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Glow Recipe

Papaya Sorbet Enzyme Cleansing Balm.

Glow Recipe Papaya Sorbet Enzyme Cleansing Balm
Cleansers

About this product

A cleansing balm combining papaya enzymes and fruit extracts designed to remove makeup while gently exfoliating and hydrating the skin.

Full ingredients

Guru Score

72%

Mixed

5 experts · Moderate agreement
5Gurus
3Yay
2Mixed
0Nay

What they liked

  • Smooth texture that applies effortlessly
  • Rinses off easily
  • Hydrating and nourishing feel

What they flagged

  • Similar performance to cheaper K Beauty balms

What the gurus are saying

The papaya enzymes deliver a gentle exfoliating action alongside solid makeup removal, and the formula's fatty acids keep skin hydrated without feeling heavy. One reviewer found it nicely hydrating but preferred a lighter texture, while another praises the smooth, effortless experience and has grown fonder of it over time. Most find it does the job well for makeup removal, though texture preference varies.
Synthesized from 5 expert reviews · most recent take April 2025

What the gurus are saying.

Every take we've logged from this product's reviews across YouTube. Click any row to watch the moment they said it.

All takes Yay takes Nay takes Mixed takes Hide sponsored
~Yay
"I use this Glow Recipe Cleansing Balm and I have loved cleansing balms. I find that it's much more gentle and it removes all my makeup. I always get a lot of questions about how I remove my waterproof mascara because girls can never take it off, but I swear to God this gets everything. It makes me so happy. I actually really enjoy it. I would say it's one of my favorite products from Glow Recipe. Compared to other cleansing balms, it's a very moisturizing experience. It's like a thicker consistency, which I tend to like with my cleansing balms. I like that rich formula on my face. It definitely is rich because the product is not cheap. It's one of the more expensive cleansing balms out there, but I love it. I thoroughly enjoyed it and anyone who wants to get it, I would say go for it because it is a great formula."
All 2 takes from Hyram
Specialist Reacts to Alix Earle's Skin Care Routine
"I use this Glow Recipe Cleansing Balm and I have loved cleansing balms. I find that it's much more gentle and it removes all my makeup. I always get a lot of questions about how I remove my waterproof mascara because girls can never take it off, but I swear to God this gets everything. It makes me so happy. I actually really enjoy it. I would say it's one of my favorite products from Glow Recipe. Compared to other cleansing balms, it's a very moisturizing experience. It's like a thicker consistency, which I tend to like with my cleansing balms. I like that rich formula on my face. It definitely is rich because the product is not cheap. It's one of the more expensive cleansing balms out there, but I love it. I thoroughly enjoyed it and anyone who wants to get it, I would say go for it because it is a great formula."
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"The texture and consistency of this, as well as how it applies on the face, is absolutely amazing. It does such a dreamy good job of removing all the sunscreen and dirt and oil on the face but still rinses off really easily. One of the main reasons I like this one is because it includes papaya, which is a great gentle enzymatic exfoliator to get dead skin cells off the face. It's not necessarily an exfoliating product, but with the gentle papaya it can have a very minimal and gentle effect of exfoliation as you're using it, plus it includes ingredients like elderberry oil and star flower oil, which I rarely see in skincare products, and overall it gives you a really rich, nourishing experience. I would say this one's better for people more on the normal to dry skin side, but personally I have oily skin and I really enjoyed using this, and I think it's one of the best of the year."
~Mixed
"This is the Papaya Sorbet Enzyme Cleansing Balm, and I actually returned it. When I did a side by side comparison against the heimish all clean balm, one of the most popular K Beauty cleansing balms, I felt like there were almost no differences in the entire process of using them. It turns out glow recipe reformulated this cleansing balm to be better, it's just that now it's very similar to other K Beauty cleansing balms that cost a lot less. Some people say this is their absolute favorite cleansing balm they've ever tried, so it's all personal opinion, but for me it wasn't worth it over the cheaper K Beauty option."
~Mixed
"I did like it, it didn't have a super strong scent to it and it did a pretty good job removing most makeup and things like that. This one's really nice and hydrating, although I do like the one from Pharmacy just a little bit more, it's a little bit lighter, not quite as thick. I wouldn't repurchase it because I've got like a gazillion other cleansing balms that I need to finish up."
~Yay
"Key ingredients, of course, being Papaya enzymes, which are known to gently exfoliate, Papaya Extract and Seed Oil. Rich in fatty acids, Oleic, Linoleic Acids. So it's going to keep your skin nicely moisturized and hydrated and very good in general just for makeup removal. And Blueberry Extract really nice, great antioxidants. I really, really like this one. I like it more now than I used to because of my change in preference for a cleansing balm. The effortless, smooth kind of experience of it attracts me back to it."
~Yay
"I am not a huge fan of cleansing balms because I do not like the oily residue on my face, however this Glow Recipe cleansing balm is not only beautiful and orange but smells lovely and I appreciate a good scent. It is a lightweight oily cleansing balm that is great for people who use a lot of heavy makeup as a first step of a double cleanse. This is not going to be your end-all cleanser, but she's a great first step of your double cleanse."
All 2 takes from Dr. Shereene Idriss
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"This one is basically a fruit bowl in a jar, it smells heavenly, and it looks like papaya sorbet. It has the same papain enzyme as the one by Farmacy, which is an exfoliating enzyme, so you can let this sit on your face for a few minutes before washing it off. It also has blueberry extract, which are antioxidants, so don't throw all of these ingredients down the drain by trying to get rid of it right away. It is a very very beautiful cleansing balm, it smells like a fruit bowl so it's very strong in scent, but it feels smoother and less oily than the one by Elemis. I think the one by Glow Recipe feels very very hydrating and it's a very elegant formulation, but you will smell like a fruit bowl of sorts."
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"I am not a huge fan of cleansing balms because I do not like the oily residue on my face, however this Glow Recipe cleansing balm is not only beautiful and orange but smells lovely and I appreciate a good scent. It is a lightweight oily cleansing balm that is great for people who use a lot of heavy makeup as a first step of a double cleanse. This is not going to be your end-all cleanser, but she's a great first step of your double cleanse."

Frequently asked.

What is Glow Recipe Papaya Sorbet Enzyme Cleansing Balm?

A cleansing balm combining papaya enzymes and fruit extracts designed to remove makeup while gently exfoliating and hydrating the skin.

Is Glow Recipe Papaya Sorbet Enzyme Cleansing Balm worth it?

The gurus mostly approve it, but with enough reservations to keep it in the middle at a Guru Score of 72%.

What is Glow Recipe Papaya Sorbet Enzyme Cleansing Balm's Guru Score?

Glow Recipe Papaya Sorbet Enzyme Cleansing Balm holds a Guru Score of 72%. That is our read on how warmly the experts talk about it, based on the verdicts of 5 expert reviewers we have collected.

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