Review: Belif Nose-Shine Boy Blackhead Remover Oil Balm

This summer when I went to Korea again a friend of mine recommended this Korean brand called "Belif." I've actually never heard of this brand before but when I went to the Lotte Duty Free floor I found a small booth selling Belif products...and impulsively bought like 5 products from them. I was on vacation mode! That's my justification...

Description (from their official pamphlet):

• Belif blackhead remover oil balm melts into oil as being applied on skin, in turn, gently melting blackheads
• With calendula, chickweed and cleavers, it lessens skin irritation and inflammation after cleansing, and finishes off with a tidying effect
• Either before cleansing or after, take an appropriate amount of dry hands, then massage in a circular motion for 5 minutes, with fingers on the areas of blackheads. When done, wipe wastes with a soft tissue, followed by washing with a cleansing foam

My impression:

For those who are unfamiliar with Belif (like I was), this is a little blurb from their official pamphlet that contains information on all their products from each product line:

Belif is a "true herbal cosmetic" brand, delivering the highest value and quality based on processes and philosophy created by a UK herbalist, Duncan Napier, 150 years ago. Belief, inheriting Scottish herbalist Duncan Napier's 150 year old philosophy, has developed tailored products for today's skin concerns. Belief uses only essential ingredients, lists them all honestly and does not use flashy packaging. 

Kind of reminds me of the Benton cosmetic line concept, using simple packaging and minimizing harmful extraneous substances.

Anyways, so this blackhead remover oil balm does work to remove my blackheads. I would say it is as effective in removing blackheads as the Kose Softymo Nose Clean Pack charcoal nose strips, which is what I use regularly to remove blackheads. The only problem is this blackhead remover oil balm requires me to rub my nose continuously for 5 minutes. And you have to rub moderately hard to get things moving and to get the blackheads to "melt." My fingers were pretty tired by the end of it. And one circular motion in the same place won't get all the blackheads, so you gotta keep moving to other places. You also need to be super sure that you've wiped all the oil off your nose or else the oil might go into the pores where the blackheads use to be = BIG pimple.

Compared to just waiting 10 minutes for the Kose Softymo Nose Clean Pack charcoal nose strips while doing other things like studying or reading and not having tiring fingers. And not having to worry that if you don't clean the oil balm completely off your nose, the oil might seep into a pore and give you a big pimple.

You all probably know what my verdict is from reading the above two paragraphs. Nose strips are a much more convenient way to go.

Summary:

Same effectiveness in removing blackheads as Kose Softymo Nose Clean Pack charcoal nose strips
Requires you to rub your nose for 5 minutes = tiring
If you don't wipe the oil off your nose completely the oil may end up clogging your pores = big pimple
$27 for 30g on koreadepart.com

Quality: 4/5 because it's quite effective in removing blackheads but it requires you to continuously rub your nose for 5 minutes. Too inconvenient and tiring when you've got nose strips as an alternative.

Value: 5/5 because you use so little every time so 30g will last a few years

Repurchase? Nope, too inconvenient. Will be sticking with Kose Softymo Nose Clean Pack charcoal nose strips