Estee Lauder Advanced Night Micro Cleansing Balm

Last winter, I tried a 7mL/0.22oz. sample jar of Estee Lauder Advanced Night Micro Cleansing Balm and liked it enough to order the 70mL/2.2oz full size with a fantastic promo ^.^

This is a cleansing balm that melts into a thin oil once massaged onto the skin. Although the oil is thin, it's still nice and smooth and isn't at all slippery or silicone-y. It rinses well and doesn't leave a film. It doesn't strip my skin either. Unlike with Take It Away Makeup Remover Lotion, there's no iffiness or wondering on my part whether it'd removed my waterproof sunscreen. I do use a follow up cleanser, as with all other cleansing and makeup removing oils, balms, and gels.

Both packaging and product are leak-free so far. The scent is pleasant too, a mild flowery scent with a whiff of citrus. This is another Estee Lauder product with a scent that reminds me of Japan. Turns out it's made in Japan. Ha ^.^

This cleansing balm sounds like a dream, right? Nope. First, it does contain polyethylene, so I won't repurchase base on that alone. Second, it's absurdly expensive for a cleansing balm in a cheap plastic jar with cheap microplastic solidifying ingredient--$47 for 70mL/2.2oz.! Most cleansing balms retail at half that for 90-100mL. In contrast, Three (a Japanese "clean" luxury brand) has a polyethylene-free cleansing balm in an 85g glass jar that retails at 6,000yen (~$55) but can often be found on Amazon JP for ~5,300yen (~$49) or, even better, on Rakuten JP for ~4,300yen (~$39.50). Sure, this Micro Cleansing Balm is nice, but EL isn't Three and that price is ridiculous, and if it weren't for the promotion I got I wouldn't have bought it. I won't buy it again even with a promotion.