Is Then I Met You Living Cleansing Balm worth it?

Mostly yes. 9 of the 11 gurus who reviewed it give it their stamp of approval, for a Guru Score of 87%.

What is Then I Met You Living Cleansing Balm's Guru Score?

Then I Met You Living Cleansing Balm holds a Guru Score of 87%. That is our read on how warmly the experts talk about it, based on the verdicts of 11 expert reviewers we have collected. It is also Guru Certified, our mark for products that hold broad approval across many expert reviewers.

Who is Then I Met You Living Cleansing Balm best for?

Then I Met You Living Cleansing Balm is generally suited to dry skin and sensitive skin.

Then I Met You

Then I Met You Living Cleansing Balm.

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About this product

A luxurious oil-based cleansing balm formulated with sea buckthorn, grape seed oil, and olive oil to remove makeup, sunscreen, and impurities while moisturizing the skin.

Full ingredients

Olea Europaea (Olive) Fruit Oil, Vitis Vinifera (Grape) Seed Oil, Cetyl Ethylhexanoate, PEG-20 Glyceryl Triisostearate, PEG-8 Isostearate, Cera Microcristallina (Microcrystalline Wax/Cire Microcristalline), Hippophae Rhamnoides Fruit Oil, Ceresin, Synthetic Wax, Orbignya Oleifera Seed Oil, Diospyros Kaki Fruit Extract, Aniba Rosaeodora (Rosewood) Wood Oil, Citrus Paradisi (Grapefruit) Peel Oil, Rosmarinus Officinalis Leaf Oil, Tocopheryl Acetate, 1,2-Hexanediol, Bis-Diglyceryl Polyacyladipate-2, Ethylene/Propylene Copolymer

Guru Score

87%

Yay

11 experts · Strong agreement

Guru Certified

Broad expert consensus

What the gurus are saying

This balm earns consistent praise for its buttery texture and powerful makeup removal, with gurus noting it melts effortlessly without leaving a slick residue like other cleansing balms. The main split is on value: most gurus love it enough to repurchase repeatedly, though some find the $35-38 price steep when comparable options exist. Those with dry or sensitive skin may find the nourishing formula worth the investment, but if essential oils or fragrance trigger your skin, patch-test first since both are present in the formula.

Synthesized from 11 expert reviews · most recent take August 2026

What they liked

Removes makeup and sunscreen without stripping
Soft, melts smoothly into oil
Leaves skin nourished and soft

What they flagged

Pricey for a cleansing balm
Waxy residue and hard to rinse
Essential oil and fragrance content

Best for

Dry skin Sensitive skin

Type

CleansersBalm & ointment

Key actives

Vitamin E

Formula notes

Fragrance-freeNo drying alcohol

Where to buy

Sephora → Amazon → Google →

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What the gurus are saying.

Every take we've logged from this product's reviews across YouTube. Click any row to watch the moment they said it.

All takes Yay takes Nay takes Mixed takes Hide sponsored

Skin Obsessed Mary

33k subs

✓Mixed

"This is Then I Met You's Living Cleansing Balm. I liked this product, I did, but I just didn't like it enough for the price tag. I will spend 35 dollars on a cleanser but I have to love it to spend that kind of money, and there are other products in their range that I like way more."

Doctorly

3.59M subs

✓Yay

"I like Then I Met You's cleansing balm, [...] it's more of an oily cleansing balm rather than a stiffer one. It's a [...] really nice experience, really great at removing anything on the skin without overly stripping. It's a phenomenal product."

Hyram

4.33M subs

✓Yay

"However, it is a bit of a luxury cleansing balm. I will forever recommend this and I will forever use it. However, I feel like cleansing balm technology and just product availability has really accelerated a lot in the past few years. We're finding a lot more great options out there than we used to when I first started using this, so for that reason I've been trying out a lot more new cleansing balms and falling in love with so many of them. But this will always be home."

