Small Talk: GRAYMELIN Cleansing Oils

care routine starts with a cleansing oil for double cleansing, but it’s perhaps one of the most overlooked steps in skin care. Cleansing oils gently dissolve makeup, sunscreen, dirt and other impurities, while keeping skin soft and moisturized. Best of all, it can be used for all skin types (you heard right, oily skin types)!

In this month’s installment of Small Talk, the YesStylists check in to see if we’re on top of our cleansing game. Korean skin care brand GRAYMELIN uses gentle and certified natural ingredients to formulate products that are safe for all skin types. We tried the brand’s Purifying Lavender Cleansing Oil, Fresh Cherryblossom Cleansing Oil and bestselling Canola Crazy Cleansing Oil to see how effective they are in the oil cleansing step of a skin care routine!

Agnes: How disciplined are you girls with cleansing your face after a long day? Sometimes, I wish I can just snap my fingers and get cleansed skin instantly!

Angela: As I have oily skin, I’m vigilant about cleansing my face after a long day. If I don’t, a breakout is not too far away.

Michelle: TBH, I’m not that religious with my cleansing. ? If there’s makeup involved, I’ll do a thorough double cleanse, but otherwise I get lazy and skip this step. I’ve been getting more breakouts though, so I’ve stepped up on my cleansing regimen!

Agnes: Ah, I think I’m with you there, Michelle! Angela, you seem on top of your game. ?

Angela: The threat of future pimples made me this way!

Agnes: ? What products make up your skin care routine?

Angela: I use a gel facial cleanser, toner and occasionally a serum. I never used cleansing oil before due to my oily skin type, because I thought the last thing I’d want to do is to add more oil on my face.

Michelle: I’m not the biggest fan of cleansing oils either, even though I have combination skin! I’m usually more of a makeup-melting balm and gel cleanser kind of girl.

Agnes: I used to think that oil cleansers would never work on oily skin, too! But I was doing some online shopping since I was running out of my micellar makeup remover and came across GRAYMELIN. I was intrigued with its variety of cleansing oils and felt adventurous to try something new.

Agnes: How keen are you girls to give these cleansing oils a try?

Angela: I’m shocked that I’ve become a convert.

Agnes: WOW, convert already?! Which one did you use?

Angela: I tried GRAYMELIN’s Purifying Lavender Cleansing Oil. I was initially concerned about trying the cleansing oil. Due to my oily skin, I thought I would end up with clogged pores and pimples. None of that happened!

Michelle: Same here. I’ve totally changed my mind about cleansing oils ever since I tried out GRAYMELIN’s Vita Yuja Cleansing Oil for my Beauty Lab review recently. The Crazy Canola Cleansing Oil I tried out this time was pretty great, too.

Angela: Now my eye and lip makeup remover is sitting untouched in my bathroom. Ha! Which one did you try, Agnes?

Agnes: Nice, sounds like the three of us made a new friend, haha! I tried the Fresh Cherryblossom Cleansing Oil, which made all my doubts about cleansing oils go away. Mine is supposed to work for all skin types, but I heard the lavender is especially good for oily skin. Is that right?

Angela: Yes, the lavender version is made to remove sebum in particular, while cleansing away makeup, so this version suits my needs precisely. It did the job on both fronts.

Agnes: I can imagine the lavender to be calming!

Angela: The lavender scent is pretty faint, so I’m not sure it calmed me as much as expected, though I appreciated its presence.

Agnes: TBH, when I first read canola, I thought of the cooking oil. ?

Angela: I had the same thought!

Michelle: Same here… I was a little concerned to say the least. ?

Agnes: Do you prefer the yuja one or the canola one more?

Michelle: It’s a tough call, but the yuja just about edges out the canola, simply cos it was more effective at removing makeup.

Angela: Is the fragrance strong on the Canola Crazy Cleansing Oil?

Michelle: There’s almost no scent, which is exactly how I like it.

Agnes: Mine is supposed to revitalize and brighten complexion, but I didn’t notice much effect other than its ability to remove makeup. The sweet, candy floral scent was quite subtle.

Did any of you think the texture was super oily upon first touch?

Angela: Oh yes, it felt super oily at first, but then after I added water, it instantaneously transformed into a milky texture.

Michelle: I’m not sure mine turned milky, but it def left my face feeling soft and hydrated rather than creating a greasy film like I feared. ?

Agnes: I think a little goes a long way. My hands were damp when I pumped it out so it was already milky. I’m not used to the super thick and oily feeling, but I read some of the customer reviews online and it’s actually supposed to feel that way. I appreciate the soft and hydrated finish, though!

Angela: As my makeup usually involves plenty of eye makeup, I appreciate that GRAYMELIN’s cleansing oil didn’t sting my eyes when I removed eyeliner, eye shadow, etc.

