About time Estée Lauder expanded the Advanced Night Repair range and gave us something new to be excited about. New launches include Advanced Night Repair Concentrated Recovery PowerFoil Mask (yet to try) and Advanced Night Micro Cleansing Balm. It’s an established fact, I have a weakness for cleansers. Plus I’ve used and loved the serum (repurchased multiple times) for years now, so based on the experience of the serum I didn’t hesitate on giving this balm a try.
Claims: Micro-Purifying, Micro-revitalizing. This lightweight balm melts into a silky cleansing oil as you massage over skin, then transforms with water into a milky emulsion that rinses easily for a clean, conditioned feel. Removes makeup and impurities, including pollution, as it purifies deep within skin’s surface to improve your overall healthy look.
When to use: Estée Lauder specifically say Use at night, then follow with Advanced Night Repair skincare to create a revitalizing nightime ritual for healthier, younger-looking skin.
Ingredient Listing: Ethylhexyl Palmitate (derivative of palm oil, provides dry slip factor), Carthamus Tinctorus (Safflower) Seed Oil, Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride, Sorbeth 30 Tetraoleate (fatty acid), Polyethylene, PEG-5 Glyceryl Triisostearate (emollient, emulsifier), Water\Aqua\Eau, Silybum Marianum (Lady’s Thistle) Extract, Polygonum Cuspidatum Root Extract (Japanese Knotweed), Algae Extract, Anthemis Nobilis (Chamomile), Lavendula Angustifolia (Lavender), Methyldihydrojasmonate, Tocopherol, BHT, Linalool, Phenoxyethanol (preservative)
One ingredient may stand out for wrong reasons, Polyethylene – which may cause skin irritation. Green/Natural/Organic Beauty People, this formulation is “Toxic” for you!
Similar ingredient listing and formulation (consistency and feel) to Clinique Take the Day off Cleansing balm. After all, Clinique falls under the Estée Lauder umbrella! However with the addition of some lovely extracts Lady’s Thistle, Algae, Chamomile, Lavender it brings it in line with the Advanced Night Repair range.
This may not be considered a typical cleansing balm ingredient listing with typical carrier oils and essential oils. However this is very typical of an East Asian cleansing balm like RMK Cleansing Balm, Su:m 37 Skin Saver Melting Cleansing Balm or Banilla Co. which have similar ingredients, texture and consistency in their cleansing balms.
Packaging: Housed in a plain plastic tub with classic gold lining twist open lid. Light enough to carry for travel (70ml – $40).
Texture & Consistency: The balm needs a little bit work of digging in unlike our beloved Emma Hardie Moringa Cleansing Balm. It’s a proper solidified balm (think Clinique Take the Day off). It would have been nice touch, if Estée Lauder actually provided a spatula to dig in (like the Asian brands do with the solidified cleansing balms).
Scent: Faint scent of Advanced Night Repair serum. Actually let me add, very very faint almost to nothing if you don’t have a nose of sniffer dog.
Performance: Once on the finger and face, immediately melts to an oil, melting makeup and providing good grip for an extended massage. Whilst this removes makeup just fine, it stung my eye like a MOFO! My fault I got carried away and lets be honest I should have known better. So next time I removed makeup little bit cautiously around eye, continued cleansing and everything came off just fine. It can be used as makeup remover, second cleanse or morning cleanse. Although I would prefer something more lush with oils for second or morning cleanse. It provides a really good grip to massage, no slip slop business.
The balm emulsifies beautifully with water to milky goodness, however my preference still lies with a proper warm steaming wash cloth over my face. My skin doesn’t feel dry, stripped or stretched. No magical skin improvements from using this balm. Does the job!!!
So in conclusion, is this a ‘must have’ balm? Nope, there are other options available with similar formulation which perform just as well and at a fraction of price. However like me, there is slight possibility to get sucked in the hole “extension of Advanced Night Repair range” and fall for the balm.
HHW.com
xx
Hidden Harmony World 