I’ve been a heavy consumer of Korean beauty for about four years now. In that time, I can think of only one product I returned (Mizon eye cream), until now…
The Missha Time Revolution Brightening Care Oil Cleansing Balm was so horrible that I shipped it back almost right away. Before you ask, I bought it from the official Missha US website, so it was not fake or expired. For some reason they are no longer sold there, but still available on Amazon, in case you have some enemies you’d like to shower with crappy gifts.
A cleansing balm has one simple but important task - to dissolve oil-soluble impurities like sunscreen, makeup, excess skin oil and so on. When water is added, it’s supposed to emulsify and easily rinse off.
I won’t bore you with the marketing pitch of what this Missha cleansing balm was supposed to do. Instead, let me tell you what it felt like.
As soon as I took off the lid, I got punched in the brain by a very strong, artificial scent. I’m not anti-fragrance, but I also don’t seek it out. But ok, fine, it could have still been a good cleanser. However, trying to apply it to the skin was like slathering on expired petroleum jelly. It absolutely didn’t spread well or melt (the way good or even average cleansing balms do). Miraculously, it rinsed off clean, but that wasn’t the end of my issues with this product.
The reason I almost never return products is because I’m not wasteful. If something can be used, I make it work. I know a returned bottle or jar eventually ends up in a landfill somewhere. So, I was willing to keep using this balm, weird texture and all, until it ran out. But it damaged my skin barrier! How do I know that? A classic sign of a damaged barrier is burning and stinging, even when the most soothing products are applied. I’m not a dermatologist, but I had burning even from the most basic toner after using this balm. And I attempted to use Missha Time Revolution Brightening Care Oil more than once (yes, I know, I’m so smart), and had this burning each time.
It’s possible I’m just sensitive to one of the ingredients. It’s also possible I’m picky about the amount of fragrance in the products. Ok fine. But I think it's worth noting that my friend also ordered one of these (they were on sale and I may have talked her into trying it, whoops). She is less of a fragrance snob and often likes things that I don’t (and vice versa), but her jar flew back to Missha in a return envelope along with mine. So, that’s two people for whom this didn’t work.
Don’t be offended if this is your Holy Grail. If it worked for you - awesome! But for me it was a huge, burning, foul- smelling fail.
If you enjoy reading about fails, check out these reviews and this video.
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Missha Time Revolution Brightening Care Oil Cleansing Balm ingredients: Glycerin, Butylene Glycol, Ethylhexyl Palmitate, Diisostearyl Malate, Polyglyceryl-10 Behenate/Eicosadioate, Beeswax, Glyceryl Behenate/Eicosadioate, Polyglyceryl-3 Methylglucose Distearate, PEG-8 Isostearate, Glyceryl Stearate, Polybutene, Fragrance, Coptis Japonica Root Extract, Chlorphenesin, Palmitic Acid, Stearic Acid, Water, Ascorbic Acid, Niacinamide, Glutathione, Vaccinium Angustifolium (Blueberry) Fruit Extract, Saccharomyces/Nelumbo Nucifera Ferment Extract Filtrate, Sodium Cocoyl Isethionate, Propylene Glycol, Hibiscus Sabdariffa Flower Extract, Viola Tricolor Extract, Crataegus Monogina Flower Extract, Hydrogenated Coconut Acid, Sodium Isethionate, Phenoxyethanol, Hippophae Rhamnoides Fruit Extract, Rubus Fruticosus (Blackberry) Fruit Extract, Euterpe Oleracea Fruit Extract, Rubus Idaeus (Raspberry) Fruit Extract, Sambucus Nigra Fruit Extract, Pentylene Glycol, Caprylyl Glycol, 1,2-Hexanediol, Citric Acid, Tartaric Acid, Ethylhexylglycerin, Malic Acid, Nelumbo Nucifera Flower Extract, Prunus Mume Fruit Extract, Disodium EDTA, Lactic Acid