Review: Banila Co. Clean It Zero

I originally bought Missha's Time Revolution First Essence while I was still living in America and it was when I moved to Korea in August of 2015 that I decided to adopt a full Korean skincare regime. Although some people decide to go all out and change their entire routine at once, I didn't have the budget for that. Instead I decided to buy products one by one and add them to my routine, and considering how sensitive and acne prone my skin is, this was probably the best choice for my skin and my wallet.

I decided to start my new routine at the very beginning: cleansing. The Korean skincare regime consists of a two step cleansing process, first an oil cleanser and then a foam cleanser. I wasn't completely sold on the idea of an oil cleanser when I first heard about it. I have acne-prone skin so I thought for sure adding oil to the mix would be disastrous.

There really was just one reason I decided to give an oil cleanser a shot and that was my stubborn eye makeup. Let me be clear, I don't wear much makeup at all. My average makeup routine consists of CC cream (or BB cream, perhaps some concealer), waterproof gel eyeliner, waterproof mascara, and lip tint/lip balm/lipstick etc. I know, I know, you don't have to look far on the internet to find blogs that will scare you out of using waterproof eye makeup but the truth of the matter is that I have oily eyelids, I'm a contact lens wearer with naturally watery eyes (particularly when I laugh... which happens a lot XD) and I have terrible seasonal allergies. It's a triple (quadruple?) whammy that leaves me to wearing waterproof mascara year round.

And let me tell you, that stuff is difficult to get off. I hate makeup wipes because they just lead to me rubbing my face red and even using liquid eye makeup remover left me looking like a panda after washing my face -.- And then Banila Co.'s Clean It Zero came into my life... *spoilers* I love it.

Unlike Missha products, Banila Co. doesn't include English descriptions on the packaging so here's a translation: A soft, melting, sorbet-style cleanser that neatly tidies up even the heaviest (thickest) makeup.

The packaging itself is a relatively lightweight and made of plastic. I've mentioned before that I'm slightly paranoid about breaking my glass containers so this is good for me XD The mouth of the container is fairly wide which makes it really easy to get the product out of the container, especially since the product itself is solid before it touches your skin (more on that later). However, I do feel like the packaging for this product is a bit excessive, the plastic is unnecessarily thick and bulky but it's a relatively small complaint about it.

Open up the container and you'll find that Banila Co.'s Clean It Zero is a soft pink color. The color is pretty but in my opinion, unnecessary. What's the point in having artificial coloring in something that is only on your face for about a minute and then gets washed off? But this is just my general feeling about skincare products especially since I have sensitive skin-- the less colors and fragrances, the better xD

I only use an oil cleanser on days when I where makeup and here's how I use it: I take some of the product on the pads of my fingers and gently massage it into my face, focusing on the eye area (please note that you do not use water during this step). Then I rinse my face with water. The instructions on the box say you can also wipe off the oil with a tissue but I haven't tried it before.

Banila Co.'s Clean It Zero is a solid in the container and when it touches your skin, your body heat melts it into a liquid. It feels nice on the skin and my stubborn eye makeup just melts right off without any rubbing or scrubbing. However, even after using water to rinse my skin, there is still an oily feeling residue left behind so I always follow up with traditional foam cleanser. Right now I'm using Skinfood's Egg White Pore Foam but I'll write more about that in my next review.

The main ingredient in Banila Co.'s Clean It Zero is Mineral Oil. For some of you reading this that might be enough information to make you never want to try this oil cleanser. For a long time Mineral Oil has been on the list of comedogenic (acne causing) substances. However --despite decades of misinformation-- studies have proven that cosmetic grade Mineral Oil is, in fact, noncomedogenic for humans. Also for people like me who use waterproof eye makeup Mineral Oil is a great way to keep your eyelashes from getting too dry. Other ingredients worth noting are Mistletoe Leaf Extract and Epilobium--both of which have anti-inflammatory properties according to http://cosdna.com/

The price: 25,000₩ for a 180ml container ($22) and 18,000₩ ($16) for a 100ml container. It's a good value, relatively. For reference, I bought a 180ml container 5 months ago and there's still quite a bit left. My ratings Price: 4.5/5. Because a little goes a long way with this product, one container will last for several months.

Effectiveness: 5/5. Now that I use this product I don't need to use any other makeup remover.

Packaging: 4.5/5. I like that the container is lightweight and not made of glass though it does seem like the plastic to too thick for the amount of product in the container.

Overall: 4.5/5. Great product, good value. Repurchase: Yes. This is one of those products that I like so much I have no interest in trying other oil cleansers.

TL;DR No more panda eyes thanks to Banila Co.'s Clean It Zero.

Do you have a favorite oil cleanser? Have you tried Banila Co.'s Clean It Zero or one of the other products in this line: Clean It Zero Purity, Clean It Zero Radiance, or Clean It Zero Resveratrol? Should I try one of those next? Let me know about it in the comments ^^

#review #banilaco #cleanitzero #oilcleanser #cleansing #koreanskincare #asianbeauty