The Balm Time Balm Skin Clarifier

You will probably know The Balm from their make up. Some of their eyeshadow palettes and also their Mary Lou-Manizer highlighter are some cult products in the beauty community. But did you know they do skincare too? I didn’t. Until I found this Time Balm White Tea Sunflower Skin Clarifier. An interesting product that I didn’t know anything about and that took some time for me to figure out how to use this properly. But once I figured that out, it became an important part of my make up routine.

The Balm Time Balm White Tea Sunflower Skin Clarifier with Witch Hazel extract

So before we get to the product I have to be very honest with you. I have no clue how much this originally retails for. I picked it up while I was in Denmark a few years ago. They had to get rid of all their The Balm stock as they were no longer allowed to sell it and hence had a huge sale on. Everything on the table cost a mere €2. So that’s what I paid for this too. An absolute steal, well worth the money even if it wouldn’t work out.

Time Balm comes in a straight up plastic bottle. The retro The Balm styling on the packaging is still recognizable though. From the box to the sticker on the bottle itself: the attention to detail on something this simple is pretty neat. This product is aimed at normal to combination skin which is probably why this product didn’t work for me at first.

This is the first skin clarifier I have ever tried. What drew me in to buy this was the fact that this contains witch hazel and sunflower oil. Especially witch hazel is a skincare product that I have heard many great things about. This product promises to lighten and purify your skin, which sounded interesting to me, but I wasn’t sure how that would work.

So mostly this product promises to lighten age spots and to contract pores. I’d say this is therefore best if you have a slightly oilier skin type. Mine is quite dry during the winter when I first tried this and I had the worst allergic reaction. After applying this onto a cotton pad and gently wiping some on my face, my face was super duper red. Oh noes!

That’s when I actively checked the ingredients. And there I found the culprit: dehydrating alcohol is right up at the top of the list. The rest of the ingredients are actually not that bad, but that large amount of alcohol was probably what did me in. So I put it aside and didn’t use it for months. Until… I started using the Garnier Micellar Water + Oil. I found that left a bit of an oily residue on my face and so I was looking for something to take off that oily layer. And this does the job very very well.

Left: Time Balm on a cotton pad
Right: That same cotton pad after use

So how does it work? Well let’s get to why I think this works for me now. A) It is summer and my skin is therefore a tad oilier. B) I have been working on my skincare routine and taking much better care of my skin. I feel my skin hasn’t been very sensitive for the past 6 months and I think it has to do with the fact that I have found a skincare routine that works.

What it does for my skin is giving a thorough cleanse. I think this product could best be compared to an exfoliating toner. A bit more intense than your regular toner and definitely something that gets the job done. I feel it makes my skin feel smoother, look more radiant and I also have the impression that my skincare is absorbed better and more quickly.

In short, this product has had nothing but benefits for me. Truth be told, I still get the occasional flare up of redness, but that’s mainly if I haven’t been very diligent with my skincare routine! It is running out quickly though, but luckily I have a few other toners in my beauty stash that can serve as backups. Because honestly, I wouldn’t know where else I could buy this product.

Are you a fan of toners?
Which one would you recommend I try next?