I’m reviewing five things at once right now, because my response to all of them was so mediocre I don’t want to waste time writing a dedicated review for each of them. It doesn’t necessarily mean they are bad…just that I don’t really love them, or they are actively bad. The items under review are thus:

Boots Naturals Hot Cloth Cleansing Balm Benton Aloe Propolis Gel Skinfood Banana Yogurt Wash-off Mask The Face Shop Rice Water Brightening Cleansing Milk Missha Time Revolution Advanced Night Repair Ampoule

In order of appearance…

Boots Naturals Hot Cloth Cleansing Balm

I picked this up at Target for about $7, to fill in a gap between using up a bottle of Shu Uemura Cleansing Oil and receiving a bottle of Innisfree Apple Juicy Cleansing Oil. Cleansing balms seem to be the hot new thing, and I’m always up for trying something new if it’s under $10. Sadly, it was pretty unimpressive. The Balm took the form of an yellowish oil-based pomade which was then rubbed all over the face and then scrubbed off with a hot, wet towel. Unfortunately, I found the hot cloth part of the removal process really harsh, and it didn’t even take off all my makeup! So I threw it out once I got my new cleansing oil.

Benton Aloe Propolis Gel

I tried this twice. It gave me pretty bad acne each time. So I gave it to my brother. Even if it hadn’t given me acne, I would have passed it along – the texture and absorption bored me. It’s basically a clear aloe-based gel. People swear by it, but I couldn’t see the charm.

Skinfood Banana Yogurt Wash-off Mask

I bought this on a whim during my last haul – it was less than $4. It leaked a bit during shipping, but since it was so cheap, I don’t care. It’s a pale yellow liquidy cream (I would call it “goop”) with yellow dots inside. You apply it after washing up, rub it in, let it sit for five minutes, and then wash it off. I like it and it feels and smells nice, but it doesn’t really do much for my skin. Once I use it up, I won’t repurchase.

The Face Shop Rice Water Brightening Cleansing Milk

Another impulse buy. I have a soft spot for cleansing milks, even though they never take make-up off as good as cleansing oils. However, they do feel really nice – I love that nice creamy feeling sliding over my face. This is a fairly typical offering from the Face Shop – the cleansing milk has what I would characterize as a “sweet” perfume which fades quickly, and two pumps is enough to wash my face. However, I went through a bottle in about a month. That wouldn’t be bad if I could just run down to the drugstore for it, but since I’m shipping it from Korea, I wouldn’t bother getting it again. However, it is safe to use if you have sensitive skin and you’re in South Korea.

Missha Time Revolution Advanced Night Repair Ampoule

This was a very nice, absorbent serum, that gave me an acne-like rash on my cheeks both times I used it. With a heavy heart, I gave it too my mom, since she liked the samples I’d given here. Hopefully I’ll be able to post a review by her in a few months that gives it a better showing!

Anyway, those are the hits and misses for the second quarter of the year. I’ll save the next batch for September 😉