little white truths

You may remember that I unboxed this Omorovicza skincare kit around a month ago (see unboxing post here) and I'm back today to review the first product from the set: the fabled Thermal Cleansing Balm.

Worth noting now is that, although I wrote the unboxing post a month ago, the photos for the whole set (both together and individually) took me ages to edit because I took so many of them - meaning I've actually been using this cleanser for around six weeks and I've now almost finished it.

While I haven't used it every single day during that time for reasons I'll go into below, I've certainly used it often enough (perhaps every second day - sometimes more, sometimes less) so I know what I think of it.

Long story short, it's a nice product but I'm not going to tell you that it's worth the price-tag because I don't personally feel that it is - and I've used similar products that I prefer and also cost less. More on that below.

Omorovicza claims/product details:

• This award-winning black balm cleanses without stripping
• Removes all impurities and makeup (including waterproof mascara) 
• Leaves the skin soft and hydrated
• Designed to clear congested pores and draw out impurities/makeup
• Rich in Hungarian Moor Mud: a potent source of calcium and magnesium
• Enriched with sweet almond oil, skin is replenished and left feeling silky soft
• Orange blossom helps lift the spirits and senses
• Over time, skin appears smoother, supple and more youthful looking as Hydro Mineral Transference™ delivers minerals deep into the skin
• RRP $44 AUD for 15ml; or $89 AUD for 50ml

There's what it looks like below:

Verdict

While I do like this product, it's not my favourite of all the cleansing oils/balms I've tried to date and there's nothing insanely special about it that I personally feel warrants the high price.

It's a greyish black product that's unusual in texture: there's something a little gluey and waxy about it that I wasn't expecting. Indeed, I'm not sure I've tried anything that feels like this before. 

The balm also has a few soft, crystallised grains in the formula: I'm not sure whether they're there to exfoliate or whether they're there because parts of the product have hardened. I quite like how they feel on my face and I wish there were more of them!

Almost all the Omorovicza products I've tried so far have the same scent: they smell earthy like the mud that you'd find in a spa. It's not the scent I was expecting (the product really does smell like dirt) but it's a clean, pleasant kind of dirt - which sounds like an oxymoron but there you go.

I've mostly used this in the morning as my first cleanse. As you may know, I like to use oils and balms then because I whack them on so they operate as a hydrating mask while I feed kids/change nappies etc, then I go in and add water later on when I have the time to complete my morning routine. This product works well for that purpose and keeps my dry skin comfortable until I have time to massage it in and remove it, so that's a plus.

I've also tried it as a makeup remover and it does work well at lifting the gunk from your face so you could certainly use it for that if you wanted to. It's just that I prefer to use my expensive cleansers as skin cleansers; I use budget products for removing makeup.

What I don't like about this product is that it's something of a bugger to remove. You'll need warm water and a cloth to remove it, and while I mostly use a cloth anyway, I tend not to bother with one if I'm in a rush - but I have to with this; otherwise it really sticks to my face - which is why I haven't been using it daily. I don't have the time.

If I do use it to remove makeup before stepping into the shower, only warm water and a decent cleanser will remove it; and sometimes I can still feel some of it on my skin so I need to go in with a third cleanse, just to deal with the excess. So best to stick with a cloth.

On the claims: yes it cleanses without stripping; yes it removes all makeup (including waterproof); yes it leaves the skin feeling soft and hydrated; yes I feel that it leaves my skin feeling replenished, silky and more supple; and I can't comment on the long-term benefits mentioned in the claims because I haven't been using it long enough.

If you want a great alternative, I personally prefer the Oskia Renaissance Cleansing Gel (reviewed here), which is not only cheaper, but also contains twice the amount of product. Indeed, I bought mine for $41 AUD - making it cheaper than the 15ml sample of this one!

For me, this balm is along the lines of Sunday Riley's Blue Moon Tranquility Cleansing Balm (reviewed here): it's lovely, it does the job and it's free of nasties, but I'm just not sure that it's worth the price-tag. Not for me, anyway.

Lovely but expensive.