etude house: baking powder BB Deep Cleansing Foam

I thought the Skin Malgeum toners were my life savers, I really did, and they are a big part of it. But this one also fits the picture. When I bought the toners, I got a few samples of this: Baking Powder Deep Cleansing Foam. I was a bit put off by the idea of rubbing baking powder on my face, and sceptic, because I've had many poor to bad experiences with deep cleansing face wash items. They usually end up drying my skin too much and require me to plaster my face with cream, and that on the other hand just turns it into a shiny field of pimples - in other words, I've figured it was better I steered clear of these things.

But I thought, since the samples were free and all, I could just as well try them out. I like free things, and there were only three packs, so why not? Best face-related decision since buying the Skin Malgeums.

The long name of the product is Baking Powder Pore & BB Deep Cleansing Foam. It's a dye-free foaming face wash designed for cleansing pores and removing make-up - "ideal for BB Cream removal", according to the description. That's what the BB in the name stands for. The product itself doesn't contain blemish balm. The scent is lovely and resembles that of lemon, but the product has no added fragrance, and you only notice the smell when actually sniffing the cream off the tube or your hands, not when applying, so even for those allergic to strong scents it should be just fine (personally, I get a headache from strong scents very easily, and haven't noticed anything with this one).

Applying the cream is very easy; it spreads very easily and comfortably. It turns into thick foam when rubbed. The baking powder can be felt as very small crystals, kind of like salt or sugar in body scrubs. It feels lovely and relaxing. Rinse with warm water and you're done.

What makes this product my favourite face wash ever? Two things. First, it really scrubs off that BB cream and any other make-up you're sporting. Second, it leaves your skin soft as - yes, I'm going to use this metaphor - a baby's butt. Seriously. Even a single wash does this. My cheeks feel wonderfully smooth. One small downside is that it can't be used to remove eye make-up as it should be kept away from eyes.

Major downsides? No. Not a single one. I've used this product for over a month, now, every day. It does require application of a moisturizer afterward to avoid drying, but for me, Skin Malgeum Deep Moist has been enough, so that kind of tells about how little the wash dries the skin on a long run: I'm not using cream nor an oil-based product to moisturize my skin afterward. The smoothness stays, and my skin has grown much more even. The wash treats blemishes well, doesn't scratch skin, and doesn't hurt healing blemishes.

I've personally recommended it to a few friends and everyone has had positive experiences despite their different skin types.

The tube contains 150ml - and lasts ages. To wash your whole face, a blob the size of your pinky nail is enough. When I used the first sample I received I made the mistake of using the whole thing on one go and ended up wasting over half of it; one sample pack was enough for three to four goes. So you can imagine the tube being okay for months and months and months.

Packaging-wise, the tube is really cute with its cream-and-baby blue scheme. It doesn't come in a box, but instead well wrapped in plastic (no fear of it opening in the mail).

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product: Etude House Baking Powder B.B Deep Cleansing Foam
does what: deep cleansing face wash / make-up and BB remover
price range: $10 - $20
points given: 10/10
short story: Excellent face wash and make-up remover. Smoothens skin and treats pores without excessive drying.