Index / Then I Met You / Living Cleansing Balm
Then I Met You

Living Cleansing Balm.

Then I Met You Living Cleansing Balm
Cleansers

About this product

A luxurious oil-based cleansing balm formulated with olive oil, grapeseed oil, and sea buckthorn oil, designed to remove makeup, sunscreen, and impurities while nourishing the skin.

Cleansers

The Guru Index verdict

80%

Approved

Approved · 80%
7Reviewers
6Approved
0Mixed
1Skip

What the gurus are saying

Most gurus rave about this balm's elegant texture, mango-like scent, and ability to dissolve makeup and sunscreen without leaving a slick residue or stripping the skin, with many repurchasing repeatedly despite the premium price. A few note the formula works best for those with drier or combination skin, and those sensitive to fragrance may want to avoid it, as the balm does contain essential oils and perfume. One expert found the texture waxy and hard to rinse, preferring other options, though the consensus among reviewers leans strongly positive.
Synthesized from 7 expert reviews

Key actives & flags

Vitamin EFragrance-freeAlcohol-free

Full ingredients

Olea Europaea (Olive) Fruit Oil, Vitis Vinifera (Grape) Seed Oil, Cetyl Ethylhexanoate, PEG-20 Glyceryl Triisostearate, PEG-8 Isostearate, Cera Microcristallina (Microcrystalline Wax/​Cire Microcristalline), Hippophae Rhamnoides Fruit Oil, Ceresin, Synthetic Wax, Orbignya Oleifera Seed Oil, Diospyros Kaki Fruit Extract, Aniba Rosaeodora (Rosewood) Wood Oil, Citrus Paradisi (Grapefruit) Peel Oil, Rosmarinus Officinalis Leaf Oil, Tocopheryl Acetate, 1,2-Hexanediol, Bis-Diglyceryl Polyacyladipate-2, Ethylene/​Propylene Copolymer

