Melting off makeup with barely any tugging is the standout here, and waterproof mascara comes off easily too. Reviewers also call it gentle, fragrance free and solid enough to travel with, and it leaves no film behind. The one thing to keep in mind: dark, stubborn eyeliner is where it falls short, and since it is oil-based, a double cleanse may be worth it.
Synthesized from 10 expert reviews · most recent take October 2026
"This one is my all-time favorite. When I'm washing my face, I don't like a lot of tugging and pulling to get like my waterproof eye makeup, mascara, and eyeliner off. And with an oil-based balm, you can rub it in and it has so much slip to it that it doesn't yank your skin around. You do have to do a double cleanse with it because then you need to wash the oil off."
Top Pick: cleansing balm
All 2 takes from HotandFlashy
Faves + Fails March 2025
"This is about on par with all the other cleansing balms that I've tried that are almost as good as the Clinique, but just not quite, but it is definitely a lot less money. I like the packaging on this too, it's got this little flip top so it's just easy to use and it comes with a little scooper which I really appreciate. I'm about 3/4 done with this and I have been using this consistently every night."
SKINCARE Products I USED UP! | Face & Body Skincare Empties 2025
"This one is my all-time favorite. When I'm washing my face, I don't like a lot of tugging and pulling to get like my waterproof eye makeup, mascara, and eyeliner off. And with an oil-based balm, you can rub it in and it has so much slip to it that it doesn't yank your skin around. You do have to do a double cleanse with it because then you need to wash the oil off."
"This is my Beauty of Joseon Radiance Cleansing Balm. [...] I just feel like it's gonna be this super powerful combination of just stripping off that makeup. I'm not even rubbing hard. [...] Look how quickly that came off. That is stunning. Stunning, stunning. [...] I'm just using my cleansing balm to melt down the eyeshadow, and then we'll use a bit more of a water cleansing [...] to take it off properly."
"This cleansing balm works the same way as their cleansing oil, you apply it to dry hands, rub it in, emulsify, and wash it off, except the oil pumps out easily while the balm needs a spatula to scoop out. It's good because it's really gentle and mild and it cleanses well, but compared to their cleansing oil, the oil melts down blackheads way better."
"I love the Radiance Cleansing Balm because it disappears without a trace, gets all of that makeup, dirt, debris, and SPF off the skin, but it doesn't leave a film, it doesn't strip, it doesn't dry. It's just really well formulated. You look at the ingredients on here, it's not packed full of filler ingredients, it's just a beautiful blend of oils needed to kind of do everything for your cleanse."
"I absolutely enjoy. You've seen multiple empties of this. And I always say this is the balm cleanser that made me love balm cleansers. It's fragrance-free. It's got a very luxurious, melty balm texture. If you're more of an oil cleansing person, you will like the texture of this. It's very melty, very luxurious. Really good at getting the job done. And it's also one of the more affordable balm cleansers as well, especially for sensitive skin."
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"I removed my makeup with the Beauty of Joseon Radiance Cleansing Balm and then I went in for the First Aid Beauty pure skin cleanser. The Beauty of Joseon is great to travel with because it doesn't leak, it's a solid balm."
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"I really enjoy this product because this is a product that made me enjoy cleansing balms. Before I tried this product I was like, you know what, not really into them for two reasons. Number one, ingredients. Most cleansing balms that I have found either contain lots of essential oils or lots of fragrance in them, and those ingredients are not on the whole bad by any means, but they can be bad if you're sensitive to them."
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"This is the product that made me enjoy cleansing balms because prior to using this product, I didn't really like cleansing balms. [...] A lot of cleansing balms have wax content and they have a waxy sort of after taste or residue to them. [...] You get them on your face and it just feels kind of waxy and then you try to rinse it off and there's a residue clinging to your skin or they're just really hard to remove. [...] I'm congestion prone and so I don't want any residue on my face."
11/10 ⭐ Skincare Empties I Recommend!
"I've emptied many of these and just went ahead and bought two more to have on hand. It's fragrance-free and there's something really luxurious about this balm texture. It's a solid, but when you get it onto your skin, your body heat melts it down a little closer to an oil, and I think that's why I like it so much because it's like a solid version of an oil cleanser. It's really effective at breaking down makeup and sunscreen and gets hard-to-remove eye makeup off."
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"I'm going to use the Beauty of Joseon Radiance Cleansing Balm and it's like extra satisfying because I just opened up this cleansing balm. That was so great just getting that first little peel. I love it so much. It feels really great to get this makeup off to my skin. It's pretty comfortable."
Empty Skincare and What I Replaced Them With!
