AOA STUDIO Green Tea & Vitamin E Cleansing Balm, K-Beauty, 3.38 Fl Oz

This review is gonna be a long one so strap in! So I have been an esthetician for almost five years now and even before I became one I was obviously very into skincare; so I have tried my fair share of cleansing balms. From Banilla Co, Heimish & Beauty of Joseon to Clinique and Farmacy (to name a few) I have tried cleansing balms from several different countries and I must say I am definitely a snob when it comes to cleansing balms. Here are my basic cleansing balm standards: • Must be able to wash off without residue & without the aid of a washcloth ✔️ • Must remove ALL makeup (absolutely no tolerance for raccoon eyes even with the most stubborn waterproof mascara) ✔️ • Must come with a spatula to maintain cleanliness (not a deal breaker, but bonus if there is separation between the balm and spatula; which this balm does have) ✔️ • Leave little residue in the eyes. I shouldn’t have to blink through oily, blurry eyes for the rest of the night. ✔️ • No perfumy smells or added fragrance. This product has a natural earthy smell. ✔️ Now obviously the ingredients matter as well so let’s go through a couple: •Ethylexyl Palminate: a typical ingredient in a cleansing balm. This is what turns the oil into a milky substance when water is added that allows the balm to leave no residue behind once washed of. This ingredient is known to be pore clogging, but because it is a first cleanse and we should be using another cleanser to follow it, I have never been overly concerned with this ingredient. I have extremely acne-prone skin and this ingredient in cleansing balms has never broken me or my clients out. • Rapeseed oil, Tocopheryl acetate (Vitamin E), Ivy Guord, Green Tea, Eggplant, Holy Basil, Turmeric, & Moringa Seed Oil: Can you believe I left some ingredients out of this category to make it smaller? These are all varying ingredients that accomplish similar goals: skin condition agents and antioxidant support. Holy basil is also known to have a skin tightening and firming effect. Along with this many of these ingredients help to calm the skin. • Amber Powder: not an ingredient I see very often, but amber is finely ground to create an extremely gentle physical exfoliation. • Lavender & Grapefruit Peel Oil: These are the only two ingredients that MAY cause problems for some people. Keep in mind the grapefruit is the very last ingredient making it almost negligible. But some people who are sensitive may have issues from the lavender. I personally have quite sensitive skin, but have never had issues with essential oils and this balm is no different. • They also put the pH on the packaging. Major bonus points for that. Overall this balm hits all of the marks for a great cleansing balm and at an insanely low price. The ingredient deck blew me away and the product feels amazing on the skin. It is just as good as Korean cleansing balms and at a price most can afford. It washes off with ease, removes all makeup, and doesn’t leave a residue behind. This product is not just “good for the price”; it’s amazing in its own right and the price is just a bonus! Thank you AOA for keeping your prices low all these years. Back in the day I was buying AOA makeup off of ShopMissA and so I can’t say I’m surprised that they’ve done it again with a hit product. The only people I would caution are those with overly sensitive skin and potentially those with a compromised barrier from the lavender, but most will have no issues. I will definitely continue using and recommending this product!!

This product smells amazing and is not irritating to me (I have super sensitive skin). Removes makeup well and has a lovely smooth texture. It’s a great price too! Much better than some more expensive balms I’ve tried.

I LOVE this product. I just tried it for the first time when I got home from work to take my makeup off. I used just a tiny bit with the provided scoop, rubbed it between my fingers a little, applied it in round circles all over my face and every bit of my makeup came right off!!! That has never happened with a cotton round and oily makeup remover I’ve been using. I always had leftover mascara flakes, and getting that oil out of my eyes was horrible. This melting stuff leaves no oily residue and I didn’t even have to use a moisturizer afterward!! Amazing. This is what I will use from now on!!! It smells very clean with a slight tea tree fragrance. I love it.

I’m 52 with a large pore/oily T-zone and occasional cheek dryness. I had been using Farmacy brand make up removing balm & loved it BUT the cost is a little much. I figured I would try a similar, nicely priced, alternative. This is smooth; easy to use; removes most all make up (I don’t use eye make up so I don’t know how it does at removing that), and has a very mild clean scent. I’ve encountered zero issues with skin irritation and isn’t too greasy. I do take extra care to rinse my T-zone more thoroughly due to the oil. I would not recommend it to those with all over oily skin or acne prone.

Gave this a shot since the price is so reasonable and I love it. I still have to use a cotton pad to remove lash glue, but that's not the products fault. I use it even when I'm not wearing makeup to help with skin texture.

Love this stuff so much! Love the smell and the formula. it worked great, its got a nice feel taking off the makeup and washes off so gentle. Didn't make me break out

I love this cleansing balm, the smell and texture. And it really does remove waterproof mascara.

I genuinely love this balm and have not a single bad thing to say about it! It glides on the face smoothly, feels amazing on the skin, smells fantastic, emulsifies great and removes every bit of makeup on my face! I do follow up with my favorite water based cleanser to make sure everything is off! Yes it can get in your eyes and make them cloudy BUT it doesn't sting at all and after blinking a few times it goes away pretty fast. UPDATE 10/8: Unfortunately, I need to drop my rating. I've been having the worst breakouts of my life and it was either caused this or another new cleanser I started around the same time. I stopped the cleanser weeks ago and the acne was still persistent and even worsening. Once I stopped using this and switched back to my old cleanser (Ponds and/or Micellar water) the acne finally started to resolve but I'm still dealing with the post-acne healing process and my skin just looks awful. Very sad because I wanted to love this but I think my skin just cannot handle the ingredients.