Let us dream together…
The one thing we’ve been anticipating from Youth To The People the most? A cleansing balm. Newly introduced to their collection, meet the Superberry Dream Cleansing Balm, a flash-melting balm as the first step to your double cleanse routine. Packed with their signature Dream Oil blend alongside a ton of skin nourishing ingredients, this balm quickly melts away makeup, SPF, dirt, sebum and other impurities. I’ve been testing this balm for a bit, and this review has to be one of the most conflicting/challenging ones I’ve written yet…
Youth To The People is 100% vegan, sustainable and clean cruelty free made in California. Created for all genders, all skin types, all skin tones—all people—backed by three generations of skincare expertise. Skincare for All® — Read about Youth To The People here.
Superberry Dream Cleansing Balm
My skin type: Balanced/dry.
Ideal for: All skin types and ideal for sensitive skin.
Product details:
The Superberry Dream Cleansing Balm is going to be the first step of your skin care routine and acts as the first cleanse. Packed with their signature Dream Oil blend alongside a ton of skin nourishing ingredients, this balm quickly melts away makeup, SPF, dirt, sebum and other impurities. PEG-free, it rinses off clean with a soft to the touch feel, no greasy sticking.
Product claims:
100% vegan ingredients - Recyclable packaging - Made in USA - No animal testing - No parabens- No PEGS - No phthalates - No dimethicone
Dessey tip: Leave on the cleansing balm as a mask for 10 minutes before rinsing off! This will allow for soft and moisturized skin after rinsing it off.
Texture and scent:
Texture — Waxy, soft.
Scent — Juicy and reminiscent to the Superberry Hydrate + Glow Dream Oil.
How to use:
As your first step, scoop a bit of the cleansing balm into the palm of your hands. Warm it up and start massaging it directly onto your skin. Once you see all your makeup and impurities rinsing off, rinse thoroughly with lukewarm water to watch it emulsify. Follow up with your second cleanse, a water based cleanser. (Hey, you know my favourite cleanser of all time is the Youth To The People Superfood Cleanser!)
Key ingredients:
— Dream Oil Blend: Moringa, Jojoba and and Sunflower Seed Oils. Moringa Seed Oil is packed with sources of omegas, antioxidants, and vitamins A, C, and E. Jojoba Seed Oil is rich in essential fatty acids and acts as a non-greasy emollient, leaving the skin feeling soft and moisturized.
— Superberry Extracts: Maqui, Açai, Goji Berry. Full of antioxidant compounds like flavonoids and anthocyanins. Help the skin defend against oxidative damage*
— Prickly Pear: Rich in antioxidants, polyphenols, and soothing amino acids, this hydrating cactus plant extract is a well loved ingredient we know from the Superberry Hydrate + Glow Dream Oil.
— Oil-Soluble Hyaluronic Acid: Leaving the skin conditioned, this oil-soluble HA holds importance with three molecular weights to reach past the dermis layer of the skin.
View the full ingredient list for the Superberry Dream Cleansing Balm here.
*This statement is quoted from Youth To The People’s product description.
My experience + thoughts
Out of every review I’ve ever written, this has to be my most conflicting and challenging one yet. I tested the balm out in so many different ways that at one point, I even triple cleansed one night because I wanted it to work so genuinely. But it just wasn’t doing it for me.
To cut straight to it, I’m still completely undecided whether I like it or not — And I’ll tell you why. But before I do, I want to make a statement regarding the way I view product. As an aesthetician and writer, I do my best to allow two factors coexist together: The personal user experience and product breakdown/education piece. Both of those factors can coexist in their own ways clearly when expressed properly, and that’s exactly what I’m going to do for you here. As I practice that method in all my reviews and with my clients, I always encourage others to be able to differentiate the user experience and the product itself. Not everything will work for everyone, but we can look at a product’s ingredient list and say “Hey, this is formulated beautifully, but it just didn’t work for me. And that’s okay.”