"This is one of my favorite cleansing balms that I have used many many jars of. [...] Fragrance-free cleansing balm which I absolutely love. It definitely is a sensitive skin friendly cleansing balm. This works so good to remove makeup, especially when I have a really full face like full coverage foundation, lots of eye makeup, lots of mascara, hard to remove stuff. I always reach for this because this is such a good cleansing balm."
That Was a Mixed Bag of Skincare Empties!
"I absolutely enjoy. You've seen multiple empties of this. And I always say this is the balm cleanser that made me love balm cleansers. It's fragrance-free. It's got a very luxurious, melty balm texture. If you're more of an oil cleansing person, you will like the texture of this. It's very melty, very luxurious. Really good at getting the job done. And it's also one of the more affordable balm cleansers as well, especially for sensitive skin."
"You can get the Beauty of Joseon Radiance Cleansing Balm. This I'd almost forgotten about how much I like this. I really like that."
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SKINCARE PRODUCTS I USED UP 🗑 EMPTIES 2023 @DrDrayzday
"I use a cleansing balm or a cleansing oil to melt away cosmetics, water resistant sunscreen, and one of my favorites, the Beauty of Joseon Radiance Cleansing Balm. This is fragrance free. [...] It's a nice silky consistency, it just does a really wonderful job. It's a pretty affordable product. I do enjoy the packaging, it does come with a scoop which I have washed and put away because I find those are kind of handy to reuse for other things."
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"I don't love it as much as the Beauty of Joseon cleansing balm."
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"You can get the Beauty of Joseon Radiance Cleansing Balm. This I'd almost forgotten about how much I like this. I really like that."
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"It has [...] a much silkier texture in comparison to other cleansing balms. It [...] also has sea buckthorn oil in it, which is one of my favorite emollients, rich in anti-inflammatory compounds and antioxidants. It also has oatmeal extract which is soothing and has a natural cleansing property to it, rice bran oil, and a mollient. I've gone through probably three tubs of this in my lifetime."
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"I've been doing the Radiance Cleansing Balm from Beauty of Joseon, love this, and then the Hydro Boost hydrating Gel Cleanser fragrance free is what I wash this off with. I wash it off in the shower but I do the smearing this all over my face."
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"Beauty of Joseon's cleansing balm is such an underrated cleansing balm. The price is great, it's free of fragrance, it's a nice experience to use. It creates like a silky creamy lather to melt away your makeup, sunscreen, and then it rinses off easily. You get a little bit of your gentle cleanser to actually wash your face properly. It is wonderful."
SKINCARE EMPTIES FROM WINTER 2023 🗑 @DrDrayzday
"I'm currently using the Beauty of Joseon Cleansing Balm, which I adore, it's a nice silky formula."
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"Before I get in the shower I rub an oil based cleanser all over my face, [...] currently I'm using one of my favorites, the Beauty of Joseon Radiance Cleansing Balm. Very silky, really nice, does a great job."
THE BEST KOREAN SKIN CARE OF 2022 🏆 Dermatologist @DrDrayzday
"It's free of fragrance, gives you a very luxurious spa like feeling, but it's pretty affordable and it lasts a decent amount of time. I tried quite a few cleansing balms this year and this one, far and away, was the best one. If you are wanting to try a cleansing balm I highly suggest that one, it's very good, pretty affordable, no nonsense, effective, and it's a very relaxing experience for me personally in my skincare routine."
The BEST BUDGET FRIENDLY SKINCARE PRODUCTS OF 2022
"I discovered the Beauty of Joseon cleansing balm this year and it's really good. I didn't include it in this roundup because it's not necessarily budget friendly, but it's pretty affordable."
CERAVE VS NEUTROGENA | Which cleansing balm is better? @DrDrayzday
"Beauty of Joseon's cleansing balm, which I discovered this year, is very soft and silky, a pleasant experience with no odor and no fragrance. It does a good job, it emulsifies and totally rinses off in the shower, taking all the gunk with it. [...] It's inexpensive, about four dollars and fifty eight cents an ounce, a little more than the Neutrogena [...] but well worth it. Ranking all three, I'm putting Beauty of Joseon as number one, CeraVe as number two, and Neutrogena as number three."
MY TOP PRODUCTS FOR A HEALTHY SKIN BARRIER 👍 @DrDrayzday
"For me, cleansing oils and cleansing balms are my favorite part of my skincare routine. [...] This product is very silky, it has rice bran oil, rice extract, sea buckthorn oil, and emollient, it emulsifies very easily and feels very luxurious. There's no fragrance with this, and the texture is so nice that [...] you don't miss it. It feels really high end, and [...] it's very effective, I use it to remove eye makeup comfortably."
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"I love their cleansing balm, it is really good."
