🥛 K-Beauty · 20-day review

beplain Mung Bean Cleansing Milk Balm: the balm that refuses to stay a balm

Heads up: some links below are affiliate links, so I may earn a small commission if you buy through them — at no extra cost to you. I bought this in Korea with my own money and used it for twenty days before writing this. Nothing here was gifted by a brand.

What makes it different, in one photo

Every cleansing balm I've used stays a balm while you're working with it. You scoop something waxy, it goes slick on your skin, and it holds that texture until water hits it and turns it into oil. That's the whole category.

This one collapses before water ever gets involved. Body heat alone is enough. You scoop a firm white lump, press it once, and within a few seconds it's running off your fingers like cream.

The instructions tell you to add water at step two to emulsify. In practice step one has already done most of the work. The water is there to help you rinse, not to trigger the change.

I'll be honest about why this matters to me: it's fun. There is a moment the first time where you go "wait, what?" and that reaction is most of why I kept reaching for this jar over two others sitting right next to it.

Twenty days on my face

I've now used this every evening for twenty days, and it's the one I'd buy again out of the three balms I've tested.

The finish is soft, not squeaky. No tightness, no rush to get toner on afterwards. And here's the part I want to be straight about: I'm a squeaky-finish person. I like that stripped-clean feeling. This doesn't give it to me, and I still kept using it. That's a stronger recommendation than me telling you it matches my preferences, because it doesn't.

No breakouts, no irritation, nothing unusual across three weeks. The scent is a soft milk-cream note that's noticeable while you're massaging and gone once you rinse. If strongly fragranced cleansers give you a headache, this one shouldn't.

An honest note on why I trust it. Part of my confidence here isn't clinical — it's the milk-cream scent and the whipped texture making the whole thing feel like massaging cream into my face rather than performing a chore. That's not a claim about efficacy. It's the reason a jar gets used up instead of abandoned at the back of a shelf, which is worth naming.

How well does it actually remove makeup

I drew a liquid eyeliner line and a heavily-pigmented lip tint on the back of my hand, the same test I ran on four Korean cleansing foams.

Light makeup: gone, no argument. A staining tint is a different story — most of it came away, but not all of it in one pass. If you wear long-wear lip products or heavy base, plan on a second cleanse rather than expecting this to finish alone.

The brand says no double cleanse. I double cleansed anyway.

The product page says the finish is clean enough that a second cleanse isn't needed. That's the claim I most wanted to test, and my answer splits from theirs.

I followed it with a foam every night. Without that step my T-zone still felt like something was sitting on it. I have combination skin with an oily T-zone, so this may be a me problem rather than a product problem — if your skin runs dry, or you only wear sunscreen and a little makeup, one pass may genuinely be enough for you.

But if you're oily anywhere, or your skin is reactive, I'd budget for the second step. That isn't a mark against the balm. It's the same conclusion I reached about every cleansing oil I've tested: first-step products are first-step products.

Now read the label, because the name is doing something

Two ingredients are in the product name. Here's what the Korean label prints next to them.

There is no dairy in the milk balm. The only "milk" on the ingredient list is a soy milk ferment at 300 parts per billion. And that's not a gotcha — look at the box and the brand is telling you plainly that milk describes what the texture turns into, not what's inside. The jar delivers exactly what the name promises. It's just that the promise is about physics, not ingredients.

I'm pointing it out because I assumed otherwise, and if you're shopping by ingredient you'd assume it too.

This is the third Korean cleanser in a row where the hero ingredient sits in the ppm range while the name sits in 48-point type. Beauty of Joseon's green plum cleanser lists plum water at 24.5% and plum extract at 1.5 ppm. Anua's foam leads with 33% heartleaf water and finishes with quercetin at 1 ppb. Read the number, not the noun.

What else is actually in it

Two things stood out that the marketing doesn't lead with.

Capryloyl salicylic acid. That's LHA, a salicylic acid derivative — a genuine exfoliating active. It's presumably where the brand's blackhead claim comes from. Worth knowing if you're already using acids at night, and worth knowing that the other two Korean balms I've tested contain no acids at all.

Ceramide NP, cholesterol and madecassoside are in there too, which lines up with twenty days of no irritation despite the acid. They built the barrier support in alongside the active.

The blackhead claim: still can't confirm

The product page cites a 26.10% reduction in blackhead area after a single use. That's a manufacturer-commissioned figure, and I'm reporting it as one rather than as a fact.

Twenty days in, I still can't see a difference I'd swear to. That doesn't mean the number is wrong — instrument measurement and my eyes in a bathroom mirror are not the same test. But if blackheads are the reason you're considering this jar, I can't tell you it worked for me, and I'd rather say that than fill the gap with something that sounds better.

Two things nobody tells you about the jar

Opening it is genuinely confusing the first time. Lift the lid and a spatula is wedged into the underside — take that out first. Underneath is a foil seal. Peel it back halfway, not all the way off.

There's also a separate white disc. Don't throw it away — the box tells you to keep it on top of the balm, and it stops water getting into the jar. Water in a balm jar is how balms go off early, so this is a real tip rather than packaging filler.

The colour varies between jars. The brand states the balm can arrive anywhere from pale green to white depending on when the raw material was sourced. Mine was close to white. If yours looks different from a photo you saw online, that's expected.

Two balms, one brand

The verdict

Buy it if

You wear light everyday makeup and sunscreen · you want a soft, comfortable finish rather than a stripped one · you've found wax balms stiff or draggy · you'd enjoy a texture that does something unexpected

Think twice if

You want that squeaky-clean feeling · you're hoping to skip the second cleanse entirely · blackheads are your main goal · you wear heavy or long-wear makeup daily — in which case pair it with a stronger second-step cleanser rather than writing it off