A botanical turmeric saffron cleansing balm that melts waterproof mascara, long-wear foundation and SPF — then rinses away clean. Eleven ingredients, no detergents, and real saffron rather than a saffron-scented substitute.
$22.00
Waterproof makeup is designed to resist water. That is precisely why washing your face does not remove it.
A cleansing balm works on a different principle: like dissolves like. Applied to dry skin, the botanical oils in this balm bond with the oils, waxes and silicones in your makeup and sunscreen — and once bonded, everything lifts away together when water is introduced. No rubbing, no cotton pads, no tugging at your lashes.
Our balm is built on sweet almond, grapeseed, avocado and jojoba oils, thickened with shea butter and candelilla wax into a soft, scoopable texture. Turmeric, saffron and ginger oils give it its golden colour and its warm, faintly spiced character.
Saffron is the reason this balm exists. It is the most expensive spice in the world and it is almost never used in cleansing balms because of the cost — most “golden” balms use turmeric alone. Saffron has been used in skincare across South Asia and the Middle East for centuries, valued for helping skin look brighter and more even.
Use it as the first step of a double cleanse: balm first to dissolve makeup, then a facial bar to wash everything away. On a bare-faced day you will not need it — this is the product for evenings when you are wearing something that will not budge.
mascara, long-wear foundation, heavy eye makeup.
the thing most cleansers leave behind entirely.
the oils do the work, so you don't drag at delicate skin.
emulsifies with warm water, leaves no greasy film
botanical oils replenish as they cleanse.
not a fragrance, an actual saffron oil infusion.
Sweet almond oil, grapeseed oil, avocado oil, shea butter, polysorbate 80, castor oil, jojoba oil, turmeric oil, saffron oil, candelilla wax, ginger.
Polysorbate 80 is what allows an oil balm to emulsify and rinse away with water instead of sitting on the skin. Without it, a balm needs wiping off with a cloth.
Use caution around the eyes. For external use only — if it gets in your eyes, rinse thoroughly with clean water.
Saffron is harvested by hand from crocus flowers and it takes around 150 flowers to produce a single gram. It is the most expensive spice in the world, which is why you almost never see it in a cleansing balm. In skincare it has a long history across South Asia and the Middle East, valued for helping skin look brighter and more even in tone. We use a genuine saffron oil infusion, not a saffron fragrance.
Turmeric works alongside saffron here. It gives the balm its warm colour and has been used in traditional skincare for centuries to help skin look less dull.
Ginger gives the balm its faint spiced warmth. It rounds out the turmeric and saffron into something that smells like a ritual rather than a cleanser.
Three light-to-medium plant oils that dissolve makeup without feeling heavy. Grapeseed is the lightest and absorbs quickly; avocado is the richest and suits drier skin; sweet almond sits between them.
Jojoba is technically a liquid wax and its structure is unusually close to human sebum, which is why it tends to be so well tolerated. It helps the balm cleanse without disrupting the skin’s own balance.
These two turn a blend of oils into a scoopable balm. Shea adds richness and stays on the skin after rinsing; candelilla is a plant wax that provides the structure without the heaviness of beeswax.
This is the one ingredient people ask about. It is an emulsifier: it lets oil and water combine, which is what turns the balm milky when you add water and allows it to rinse away completely. Without it you would need a cloth to remove the balm — and you would still be left with a film.
A cleansing balm is an oil-based product used on dry skin as the first step of cleansing. It dissolves makeup, sunscreen and excess oil, which water-based cleansers cannot fully break down. A normal cleanser then washes everything away. Using both is called double cleansing.
Yes. Waterproof formulas resist water, not oil. The botanical oils bond with the mascara and it lifts away without rubbing — which is also gentler on your lashes than any wipe.
No, provided you emulsify it properly. Add warm water while still massaging and keep going until the balm turns milky — that is the emulsification. Then rinse. If a balm feels greasy afterwards, it almost always means it was rinsed before it emulsified.
Turmeric and saffron do different things. Turmeric brings warmth and colour; saffron is valued specifically for helping skin look brighter and more even in tone. Saffron is also extremely expensive, which is why most golden balms use turmeric alone. We use both.
It removes eye makeup well, but use caution and keep it out of the eye itself. If it does get in your eye, rinse thoroughly with clean water.
Oil cleansing is generally gentler than foaming cleansing, because there are no detergents involved. That said, this balm contains sweet almond oil, turmeric, saffron and ginger oils. If your skin is reactive, patch-test on your inner forearm and wait 24 hours before using it on your face.
Most turmeric balms skip the saffron, because saffron is expensive. We did not. Eleven botanical ingredients, 4 fl oz, handmade in New Orleans.
Every bar is mixed, poured, cut, cured and wrapped by hand in our New Orleans workshop. Small-batch means one person inspects every bar before it leaves our hands.