Agnes: Same! I’m heavy with eye makeup since I use thick eyeliner, but it didn’t irritate my eyes even when I accidentally rubbed some in. >.<

Were you able to wash off all your makeup in one go, though?

Michelle: Took a couple of rinses for me…

Angela: Me too, Michelle.

Agnes: OMG, me three!

Angela: It took more effort to rinse away my waterproof makeup, like my eyeliner!

Agnes: As oily as it is, I couldn’t wipe my makeup off completely. I had to use a few extra pumps for that stubborn eyeliner.

Angela: This happened to me too!

Michelle: I know. Sometimes I just resorted to micellar water for extra help removing eye makeup. ?

Angela: Oh no!

Agnes: I think it’ll work best on days you keep your makeup to a bare minimum, but I was hoping this cleansing oil would be my one-stop shop, haha.

Michelle: Yea, for days when I’m going full-on with makeup − which isn’t that often − I might go back to a makeup cleansing balm.

Agnes: Hmm, I’d just resort to micellar water to wipe off makeup and leave this cleansing oil for an easy makeup day. On the plus side, I’m glad it didn’t strip my skin of moisture while I was scrubbing my face clean.

Angela: Agreed. I appreciate that I don’t get that taut feeling after cleansing anymore.

Agnes: Did you see any noticeable improvements to your skin?

Michelle: TBH, not really. But I feel like by ridding my face of sebum and keeping it fresh, it’s probably already doing a lot of good.

Random question… Did any of you find the pump weirdly angled, or was it just mine? The product occasionally landed on the bathroom wall rather than on my palm. ?

Angela: Yes, the pump angle is strange. It made a bit of a mess when I pressed it more than once in succession. Maybe it’s because the mouth of the pump is really narrow. It happened whenever I pressed hard, squirting the product beyond the palm of my hand.

Agnes: LOL. ? I didn’t experience this! But it’s so tall that it couldn’t fit in my shower shelf!

Angela: I agree, it’s massive. My bottle of GRAYMELIN is bigger than my shampoo and body wash!

Agnes: Haha, luckily this type of oil should be easy to clean off surfaces. Imagine if it was any other kind of oil >.<!!

Angela: As it takes a few rinses to cleanse your face each time, I get why it’s so big.

Agnes: Hmm, I wonder if GRAYMELIN thought of this prior. They lucked out if they didn’t!

Michelle: I should be more religious in my cleansing though!

Agnes: AGREED! I should, too. Will you both continue to use the cleanser?

Angela: Absolutely. It opened my eyes to the world of double cleansing. Previously, after using my makeup remover, I left my facial cleanser to do the heavy lifting of cleansing off everything else, like BB cream. This cleansing oil does the initial task of cleansing away everything on my face first that by the second facial cleansing, there’s little left to do!

Agnes: Likewise. I used to rely on only makeup remover to clean my face, followed by a face wash. I’ll still incorporate this cleansing oil to double cleanse. It’s keeping my skin supple and moisturized as we’re moving into colder temps. ❄️

Michelle: I’d say that the pump is the only thing I’m not 100% sure about. Otherwise, I’m a total convert to oil cleansers and to GRAYMELIN, lol.

Angela: Me too. It’s my first time using GRAYMELIN and I’m now a fan. Agnes, did you find that cherry blossom benefits your skin? It’s not an ingredient I’ve ever used on my skin.

Agnes: It’s my first time using this ingredient. It’s supposed to brighten skin, but TBH, I didn’t notice too much in that regard, so I don’t think you’re missing out on much. ?

Angela: Michelle, what’s your impression of using canola now?

Michelle: I’m incorporating this canola cleansing oil into my skin care routine if I’m not wearing heavy makeup! I love that the canola version is super gentle, maybe even more so than the yuja version.

Agnes: Oil cleansers are here to stay. I may try a few more. I’m keen on the canola one actually, hehe.

Michelle: Go for it! I’m keen on the cherry blossom version, haha. The name just sounds so dreamy!

Agnes: It’s the closest thing we can get to cherry blossoms for now!

Angela: I like the minimalistic packaging – simple and fuss-free. But most of all, the product is gentle and didn’t clog my skin or leave it vulnerable to pimples.

Agnes: Exactly. The minimal packaging speaks to the formulations. The fact that it’s non-comedogenic is the most important thing to look out for when using an oil cleanser or anything oily for that matter.

All in all, I think we can say that we’ve upped our skin care game by adding a GRAYMELIN cleansing oil into our routine. Even though it didn’t exactly clean our makeup off as effectively, the cleansing oil kept our skin healthy and the moisture levels in check.

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