I’ve been using the Erborian Solid Cleansing Oil for a couple of months. I have lots of thoughts about it. Erborian as a fusion brand. It has it’s roots in Korea has a western (French) aesthetic and is owned by L’Oreal. The L’Oreal factor for me as a consumer is both positive and negative. L’Oreal with it’s global reach enables me to access South Korean beauty trends on my highstreet… well department store.
In The Jar
The texture of this balm reminds me of one of the first cleansing balms I every reviewed on the blog, the rIA Tokyo Warming Cleansing Balm. This is a gel texture balm like the Bobbi Brown Extra Balm Rinse. The texture is completely different from the Jane Scrivner balm which is lots of oils and butters blended together. The balm is sunflower oil based with coconut oil, sweet almond oil and shea butter. The minty green colour reinforces the added cucumber fragrance and is amplified by the green tub.
There are some actives that are more commonly found in Korean skincare products. Japanese knotweed – the scurge of householders up and down the country is said to relieve pain and treat scrapes. I’m confused as to why you would want to treat scrapes in a cleanser which is rinsed off. Wouldn’t you want to treat a scrape with a balm that you are leaving on the skin?
Green Tea is included in the balm to prevent UVB damage and again I am not convinced of it efficacy in a wash off product. It is no surprise that there is a focus on skin lightening (it is a continuing trend in East Asia) with skullcap (scutellaria baicalensis) and licorice. Thankfully there is rosemary and tiger grass and chamomille for anti-inflammatory and soothing properties.
On The Skin
You don’t need to warm it up on the skin. It emulsifies makeup quickly which is a bonus. The gel texture means that if you use it to remove your eye makeup you wont get it in your eye as can happen with oily balms. In addition, this Solid Cleansing Oil changes from solid to liquid with the addition of water thanks to the surfactants in the product.
The Erborian Solid Cleansing Oil does a solid job (geddit!) of cleansing the skin. I am not inclined to do extended facial massage with this product. It is a good morning cleanser for me as I can use it at the sink or in the shower. It cleans the skin well and does not leave a residue or immediate tautness on the skin. I find however that I need to get some hydration on the skin within a couple of minutes. After a couple of months of use, I did not observe any skin lightening properties from this cleanser. It removes makeup but I did not find that it made a signficant improvement to my skin a I have seen with other cleansers I have used.
At £29 this cleanser is not exactly cheap. For the same amount of money I would prefer a product that has a greater focus on hydrating and nourishing the skin. The Solid Cleansing Oi does not have an aromatherapeutic essential oil blend. Added to the lack of oily balm texture, it does not make my must have list.
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