (your face needs to be dry too!) I love the smell of this, it has a sort of herbal-y scent but nothing too overpowering or artificial. The best thing is that this stuff can remove waterproof mascara with ease and you don’t feel like you are unnecessarily tugging at your skin. After applying onto the skin, wet your hands and go over your entire face (this will cause it to emulsify into a milk) and remove everything with a microfiber towel! This might cause some temporary blurriness in your vision but that will happen with any oil-type product.

In terms of ingredients, this has coconut extract and shea butter to really moisturize your skin and it’s loaded with plenty of natural botanicals to soothe and nourish your face. A kind of weird ingredient in this is donkey milk. Turns out donkey milk it much more vitamin and nutrient dense than cow’s milk. It contains vitamins A, B1, B2, B6, D, and E and is richer in lactose. I mean, if it’s good for my skin, I can get my head around that. Actually, donkeys get a bad rap now that I think of it…

Anyway, I love this stuff. I’m definitely ditching makeup wipes (except for when I’m in a pinch) because literally no residue is left behind, my skin or eyes are never irritated, and it’s great to know I am putting good ingredients on my skin vs. straight up chemicals.

I got it here.

P.S. I like to get my microfiber towels in bulk from here. These are great quality (very soft) and have withstood many washes. I like to wash them with my whites or separately in cold water and then put them on delicate dry for 10-15mins.