Every take, in full

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 Approved only Skip only Mixed only Hide sponsored
Approved
"I've gone through so many of this product. It's not even funny, but I keep rebying it. It is the Then I Met You Living Cleansing Balm. If you have not tried this cleansing balm, I featured it for years on my channel. It is like a mango smoothie in a cleansing balm formula. So elegant, so nourishing on your face. Your skin feels so soft after using it. However, it is a bit of a luxury cleansing balm. I will forever recommend this and I will forever use it."
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"I've gone through so many of this product. It's not even funny, but I keep rebying it. It is the Then I Met You Living Cleansing Balm. If you have not tried this cleansing balm, I featured it for years on my channel. It is like a mango smoothie in a cleansing balm formula. So elegant, so nourishing on your face. Your skin feels so soft after using it. However, it is a bit of a luxury cleansing balm. I will forever recommend this and I will forever use it."
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"This was actually the very first cleansing balm I ever tried, and since then I have used many, many different cleansing balms, many of which are really good. But this one will always take the cake as the best one I have ever used in my life. It is like a mango smoothie on your face. One of the reasons I love it is that it always leaves my skin so soft and supple afterwards. It doesn't leave that slick siliconey feel that so many cleansing balms leave on your skin, even after you've gone in with your water-based cleanser. It's ultra moisturizing. It takes off sunscreen and even a full face of makeup. It has so many incredible ingredients and the big size lasts a really long time. The only downside I will say for this one is that it is pretty expensive. It's not the cheapest cleansing balm out there. But it is a product that I've repurchased more times than I can count and I will continue to purchase even though it's expensive, and you guys know how much of a penny pincher I am when it comes to skincare. This will be worth it every single time."
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"I took quite a long time for me to start using other cleansing balms after I was using this for years and years because I just love it so much. It really provides that luxurious cleansing balm experience while having an incredible fragrance that smells like mango sticky rice. It also has a great ingredient list that uses natural oils like olive oil, grape seed oil. I've repurchased this more times than I can count. I literally constantly have it with me wherever I travel to the point that I have not two but three different sizes ready to go. The only downside is that it is a premium price point, definitely not cheap. However, it does last a good amount of time. You really don't need to use much for the face and I would say on average this lasts me about four to five months. If you're wanting that luxurious experience, I could not recommend this cleansing balm enough."
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"The Then I Met You Living Cleansing Balm, the cleansing balm that I literally mention in countless videos, is the best cleansing balm I have ever used in my life."
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"It is by far the most luxurious cleansing balm formula I have ever used. Using this to remove makeup and sunscreen feels like a mango smoothie dream on your face. The ingredient list is really impressive with olive oil which is great for removing makeup and sunscreen, grape seed oil, seabuckthorn oil which is a great antioxidant, and Babas Su oil which is rich in fatty acids that strengthen the skin's microbiome. It does have fragrance, so if you have extremely sensitive skin where you react to even fragrance in a cleansing balm formula then I wouldn't recommend using it, however if you're not, it's only going to be on your face for 60 seconds and you're ready for the most amazing cleansing balm experience ever. This has always been my top recommended cleansing balm. Usually people with drier skin types enjoy this cleansing balm rather than oilier skin types just because it has such a rich formula that does make your skin feel very soft, nourished and moisturized afterwards even after using a water-based cleanser. However I have combination skin that tends to get really oily and I love this product. Over the years I've purchased this product more times than I can count. It's just that good."
Skip
"The least recommended from Then I Met You has got to be the living cleansing balm for me personally. This definitely has some essential oil content in it. I'm not the biggest fan of that. For me personally, I just don't think it's a very good cleansing balm. I think it has kind of like a waxy sort of residue that kind of sticks to your skin. It's kind of hard to wash off and I just don't think it's amazing at removing makeup. There are much better cleansing balms, harder working cleansing balms even at Sephora. You don't necessarily need to have the essential oil or fragrant content to it in order to get the job done. But at the end of the day, I just don't really like the texture of this cleansing balm. There's definitely better ones out there."
Approved
"Our living cleansing balm is by far the hero SKU right, everyone loves it, it's been the most viral on social and we have just super fans and loyal fans. The living cleansing balm has won so many awards."
Approved
"This one's got the sea buckthorn ingredient, got grape oil, olive oil. It's a really nice cleanser. I really do like this cleansing balm even though it has a little bit of fragrance in it."
Approved
"This is Then I Met You and I have three Living Cleansing Balms. It's bright orange, it's beautiful, it smells like a dream which is important to me on cleansing. It destroys makeup, it destroys SPF. The reason I've used these the most is because with Then I Met You I can use these to remove makeup and SPF but I can also use them as a skin cleanser, so if I'm traveling I can use these as a one-stop shop if I want to."
Approved
"The Then I Met You cleansing balm is beautiful, it's this beautiful orange color and it reminds me of mango sorbet. It smells amazing with hints of rosemary, peppermint, and grapefruit in its scent notes, and I'm someone that likes fragrance and I enjoy that sensorial experience so I really like smelling it and using it every night to take off my makeup. The composition of this cleansing balm is very, very rich in lipids and oils, it has grapeseed oil, olive oil, and seabuckthorn oil, so this is very rich in linolic acid and other fatty acids. It comes with a scooper, so you scoop out a dime-sized amount, kind of roll it between your fingertips, and then I just go in and smooth it on all over. Then I will wet my hands with warm water, wet my face to emulsify it, and then wash some more, and it does a really great job of removing seabuckthorn or oil makeup and sunscreen, it dissolves right away. The oil-based cleanser takes off all of these more oily substances that we may be putting on our skin."
Approved
"The living cleansing balm from Then I Met You. An icon in my bathroom for the last 5 years. I love this. I will forever love this. And this is very much a barrier first kind of formula. Grape seed oil, olive oil, sea berry oil, which gives it that orangey yellow kind of tinge. All keeping your skin moisturized without stripping the skin. And every so often I will use this as a mask. She told me that before she has a bath for example, she will apply the cleansing balm, sit in the bath, use it as a mask, then rinse it away for really well moisturized skin. And now I do that pretty much every time I use this. So if my skin is feeling very dry or extra dehydrated, rub this in, leave it on for 5 minutes, then I'll emulsify and rinse everything away. You've also got the usual kind of fatty acids in here to help dissolve the sunscreen while also helping your barrier for all my skin conditions and types reactive, dehydrated. And you get a dose of antioxidants from that seabberry. Grape seed oil keeps things lightweight and non greasy. Pimmen extract is a nice little touch here for very gentle brightening and helps regulate sebum as well."
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"The living cleansing balm from Then I Met You. An icon in my bathroom for the last 5 years. I love this. I will forever love this. And this is very much a barrier first kind of formula. Grape seed oil, olive oil, sea berry oil, which gives it that orangey yellow kind of tinge. All keeping your skin moisturized without stripping the skin. And every so often I will use this as a mask. She told me that before she has a bath for example, she will apply the cleansing balm, sit in the bath, use it as a mask, then rinse it away for really well moisturized skin. And now I do that pretty much every time I use this. So if my skin is feeling very dry or extra dehydrated, rub this in, leave it on for 5 minutes, then I'll emulsify and rinse everything away. You've also got the usual kind of fatty acids in here to help dissolve the sunscreen while also helping your barrier for all my skin conditions and types reactive, dehydrated. And you get a dose of antioxidants from that seabberry. Grape seed oil keeps things lightweight and non greasy. Pimmen extract is a nice little touch here for very gentle brightening and helps regulate sebum as well."
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"What stuck out most for me was because at the time I was so used to Korean cleansing balms that almost had this plasticky feel to them that you spend ages kind of rubbing into the skin whereas this one is this soft sherbet kind of texture that's kind of already melted down for you. It's like luxurious sort of texture and then it just melts into this luscious oil with very minimal effort. It doesn't leave a film on your skin, doesn't make your eyes blurry, and it wins in so many ways not only in the cleanser category but makeup removal category, so it's just very effective but feels like a treat on your skin. It's made with sea berries which gives the cleansing balm its merry gold color, and it will lighten with time with exposure to oxygen and light because it's natural. It lasts forever like such a long time. You only need a nickel size amount for morning and night and it will last you three months. It's quality, it's made with one of my favorite antioxidant sea berries, and it's just so nice to use."
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"I've been using for as long as I can remember that I take around with me everywhere because I could use it as a double cleanse is Then I Met You Living Cleansing Balm. I reviewed this for the first time 5 years ago. This is of course Charlotte Ho's brand. And honestly, it's one of those brands that when you know the brand founder, when you know their story, when you know the brand story, everything that goes into these products, the passion and care that goes into a product like this, all that is combined and is so evident through the effectiveness and user experience of this product. This product in particular, you can just tell so much care and love has gone into this product. It's like this luxurious sorbet soft balm that breaks down so easily into an oil. No messing around with little plasticky bits. It just removes makeup, sunscreen effortlessly without stripping the skin. You actually feel moisturized after. It's formulated with a blend of nourishing oils, including sea buckthorn, which gives it that color, olive oil, grape seed oil, ingredients that are rich in antioxidants and fatty acids to help cleanse the skin whilst also keeping your skin moisturized, keeping that balance right."
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