Let’s start off with the fact that this has been one of Youth To The People’s most anticipated launches yet. As their Superfood Cleanser being their best selling SKU and my favourite skincare product of all time, I had no doubt that the balm would hold close to it. Now you might be thinking… “It’s a cleanser. It’s not a serum. It can’t be THAT complicated, right?” Well, two things. One — Cleansing is in fact my favourite skincare step, so I had my hopes high. Secondly, cleansing IS the most important step in any skincare routine (alongside SPF) to ensure all impurities are removed to then follow with a clean canvas for balanced pH levels and proper product absorption to come.
So, you see — I don’t not like it, but I wasn’t rejoicing when I used it for the first time. The easiest way to break this down is my current pros and cons list, so here we go.
Superberry PROs:
The packaging is phenomenal. The jar feels luxurious and beautiful in hand.
The ingredient list is leading and avant-guard which comes to no surprise as every Youth To The People product is. From my aesthetician standpoint, I think they formulated the balm beautifully with all the different omegas, antioxidants and vitamins to ensure a protected barrier during and post cleansing. I’m extremely impressed but not surprised — Their chemists always knock the product formulas out of the park.
The balm does remove all traces of makeup and impurities.
Superberry CONs:
Scooping up the balm is quite difficult as it crumbles as soon as I scoop it out the jar.
Even though I warmed it up in the palm of my hands for a solid bit before massaging it onto my skin, I find it didn’t become that oily and still had a wax-y feel once massaging it onto my face.
It took a lot of elbow grease for me to massage it everywhere, but after using it a couple of times I just don’t think a little goes a long way. The more I use, the easier it is to melt onto the skin.
It didn’t emulsify as creamy as I thought it would and I personally enjoy that in a first cleanse. (Emphasis on personal as it doesn’t have to emulsify creamy for it to be working. This is just personal preference!)
Overall
The balm does leaves the skin soft after rinsing it off but I didn’t find there to be any “wow” feeling after rinsing. It just was like, “Yeah, okay. I did my first cleanse. Now what?”
I do think most skin types would enjoy this. My skin is extremely dehydrated and acne prone at the moment so I feel my barrier is compromised and wondering if this is playing into why I’m not head over heels for the balm, although… it shouldn’t really make a difference since it’s just cleansing.
So, here we are. I’ve been going back and forth whether I really like it or not. Because I don’t hate it. Some nights I find it easier to use than others. For now, it’s just not a standout to me and that’s okay. I think why I rated it the way I did currently is because I simply didn’t experience the one thing I wanted to: The thrill of it. Cleansing is my favourite step so yes, I’m diving deep into this review.
Truthfully, some nights I like it, some I’m “meh” over it. I do see myself liking this more and more, so if you want to see if my opinion changes, head over to my Instagram to catch up!
Packaging + user experience
The frosted jar is truly one of the most beautiful parts of the whole experience. It feels so nice to hold. Scooping it is very difficult for me as it crumbles quickly.
Overview
★ ★ ★ .5 as it stands right now, but my thoughts are constantly evolving with this one.
Price: $34.00 USD / $45.00 CAD for 3.45 oz/ 100mL
Please keep in mind that I’m in Canada which means I review my products with a Canadian price tag/conversion in mind.
Does a little go a long way?
It took a lot of elbow grease for me to massage it everywhere, but after using it a couple of times I just don’t think a little goes a long way. The more I use, the easier it is to melt onto the skin.
Would I repurchase?
For right now, I can’t tell just yet.
Do I think it’s worth $45.00 CAD?
If the balm was a 5/5, yes. It’s hard for me to justify the balm price with my personal user experience but I do think it’s worth the money when discussing ingredients and ounces per $.
Available for purchase:
Disclaimer: The Superberry Dream Cleansing Balm was sent in PR by the Youth To The People with no obligation to post.
Dreaming is a forever state I don’t want to wake up from. Let’s talk about it. Catch me on my Instagram here so we can chat all things Dream Balm and check out more photos and content for the launch over there! I’m always here if you have any questions.
