A while ago Olio Beauty offered up their Rose Infused Oil Cleanser samples for bloggers to try. A little rose-shaped lightbulb lit up in my brain and I decided to do an oil cleanser comparison post. The other one I have is by Recipe ( a Korean Skincare Brand) bought from memebox. The biggest difference between these is that Recipe is a big brand (presumably) with people in Korea that I can’t talk to about their product. Recipe also doesn’t have an Instagram account that I could reach out to them through. However, Olio Beauty was easy to reach and in fact, I was already talking to Eileen about the brand so I asked her if she could answer a few interview style questions to help us find out more about the brand.
She Agreed!
What inspired you to create Olio Beauty – the products and the name?
Eileen: Growing up in a culture where traditional herbs are used as medicinal remedies always fascinated us. With that said, we also wanted to create something that will beautify skin without any chemicals and preservatives. Hence we created the pure oil based line of skincare. The word “Olio” means oil as well as a blend of things. So since our products are oil blended we felt it was appropriate. Plus, it does have a nice ring to it!)
Can you tell me more about yourself and the other creative minds behind Olio Beauty?
Eileen: Olio Beauty was created by myself and Alice (my childhood classmate). We grew up in HK , went to the same school since we were 6 and kind of lost touch after I moved to Canada, then the States. Somehow, fate reconnected us and we found each other living in NJ!
What role did skincare and beauty play in your lives leading up to Olio Beauty?
Eileen: We’re both crazy about skincare (us being Asians hahaha). After making products for ourselves and friends and getting good feedback we decided to make it a business. Alice has a design background so she’s the creative genius behind our product design. I have an administrative background so I take care of the books. We both formulate the products! Unfortunately, Asians are “blessed” with very sensitive skin, hence our formulations are based on that specific requirement. Therefore, our products are super gentle and aimed to accommodate skin that is prone to sensitivities & irritations.
Eileen sent me the travel size bottle along with their cotton washcloth. The Cleansing Oil is sold in 2 sizes and usually only the full size comes with the washcloth.
Instructions:
1. Apply a small amount of Cleansing Oil onto DRY skin. DO NOT ADD WATER.
2. Gently massage onto face for about a minute or two.
3. Run hot tap water onto a washcloth until completely soaked. Squeeze out excess hot water, quickly wring it out.
4. Place washcloth over your face for about a minute, or until it cools. This will create steam that helps open up pores, hence removing the oils and any impurities in the skin.
5. Repeat 2 – 3 times if needed, to make sure your face is clear of any oil residue.
I followed these instructions while using and the hot washcloth felt amazing! I’ve started using it with all my wash-off masks too.
Consistency:
The oil is a lot thicker than the other oil cleansers that I’ve tried. It was difficult to spread and didn’t have much slippage so I ended up using a lot more product than usual just to cover my face. This results in a pretty thick oil layer. This cleansing oil does not dissolve into the usual white, thin foam like most Asian cleansing oils do on contact with water. It makes the oil really difficult to wash off and that’s where the steaming hot washcloth comes in handy. The steam breaks down the oil and feels so relaxing on the skin. The washcloth also physically wipes off the oil much better than hands do.
Odor:
It smells like Roses but also has a very strong oily smell. It isn’t the most luxurious scent in the world but it isn’t bad either. It’s just oily.
Effect:
It takes off makeup like a dream! It’s better than most makeup removers I’ve tried. It’s not good for deep cleansing and massaging since it isn’t slippery. I usually leave it on my face for a minute or two to completely break down mascara, eyeliner and any other hard-to-take-off makeup.
Ingredients: Organic Sunflower Seed Oil, Organic Safflower Seed Oil, Rose, Castor Oil, Vitamin E Oil, Herb infused Oil.
Olio Beauty also makes my job easier since their Etsy page has a whole list of reasons why they added every ingredient in and what it does for the skin.
Verdict:
I love how natural the product is and if you want to use this as a makeup cleanser, I say go for it! This oil is perfect for the purpose of removing makeup. I usually like to use oil cleansers to massage my face for about 20-30 mins every week or so which helps clean the pores and get rid of blackheads and comedones. (It really works! It’s gross but you can actually see the dirt and blackheads on your hands and your skin will feel smoother and cleaner than ever before.) If you do this too, this oil is terrible for that purpose. It can be difficult to wash off especially if you don’t have the time to use the hot washcloth.
You can buy the Full size and Travel size on the Olio Beauty Etsy along with all their other products.
Rating: 5/5 as makeup cleanser. 1/5 deep cleansing oil. Average of 3/5.
Here’s my Wish list of Olio Beauty products I look forward to trying:
- All the lipbalms!
- The cuticle oil pens. Peeping pomeranian reviewed these recently.
Sakura Meow Beauty 