Y’all have no idea how excited I was when Influenster reached out to me and let me know they were going to send me some Ole Henriksen products! Ole Henriksen has been in my beauty routine for YEARS because I have bought bottle after bottle of the Ole Henriksen Truth Serum. It’s just my very favorite Vitamin C brightening serum. I tend to experiment but I always, always come back. It’s a holy grail product for me.
But I hadn’t tried their new Balance Line! I was so excited when I got this box in the mail because while I knew I was getting some products to try, I was really surprised by the big box…
…Which had three full-sized Ole Henriksen products in it! I mean, WHAT! I was so, so excited to start playing.
I admit, I kind of tore into the products first before I read the insert they sent which had some information on their Balance line. I finally went back and I read that the core to this line is what they call their “Green Fusion Complex,” which is their proprietary blend of potent active botanicals – green tea, eucalyptus, algae (kelp), Irish moss extracts- with natural antiseptic properties which help to absorb oil and refine pores. This line also features an invigorating eucalyptus-peppermint scent.
I honestly could not try the line fast enough! However, I soon realized that while I think the products are great quality, they just aren’t for my skin type! I have dry/combination skin, whereas the Balance line would be much better suited for those of you out there with oily skin. (I also had an ill-fated idea to have Matt try the line. Long story short, Matt normally uses 0 products and when he tried 3 products, he did not like it… at all. I don’t think he had ever tried a toner before and I think it… startled him. But that is a conversation for another day.)
However, I wanted to give this review a fair shot so I reached out to my beauty bestie, Rachel Biggs, because I was pretty sure she had oily skin and would down to help out. Sure enough, she was fired up to try everything! I can always count on Rachel to talk about makeup and skincare products… for hours. We also love attending Neimans beauty events and you might remember that Rachel went with me to the Make Up Show Dallas. Our friendship goes way beyond the superficial but dude, we do tend to love the superficial shit in life. (I mean, you can probably tell by this blog that I am into the superficial shit in life. :))
But anyway…without further ado… here’s Rachel!
When Lauren asked me to review Ole Henriksen’s new Balance Skin Care line, designed to manage oily skin, I realized this is the only time in my life oily skin has been an advantage. I get that it may work in my favor as I age, but at this point, I am in that oily-skin-and-occasional-acne-slash-wrinkle-fighting stage of adulthood and it isn’t great. I heavily lean towards the fighting wrinkles end of this conundrum, so I jumped at the chance to test products on the other end of the spectrum. I tried three products from the Balance line: a cleanser, toner and moisturizer.
Find Your Balance Oil Control Cleanser ($25): A little goes a long way. In fact, if you use more than a nickel sized amount, you are wasting it. I predict this 5 ounce bottle lasts until my retirement, because so little is needed to work up a nice lather. I find this to be a major plus when considering a $25 cleanser. I am 80% sure I like the scent- it’s very eucalyptus-y. The packaging reveals this cleanser is made with Green Fusion Complex (including eucalyptus obviously), which I imagine contributes significantly to the scent. I like it… I think. Additionally, I highly recommend pairing this cleanser with a Clarisonic. Also, did I mention you only need a very small amount?
Balancing Force Oil Control Toner ($26): Full disclosure, I do not regularly use toner. I am not sure if I am lazy or I don’t get the point of an additional step after my face has been cleansed. Maybe both. This one smells nice and delivers the familiar (to some LOL Lauren! Poor Matt.) tingle. If you are into toners, you’ll probably like this one.
Counter Balance Oil Control Hydrator ($34): I have been using La Mer’s Crème de la Mer for years (not sure this is the wisest choice given my oily skin but pimples are temporary and wrinkles are forever) as my daily moisturizer, and as a result, I am accustomed to a lot of give in my makeup application routine. There are pros and cons here- the pro being it is easy to work with BB Cream and foundation when using a heavier moisturizer as the base. The con is that makeup doesn’t stay put. Enter Ole Henricksen’s Oil Control Hydrator. In contrast, this moisturizer doesn’t have a ton of give, and absorbs rather quickly. It didn’t give me any problems in the application of my BB cream and foundation, and I liked how my makeup didn’t slide around all over my face. However, it wasn’t quite hydrating enough to serve as a replacement to my daily moisturizer.
After one week of consistent use, my net takeaway is that if I were 10 or 15 years younger, and primarily concerned with controlling oil, Ole Henricksen’s Balance line would be perfect. It provides the right amount of oil control and as promised, doesn’t strip skin of necessary moisture. Of these three products, for me, the cleanser wins hands down, especially when coupled with the Clarisonic. I look forward to using it until I join the AARP.
Hey, it’s Lauren again! I decided to grab the Counter Balance Oil Control Hydrator back from Rachel (at a happy hour where we will drink champagne and eat doughnuts, like serious adults) because I really like using it after I wash my face in the morning before I go to the gym. I do not have it in me to not wash my face in the morning – I will literally wash my face every morning and every night without fail. It’s just ingrained in me. So after I wash my face pre-gym, I also need to use a moisturizer afterwards because my skin just feels a little too tight without anything, and I don’t want to use anything super greasy or thick since I’m just about to sweat/wipe it all off. But this stuff absorbs so quickly and feels kind of like your skin but better. Like Rachel, I think it’s too light for my regular use but it’s great for me for that “in-between” time of the day.
There is actually another product in this line called the Counter Balance Mattifying Moisture Cream that may actually work better for those of us with dryer skin, but we didn’t get to try that one. However, I think this might bridge the gap if you needed a bit more moisture than the Counter Balance Oil Control Hydrator, so you might want to check that out if you think this line sounds like something that would be right up your alley!
Final Grade: A
While the Ole Henriksen Balance line didn’t work for my dry skin, I really do think these are excellent products. Like Rachel said, if you are in your teens or 20’s and you are just warring with your oily skin, I really think these products will work so well for you! They don’t strip your skin dry like so many acne products on the market but they also leave your skin tingly and a little matte, making a perfect base for makeup.
Press sample received in exchange for an honest review
All opinions are my own
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