When it comes to Balance Me products, they’re kind of meh for me because they’re nice enough but nothing too write home about. Well, I got a travel size from this exfoliating concentrate in this month’s Lookfantastic beauty box.

Packaging:

The full size product (180 ml) comes in a bottle with a stopper from what I can tell (I mean a smaller hole to prevent extra liquid to pour out), but the travel size (30 ml) comes in just a simple bottle which makes it hard to prevent overpouring. For example, I’m almost out of this serum after only two weeks even if I used it only in the evening.

Texture:

This had a little different consistency because it wasn’t thicker like a serum so I couldn’t pour it in my hand and tap it on the skin, but it also felt a little bit oily, not just like water. It has a yellow color and a rather strong scent, but personally it didn’t bother me.

Ingredients:

Aqua (Water), Polyglyceryl-4 Caprate, Glycerin, Salicylic Acid, Salix Nigra (Willow) Bark Extract Sodium Hyaluronate, Centella Asiatica Extract (Tiger Grass), Squalane / Olea Europaea (Olive) Fruit Oil, Caffeine, Tilia Cordata (Linden) Flower Extract, Litsea Cubeba (May Chang) Fruit Oil, Citrus Nobilis (Mandarin) Peel Oil, Citrus Grandis (Grapefruit) Peel Oil, Cananga Odorata (Ylang Ylang) Flower Oil, Lavandula Angustifolia (Lavender) Flower Oil, Tocopherol (Vitamin E), Potassium Sorbate, Sodium Benzoate, Sodium Hydroxide, Dehydroacetic Acid, Benzyl Alcohol, Farnesol, Limonene, Linalool, Citral, Benzyl Benzoate, Geraniol, Benzyl Salicylate.

The key ingredients listed on the brand’s website are willow bark (it contains salicylic acid), tiger grass, hyaluronic acid, caffeine and squalane. There are also other plant extract and oils like linden flower extract, mandarin peel oil, grapefruit peel oil, ylang ylang flower oil and lavender flower oil. Personally, I’m not too excited about the lavender and the citrus peel oils in here, but overall it didn’t feel irritating on the skin. This is a vegan formula containing 94% ingredents of natural origin.

Price and accessibility:

Balance Me products are not available in Romania, so I would have to order them online. This exfoliating concentrate is sold for 26 euros on the brand’s website (the full size that is) which I think it’s a little bit expensive for what it is.

My overall opinion:

While the exfoliating serum does feel like it has a clarifying effect on the skin, I do think there are better alternatives out there containing salicylic acid and moisturizing ingredients on the market. Just like in the case of other Balance Me product, this was an ok product, but it didn’t make me feel like I want to purchase it on my own, especially since it’s not available in my country. I do appreciate that it’s gentle enough that it can be used every day without drying out the skin.