I've already talked about how much I like this Balea Cleansing Oil, but I never wrote a review for it, so here it is. Apparently these are getting discontinued and I'm not sure for how long you'll still be able to find them in stores. If you like it, get it before it's too late.
It comes in a transparent plastic bottle. Pump is purple and produces small amount of product. I usually need about three to four pumps for my entire face and neck. It works great otherwise and doesn't spill any product.
In it is 100 ml of product and it costs 2.79€.
It's a liquid oil that feels very greasy on the skin and it breaks down makeup by massaging it into the skin. I find it pretty thick (but still runny) and you need a lot of it to spread it all over the face. I usually massage it into the skin, especially in between my lashes to break down any traces of makeup and it works great for that. This takes off all the makeup, even waterproof.
Once it gets in contact with water it turns into a white milky formula that slides off your face. You can use it on itself, but I usually remove it with muslin cloth. Afterwards the skin is clear and a bit nourished. It doesn't leave any greasy residue and it doesn't feel dry or tightening either. It didn't break me out either.
This will cause you some blurry vision, if you use it on your eyes.
It shouldn't have any scent, because it's not perfumed. I do smell some natural scent which reminds me of sunflower oil scent.
I decided to compare it with my L'Occitane 5% Shea Cleansing Oil. L'Occitane comes in a 200 ml plastic bottle with larger pump that produces more product than Balea does. It costs 19.30€.
After some inspection of both of these I figured out that they both have similar runny consistency. Balea is in fact thicker oil than L'Occitane, but they're both really runny once you pump it in your hand. L'Occitane has an obvious nutty oriental scent, while Balea technically has none (it does smell like sunflower oil). Balea feels a lot thicker on the skin and greasier. You'll need more than just one pump to spread it all over the face. Actually you'll need about three pumps for the whole face. L'Occitane on the other hand gives you more product with just one pump and because it's a bit more runny it spreads easier, but isn't as greasy so you really need to work it in the skin to break down makeup. Obviously you need to do that with Balea too.
They both break down makeup with ease, dare I say that Balea gets it done a few seconds quicker. They both blur your vision a bit, if it gets into the eyes and they both have slightly nourished feel to it after you take it off. I also took two cotton pads and tested both sides with toner to see if I really got everything off and the result was yes on both sides.
Let's also compare ingredients list.
Balea:
Helianthus Annuus Hybrid Oil | Isopropyl Palmitate | Isopropyl Myristate | PEG-20 Glyceryl Triisostearate | Ethylhexyl Stearate | Tocopherol | Argania Spinosa Kernel Oil
L'Occitane:
Helianthus Annuus (Sunflower) Seed Oil, Isopropyl Isostearate, PEG-40 Sorbitan Peroleate, Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride, Butyrospermum Parkii (Shea) Butter, Adansonia Digitata Seed Oil, Fragrance, Tocopherol.
They both have sunflower seed oil as the main ingredient.That's about how much I know my ingredients.
There's also a huge difference in the price. Balea costs 2.79€ for 100 ml, which means 0.02€ for 1 ml of product. L'Occitane costs 19.30€ for 200 ml, which means 0.09€ for 1 ml. Clearly L'Occitane is more expensive. You have to take into consideration that you need more of Balea product to get everything off, so you'll probably use twice as much of Balea, but it's till cheaper.
If you want something that has a lovely gentle scent, is a bit thinner in consistency and you only need one pump for the whole face, then I would go with L'Occitane. But if you're like me and don't stress too much over the products that just take off your makeup and you want something cheaper, but just as effective without the lovely scent and a bit more greasier formula, then I would go with Balea. Since I don't believe in spending a lot of money on my first cleanse products that just wash away down my drain, I will probably just use Balea, when I am out of L'Occitane one. Yes, I already stock up on it. I have about 4 bottles.
In general I am really impressed by this cleansing oil and am recommending it to everyone who wears a lot of makeup, especially waterproof. This is my go to products for removing stubborn swatches. I use it whenever I wear a full face of makeup. It gets job done in seconds and is so easy to use. I also love that it doesn't strip down my skin or makes it tight and dry. It's effective and cheap, which is all I ask out of a first cleanse product. I usually go in with another cleanser after this to remove any last traces or to just add some more nourishment.