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"But this one will always take the cake as the best one I have ever used in my life. [...] It is like a mango smoothie on your face. [...] One of the reasons I love it is that it always leaves my skin so soft and supple afterwards. It doesn't leave that slick siliconey feel that so many cleansing balms leave on your skin, even after you've gone in with your water-based cleanser. It's ultra moisturizing. It takes off sunscreen and even a full face of makeup."

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"I've repurchased this more times than I can count. I literally constantly have it with me wherever I travel to the point that I have not two but three different sizes ready to go. [...] The only downside is that it is a premium price point, definitely not cheap. However, it does last a good amount of time. You really don't need to use much for the face and I would say on average this lasts me about four to five months."

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"The Then I Met You Living Cleansing Balm, the cleansing balm that I literally mention in countless videos, is [...] the best cleansing balm I have ever used in my life."

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"It is by far the most luxurious cleansing balm formula I have ever used. Using this to remove makeup and sunscreen feels like a mango smoothie dream on your face. The ingredient list is really impressive with olive oil which is great for removing makeup and sunscreen, grape seed oil, seabuckthorn oil which is a great antioxidant, and Babas Su oil which is rich in fatty acids that strengthen the skin's microbiome."

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"I always say it's like a mango smoothie for the face, it feels amazing, it spreads so easily across the skin, it's by far one of the most enjoyable experiences when it comes to a cleansing balm. It leaves the skin super nourished and hydrated but not overly nourished, and even though it's a rich consistency I wouldn't consider it to be more for dry skin, I would consider this to work well for any skin type."

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"I talk about the Then I Met You Living Cleansing Balm in so many videos, pretty much every single time I talk about a cleansing balm I'm always recommending that product."

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"My top favorite one that I recommend all the time on my channel is the Then I Met You Living Cleansing Balm. Such a good one, it's like a mango smoothie for the face, deeply nourishing and hydrating to the skin, and it leaves it all plump afterwards. In my experience it does a thousand times better at actually removing all the makeup versus a makeup wipe."

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"I feel like this is one of the most beautiful products I've used, the Then I Met You Living Cleansing Balm. I like the package, I like the smell. I know I don't want fragrance normally, and I'm going to smell every product anyway, but this one only stays on your face for about thirty seconds before you cleanse it off, so I'm personally not bothered by the fragrance in it. The consistency is amazing, it feels so nice."

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"The Then I Met You Living Cleansing Balm, I have never in my life found a better cleansing balm than this one. It is so rich and nourishing to the skin, my skin feels so soft and plumped after I use it. I always say it's like a mango smoothie for the face, literally one of my favorite products of all time, and [...] I will never go a day in my life without using this baby."

Reacting to Allure's Best Skin Care of 2021

"I really do like the Then I Met You Living Cleansing Balm. If you want a nourishing, soft skin experience without that film left over on your skin, that one's great. [...] I've had a really good experience with it personally."

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"I always call it a mango smoothie for the face because it really is the most beautiful sensorial cleansing balm experience. It does have fragrance, so if you're really sensitive to fragrance maybe this isn't for you, but personally I don't mind fragrance in cleansing balms since it's only on your face for thirty to sixty seconds before you remove it with a cleanser, so the risk of irritation is very minimal."

Reacting to My 4 YEAR Old Skin Care Routine

"For years my personal favorite cleansing balm has been the Then I Met You Living Cleansing Balm. It's nourishing and moisturizing to the skin, it removes everything but it doesn't feel overly abrasive, it just feels like a really nice first cleansing experience. I 1000% would recommend a cleansing balm over using a Clarisonic every single day."

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"My personal favorite is to use a cleansing balm. I love the Then I Met You Living Cleansing Balm, it's like a mango smoothie for the face. It does such a good job of breaking up everything on your face but is still really nourishing to the skin as well. That one is a little bit luxury though."

AliceintheRabbitHole

59k subs

✓Yay

"You get almost an ounce of the Then I Met You Living Cleansing Balm, which truly is incredible."