EMPTIES 😍 / SKIN CARE I USED UP @DrDrayzday
"I finished this and highly recommend it. Kind of sad it's empty is the Radiance Cleansing Balm from Beauty of Joseon. This is a fragrance-free [...] cleansing balm. I love how the little scoop stays put in the lid. It's like the perfect size to just hold it in the lid. This is great. It's a cleansing balm that spreads on the skin nicely. It's not thick. It does a good job just kind of dissolving all of the dirt."
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"I just finished the Beauty of Joseon Radiant Cleansing Bomb - two thumbs up on that bad boy. I was sad that it came to a finish."
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"I love it - I've used quite a bit and I'm almost finished with it. [...] If you like the Clinique Take the Day Off cleansing balm, you should try this. [...] It has sea buckthorn oil and oat extract and rice extract, glides onto the skin very well, and emulsifies easily with water and gentle cleanser. It does a great job removing cosmetic residue. The consistency is very similar to the [Paula's Choice] Omega cleansing balm, though that one is pricier."
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"I love it. [...] I use it as the first step of my double cleanse before I get in the shower. [...] I like a cleansing balm that's really soft and liquefies into an oily emulsion as soon as you start rubbing it on your skin, [...] and this one does just that. It doesn't smell like cooking oil, which I don't care for, and it emulsifies and slides right off the skin carrying dirt, oil, and debris away. It slides over the surface of the skin like a dream, like butter."
"It is very hydrating and beautiful for the skin, your skin is actually going to love it, but if you're like me and you wear dark eyeliner, this is not going to work because you can't keep tugging at the skin to remove the eyeliner. It doesn't have enough emollient in it to be honest in order to basically grab the dirt and make it easy to wash away. I had to go wash my hands just about got it off, but it just won't touch my makeup."
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"It is very hydrating and beautiful for the skin, your skin is actually going to love it, but if you're like me and you wear dark eyeliner, this is not going to work because you can't keep tugging at the skin to remove the eyeliner. It doesn't have enough emollient in it to be honest in order to basically grab the dirt and make it easy to wash away. I had to go wash my hands just about got it off, but it just won't touch my makeup."
Is Beauty of Joseon Safe for Black Skin?
"The formula is very hydrating and your skin will love it, but if [...] you wear dark eyeliner like I do, it doesn't work, because you have to keep tugging at the skin to remove it. It doesn't have enough micelles to grab the dirt and wash it away. I love the formula, but it did a poor job removing my eyeliner."
"The Radiance Cleansing Balm has been featured in some of my previous routines. It's the combination of rice bran water which I just love so much in a cleanser. It's also got the soothing oats and rose hip and I love that the texture is nice and rich. This is great for drier skin types or anyone who just loves that lush cleanser application."
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"The Radiance Cleansing Balm has been featured in some of my previous routines. It's the combination of rice bran water which I just love so much in a cleanser. It's also got the soothing oats and rose hip and I love that the texture is nice and rich. This is great for drier skin types or anyone who just loves that lush cleanser application."
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"It's a sherbet cleanser, which is my favorite type. This one is highly effective and super efficient at removing everything. The minute it touches your face, you see everything just melting off. It doesn't sting my eyes, which is an absolute necessity because I don't have to use a separate eye makeup remover. It's very efficient at removing stubborn waterproof and resistant eye makeup including mascara. I also love that this is all about rice bran, which is naturally full of ceramides."
"The tub has this really handy flip top lid which is much nicer than a screw top when your hands are like oily and slippery. [...] This is a really nice product and I think it is relatively unique."
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What the evidence says.
Independent of what the gurus think, this is what
the published research supports about the main active ingredients here.
Urea
Urea both holds water in the skin and gently loosens dead surface cells. At higher strengths it has good evidence for very dry or thickened skin.
Vitamin E is an antioxidant, and it is often in a formula to keep the other ingredients stable rather than as the active itself. It pairs well with vitamin C, though on its own the evidence for visible change is limited.
A solid, oil-based cleansing balm designed to melt away makeup and sunscreen from the skin before it is rinsed off.
Is Beauty of Joseon Radiance Cleansing Balm worth it?
Mostly yes. 8 of the 10 gurus who reviewed it give it their stamp of approval, for a Guru Score of 80%.
What is Beauty of Joseon Radiance Cleansing Balm's Guru Score?
Beauty of Joseon Radiance Cleansing Balm holds a Guru Score of 80%. That is our read on how warmly the experts talk about it, based on the verdicts of 10 expert reviewers we have collected. At least one expert has named it a Top Pick in its category.
Cheaper alternatives the gurus rate.
Lower-priced cleansers the gurus still rate highly, versus this mid-range pick.
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