Hope Girl Jamong Cleansing Balm Grapefruit - review

I am a firm believer in double cleansing and in oil cleansers. If you wear makeup and/or sunscreen (you should always wear sunscreen) on daily basis you need an oil based cleanser to properly clean your skin. I am also lazy so a cleanser that can remove all my point make up (eye and lip makeup) in one go is a must for me, and that is what a good oil cleanser does.

Hope Girl Jamong Cleansing Balm Grapefruit is a rather affordable cleansing balm of a sherbet type. Meaning it comes in a solid form and melts when applied due to skin warmth. It comes in a pink/orange/white plastic tub and contains 75g of product and comes with a little plastic scoop.  The outer cardboard packaging has information in Korean and English. The product has a light and pleasant grapefruit scent.

You can check CosDNA for detailed list of ingredients with safety ranking. The main ingredient of this cleanser is mineral oil. Mineral oil is made from petroleum, as a by-product of the distillation of petroleum for production of gasoline. It is used a s solvent in many lotions and creams as it is cheep as chips. There are some people that are against use of mineral oil in cosmetics as it is considered comedogenic. The more refined mineral oil is, it is less likely to clog your pores. Some are worried about the toxicity of mineral oil, however mineral oil used in cosmetics is a cosmetic grade mineral oil which is purified and deemed safe. And lastly it does nothing for your skin in the sense that it does not have any beneficial properties that would improve the condition of your skin. And I agree to a point that I would never use a cream, serum or lotion containing mineral oil as the main ingredient or a costly product that uses mineral oil as main ingredient, because that is just daylight robbery.

However, having said that I have no problem with mineral oil used for affordable cleansers. I do not worry about its comedogenic properties in a cleanser as it will not stick to my skin long enough to block anything and same goes for beneficial properties, I am  going to wash it off right away so I do not need for cleanser to act like skincare. So I am OK with mineral oil in oil based cleansers because their job is to dissolve and help remove makeup and dirt and that is what it does. One benefit of mineral oil is that it is less likely to cause allergic reaction unlike plant based oils. 

Besides mineral oil this cleanser contains other plant based oils (olive oil, macadamia oil, grapefruit peel oil) as well as citrus extracts that can be potentially irritating. So as always read the ingredients list carefully and test the product on a small patch of skin to see if you have any reactions. 

Testing the cleanser on concealer, liquid liner, eyebrow pencil, eyeliner, mascara, eyeshadow, liquid lipstick, and matte lipstick. 

It melts easily when in contact with skin.

If you add water it emulsifies and washes off easily. 

You are left with clean, soft skin. There is no feeling of dryness or tight skin.

I find the cleanser easy to use, its grapefruit fragrance is pleasant without being too strong or overwhelming. It melts into skin easily and dissolves all makeup, including waterproof one. You can add water to it and it emulsifies easily and can be rinsed with water. I personally prefer to remove it with a flannel soaked in warm water. It did not cloud my eyes while removing eye makeup and my skin did not react to the product, no redness, no bumps or any kind of irritation.  It can be purchased on Jolse for USD 12.75.

It is a good, affordable, no fuss oil cleanser which does what it is supposed to do and that is remove dirt and makeup.