The Cleansing Step
In K-beauty, cleansing is such a critical step of the routine – the rule of thumb is, if you’re going to spend 30 minutes applying products on your face, you should spend the same amount of time cleaning it off. You want to maximize your skincare on a clean canvas. In Korea, women/men are so obsessed with cleansing, that in most cases the first order of business after getting home is to remove makeup and grime, vs plopping down on the couch or changing in to PJ’s.

What’s interesting here is that not everybody in Korea will double cleanse, even though it’s something many people swear by. In reality, it’s really up to the woman/man, the lifestyle, the time, the level of laziness. Typically, one removes makeup and sunscreen with a gentle, nourishing cleansing oil to melt away oil-based debris, then you follow up with once again, a gentle, non-stripping water-based foam cleanser to get all your water-based impurities washed off. The repeated theme here is to cleanse gently.

The Gentle Cleanse
And the ideal skin result after a gentle cleanse is feeling like you haven’t used a cleanser. Because this means your cleanser didn’t strip your skin. It may not feel squeaky clean, but it may also mean your skin retains its moisture and natural oils, even after using cleansing surfactants.

Throughout our careers, we have tested and tried thousands of cleansers.

“All of them made my skin feel dry and tight – I wish there was one that didn’t make me feel like I need to tone or moisturize right away.” – Sarah

“I dreamed of a cleanser that could infuse hydration vs remove it all.” – Christine

How We Got Started
This is how it all started. We vented about the cleansers that put a lot of pressure on us to quickly move on to the toner step (typically within 3 seconds), which meant we couldn’t multi-task or take a break after cleansing. We brainstormed about our dream cleanser, a cleanser that can actually moisturize our skin, whether it is dry or oily, in the most optimal way, ultimately enabling us to skip the toner step. How great would that be?

The Formula
We worked hand in hand with the top green labs in Korea, along with a laundry list of the “free-of’s”, including parabens, skin-irritating SLSs, sulfates, alcohol, and artificial dyes. Anything that could potentially dry out the skin was  a big no-no. And we wanted to include the most anti-oxidant rich fruit, blueberry, to help to minimize the amount of oxidized sebum on the surface of the skin, while imparting lasting nourishing benefits to fortify sensitive or troubled skin. We didn’t stop there. We wanted to add one of our favorite hydrating and skin plumping ingredient, hyaluronic acid, as well as gentle AHAs for a smoother, silkier skin result.

At first, the chemists told us that our ideal formula would be nearly impossible, or that it would take forever to achieve this result. At the same time, they were excited about the innovation and our vision to make the one-stop cleanser that could actually moisturize the skin. This could change the skincare game, completely.

We tested countless iterations, sometimes washing our faces up to a dozen times a day. We tested gels, creams, milks, oils and everything in between. And after almost a year of testing and formulating, going back to the drawing board and testing again, here it is, our Blueberry Bounce Gentle Cleanser.

Our dream cleanser that hydrates the skin, wash after wash. A cleanser that is superbly gentle yet makeup-melting, powered by the beautiful ingredient list below :

Water, Palm Kernel/Coco Glucoside, Caulerpa Lentillifera (Seaweed) Extract, Sodium Hyaluronate, Vaccinium Angustifolium (Blueberry) Fruit, Vaccinium Angustifolium (Blueberry) Fruit Extract, Glycolic Acid, Lactic Acid, Physalis Peruviana (Groundcherry) Fruit Extract, Rubus Idaeus (Raspberry) Fruit Extract, Arctostaphylos Uva Ursi (Bearberry) Leaf Extract, Morus Nigra (Mulberry) Fruit Extract, Vaccinium Myrtillus (Bilberry) Fruit Extract, Beta-Glucan, Scutellaria Baicalensis (Skullcap) Root Extract, Paeonia Suffruticosa (Peony) Root Extract, Glycyrrhiza Glabra (Licorice) Root Extract, Betaine, Sodium Chloride, Brassica Oleracea Capitata (Cabbage) Leaf Extract

Real blueberry extracts are visible in the clear, bouncy gel formula

What’s amazing is that the Blueberry Bounce Gentle Cleanser is an absolutely versatile product that can be used daily as a morning cleanser, nightly as a makeup melter + deep cleanser, and 2-3 times a week as a hydrating + cleansing mask.

How to Maximize this Cleanser

AM) Morning Cleanse
Washing the face in the morning everyday with a gentle morning cleanser is a must-keep in Korean skincare. Why? Because when you sleep, your body’s metabolic processes are actively working for you, and toxins are released from your skin. Also, if you’ve been using the Watermelon Glow Sleeping Mask or any other mask that moisturizes or exfoliates overnight, any debris or dead skin buildup needs to be washed off. The risk otherwise, when exposed in the sun, is that your skin can be sensitized and can initiate a free radical party (ie: aging).

PM) Makeup Melter + Deep Cleanser in one
The double cleanse method is built on the K-beauty philosophy that skin should be respected and handled with delicate care. Hence the gentle patting or pressing vs the rubbing or tugging. Traditionally, double-cleansing starts with an oil-based cleanser, because they’re among the best at dissolving makeup regardless of skin type, and oil dissolves oil. With a coconut-based surfactant, we were able to formulate a makeup-melting, gentle cleanser that allows you to take care of the cleansing step with just one product, and furthermore, leave the skin moisturized and plumped, thanks to hyaluronic acid.

2-3 times a week, as a Cleansing Mask
One of our favorite ways to use the Blueberry Bounce Gentle Cleanser is as a mask. Smoothing the antioxidant-packed formula over the skin for just 5~10 minutes before rinsing helps to gently exfoliate and brighten the skin, leaving it extra plump and soft. The natural scent of the cleanser evokes fresh blueberries and herbs, which makes for a soothing, spa-like masking experience.

We’re so excited to finally launch this game-changing, super-tasking cleanser and have been beyond humbled and grateful to hear your rave reviews about the Blueberry Bounce Gentle Cleanser on our site and also on Sephora.com – you can also find it in a Sephora store near you!

Get your glow on,
Sarah & Christine

P.S. Check out our deep dive on the Watermelon Glow Sleeping Mask!