All 4 takes from AliceintheRabbitHole

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"You get almost an ounce of the Then I Met You Living Cleansing Balm, which truly is incredible."

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"This is a mini of the Then I Met You Living Cleansing Balm. I feel like it might actually be my favorite cleansing balm, it's definitely up there with the Elemis one. You don't need to spend extra on a cleansing balm, but if you want a bit of a splurge that will last you a while, this is a good one."

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"I have the Then I Met You cleansing balm, I use it when I have [...] a particularly difficult to remove sunscreen. Look at how easily it emulsifies, it's a beautiful cleansing balm. [...] I don't have a lot of bad things to say about this cleansing balm, it lives up to the hype, but that also doesn't mean everybody needs to run out and buy it."

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"I am absolutely impressed with this cleansing balm, the hype was real for me and [...] this really is an incredible cleansing balm. [...] It takes off all my mascara and eyeliner without needing any help, and it emulsifies really well, which is what makes a good cleansing balm [...] in the first place. My favorite high end cleansing balm [...] for 2024 [...] was from Elemis, but this one is going to be a contender for the best cleansing balm of 2025."

Kelly Driscoll

91k subs

✓Nay

"The least recommended from Then I Met You has got to be the Living Cleansing Balm for me personally. [...] This definitely has some essential oil content in it. I'm not the biggest fan of that. [...] For me personally, I just don't think it's a very good cleansing balm. I think it has kind of like a waxy sort of residue that kind of sticks to your skin. It's kind of hard to wash off and I just don't think it's amazing at removing makeup."

No BS Beauty

89k subs

✓Yay

"This one's got the sea buckthorn ingredient, got grape oil, olive oil. It's a really nice cleanser. [...] I really do like this cleansing balm even though it has a little bit of fragrance in it."

Caroline Hirons

250k subs

✓Yay

"This is Then I Met You and I have three Living Cleansing Balms. It's bright orange, it's beautiful, it smells like a dream which is important to me on cleansing. It destroys makeup, it destroys SPF. The reason I've used these the most is because with Then I Met You I can use these to remove makeup and SPF but I can also use them as a skin cleanser, so if I'm traveling I can use these as a one-stop shop if I want to."

Tea with MD

115k subs

✓Yay

"The Then I Met You cleansing balm is beautiful, it's this beautiful orange color and it reminds me of mango sorbet. It smells amazing with hints of rosemary, peppermint, and grapefruit in its scent notes, and I'm someone that likes fragrance and I enjoy that sensorial experience so I really like smelling it and using it every night to take off my makeup."

Lab Muffin Beauty Science

863k subs

✓Yay

"I still love this. It's still my top cleansing balm of all time."

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Dr. Shereene Idriss

1.73M subs

✓Yay

"It is very buttery, very buttery, very very much so. It doesn't feel waxy like the rest and is somewhat similar to the one by Elemis. [...] This one actually does work pretty well, and for a couple of goes at it, it does have a little bit of a residue still left behind but not much. I think this is more on par with the one by Elemis, it is cheaper, it is beautiful in color, and it feels extremely extremely buttery. [...] Elemis and this one takes off the makeup the best."

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All 2 takes from Dr. Shereene Idriss

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"This one is Then I Met You it is the Living Cleansing Balm. It's very expensive, it's $38. It's [...] an oil balm and it definitely helps melting [...] makeup off. You might still need to use the bioderma before using this as a cleanser. Like I said, I have found one that is great for a makeup remover and a cleanser a two-in-one, but this one is great if you have dry skin."

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James Welsh

1.58M subs

✓Yay

"The Living Cleansing Balm from Then I Met You. An icon in my bathroom for the last 5 years. I love this. I will forever love this. And this is very much a barrier first kind of formula. Grape seed oil, olive oil, sea berry oil, which gives it that [...] orangey yellow kind of tinge. All keeping your skin moisturized without stripping the skin. And every so often I will use this as a mask."