This $34 cleansing balm turns the dirt, grime, and makeup on my face into an oily soup that feels so good to wipe off

Farmacy

• Farmacy's Green Clean Makeup Removing Cleansing Balm ($34) melts away grime and makeup without stripping the skin or disrupting its natural moisture barrier.
• A little bit goes a long way, and it leaves my combination skin feeling soft, clean, and evenly hydrated.
• Farmacy also uses locally grown and produced ingredients, and comes in sustainable packaging. You can order it from Amazon, Sephora, and Farmacy.

After a day of New York City grime - the puffs of exhaust, the drips of untraceable moisture - has piled up on top of my skin and my makeup has dried into a plaster cast, there is no greater gift I give myself than melting it all off my face with a cleansing balm.

Recently, I've been using Farmacy's Green Clean Makeup Removing Cleansing Balm ($34) to turn my makeup into one satisfying, oily soup upon contact.

If you're new to Farmacy, the company is a familiar face in clean beauty and "farm-to-face" products. Everything is paraben-, synthetic fragrance-, phthalate-, mineral oil-, and cruelty-free - and it goes a step further by using locally grown and locally produced ingredients in its formulas. All its products even come in packages made with FSC-certified paper and naturally renewable inks.

How the cleansing balm works

The cleansing balm specifically is an Allure Best of Beauty winner (class of '17), and for good reason. Sunflower and ginger root oils gently bind to and remove the makeup, oil, and dirt without stripping my skin of moisture or disrupting its natural barrier, and papain (a natural enzyme found in papaya) gently exfoliates skin. An added bonus is that the mix of essential oils (lime, bergamot, and orange) smell pretty incredible while they work.

Even the texture of the balm is satisfying. Kind of like a mint-green sorbet that chips away like shale, it builds up in thin layers on the spatula. Left too long on your fingertips, it starts transforming from a balm into an oil. It's also not a liquid, so it's easy to travel with - and you're not wasting money on the water which, in most beauty products, is a useless additive.

Farmacy

Even the texture of the balm is satisfying. Kind of like a sorbet that chips away like shale, it builds up in thin layers on the spatula.

How to use it

To use, I scoop a bit of the balm out with the included spatula and massage it into my skin with circular motions. I go over areas like my eye makeup a couple of times to gently loosen all of the mascara, and then I add warm water. On contact with water, the balm turns into an oil that lifts and binds with the day's grime so I can wash it away. Then, I swipe a muslin cloth (similar to these) across my face to dry it and catch any lingering balm.

After using, my skin feels super soft, clean but not tight, and well moisturized. Even though I have finicky combination skin, my complexion always looks and feels evenly hydrated after using it.

How much it costs and how long it'll last

A 3.2-ounce bottle costs $34. Spending that much on any skin-care item isn't ideal, but Farmacy's Cleansing Balm will last you a while. Expect to get at least a few months of daily use out of your bottle, and know that a little goes a long way.

While I still think Beautycounter's Cleansing Balm is technically a better experience overall (no discomfort if it gets in your eyes, more uses) it's a really slim margin of favor - and Farmacy's is the superior value. It's less than half the price of Beautycounter's option, and you get 3.2 fluid ounces rather than 2.5 fluid ounces.

Bottom line

All in all, Farmacy's Green Clean Makeup Removing Cleansing Balm is the best of all worlds: feel-good ingredients, sustainable packaging, an affordable price, and efficacy. It works well, is extremely satisfying to use, and will also last a good while. If you're in the market for a gentle and effective cleanser, I highly recommend checking this out.

Farmacy Green Clean Makeup Removing Cleansing Balm, $34, available at Sephora, Farmacy, and Amazon

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