Some products earn their cult status the boring way: by quietly doing one job extremely well for years. Heimish's All Clean Balm is one of them — an affordable first-cleanse that became a staple in countless double-cleansing routines — and the Mandarin edition is that same proven balm wearing a brighter citrus scent. So the useful question isn't really 'is this good' (the base is well-established) but 'what does the Mandarin version change, and who should consider it.'
First, what makes the base so good. It's a sherbet balm: solid in the tub, it melts into a silky oil the moment you massage it over dry skin, dissolving makeup, sunscreen and the day's sebum — exactly the oily grime that water and foaming cleansers leave behind. The clever part is what happens next. Built into the formula are PEG emulsifiers (PEG-20 glyceryl triisostearate, PEG-8 isostearate) that let the balm turn milky and rinse away cleanly when you add water, so it lifts off rather than leaving the greasy film that gives oil cleansers a bad name. That tidy emulsify-and-rinse behavior is the single biggest reason people love it.
The second reason is that it's kinder than most balms. Tucked into the formula are ceramide NP and phytosphingosine — skin-identical barrier ingredients you rarely see in a cleanser — plus nourishing moringa oil, shea butter, and antioxidants from turmeric, green tea and vitamin E. The practical effect is that it cleanses thoroughly without that stripped, tight after-feel, leaving skin soft and comfortable. For a first-cleanse that you use every night, that comfort matters.
Now the Mandarin difference, which is essentially the scent. Where the original leans herbal, the Mandarin edition is built around bitter orange leaf, litsea cubeba, yuzu (citrus junos) and mandarin (citrus unshiu) oils, with lavender and artemisia underneath, for a brighter, fresher, citrus-forward aroma. If you love how the original performs but want a livelier smell, this is the straightforward swap; the cleansing behavior is unchanged.
That scent is also the honest caveat. The aroma comes from essential oils, and those — lavender, citrus and artemisia in particular — carry fragrance-sensitization potential. As a brief-contact rinse-off, the risk is lower than in a leave-on, and most people use it without any issue, but it means the balm isn't ideal for sensitive, reactive or rosacea-prone skin, and the essential-oil scent can sting if it drifts near the eyes during the melt-and-massage step. If you want a genuinely fragrance-free first-cleanse, neither the original nor the Mandarin fits. The other standard caveat is fungal acne: the esters and oils can feed malassezia, so fungal-acne-prone skin should choose a malassezia-safe cleanser instead.
On the practical points, it's vegan in composition — plant oils, soy sterols, a biosurfactant ferment, synthetic wax and synthetic ceramide, with nothing animal-derived — and it comes in a generous 120ml tub (with a smaller size available) that lasts months, which is a big part of its strong value. It suits normal, dry and combination skin beautifully and works for oily skin too as a first-cleanse; only sensitive and fungal-acne-prone skin should hesitate.
In use, it's genuinely pleasant: a soft sherbet that melts fast, removes even stubborn sunscreen and long-wear makeup, emulsifies milky with water, and rinses to a soft, clean, non-tight finish — now with a fresh citrus lift. Followed by a water-based second cleanse, it's a model first step in an evening routine.
The brand context is simply that this is one of K-beauty's most trusted cleansing balms in a new scent, and the complete INCI confirms the same well-built, comfortable formula behind the reputation.
A few practical notes make the experience even better. Treat it strictly as the first step of an evening double cleanse: massage it onto dry skin to melt and lift everything, emulsify with water until it turns milky, rinse, then follow with a water-based cleanser — the balm handles the oily layer, the second cleanse clears what's left. For hygiene, use the included spatula rather than dipping fingers into the tub, which keeps the balm clean over its months-long life, and store it somewhere that doesn't get hot so the sherbet texture stays consistent. As for choosing between this and the original, it really is just the scent: if you find the original's herbal-lavender aroma a little medicinal, the Mandarin's brighter citrus lift makes the nightly ritual more pleasant, while the cleansing performance, ceramide-and-phytosphingosine comfort and rinse-clean feel are identical. If essential-oil scents bother you, neither is the answer, but for everyone else the Mandarin edition is simply the more cheerful way to take your makeup off.
The bottom line: a cult-favorite emulsifying cleansing balm that melts makeup and sunscreen, rinses clean, and stays comfortable thanks to ceramide and phytosphingosine — here in a brighter citrus scent that's the only meaningful change from the original. Buy it if you double cleanse and want an effective, comfortable, great-value first step, and you enjoy a citrus-scented balm. Skip it if your skin is sensitive or fragrance-reactive, if you want a fragrance-free balm, or if you're managing fungal acne. For most people, it's an easy, reliable recommendation — and the Mandarin scent makes a nightly chore a little nicer.
