[REVIEW] Innisfree Bija Trouble Facial Foam

I've been meaning to review a product that didn't work out well for me for a while, so here it finally is! Today I want to share my experience trying out Innsifree's Bija Trouble Facial Foam. I tried this cleanser out while in Korea over the summer (July/August) and took notes on its effects during that time. 

Review summary: I can't recommend it to anyone with sensitive or dry skin. It did not help my acne and instead inflamed it while making my pores appear more noticeable and made my skin feel too "squeaky clean."

Brand Marketing: 5/5

Packaging: 5/5

Scent: 1/5

Effectivity: 1/5

Overall: 2/5

Skin Profile

Type: Combination

Good points: Moisture (at the time of using this), no longer prone to cystic acne

Trouble: Mild breakouts, acne scarring, whiteheads, blackheads, large pores

Product Information

Brand: Innisfree
Name: Bija Trouble Facial Foam
Type: Foam Cleanser
Amount: 150ml
Boasts: 4/5 rating on Innisfree's site (so it must be working for other people!)

Buy internationally 
Innisfree: $10 + shipping
Jolse: $12.31 discounted price, free shipping

Ingredients
WATER, GLYCERIN, STEARIC ACID, MYRISTIC ACID, PEG-32, POTASSIUM HYDROXIDE, LAURIC ACID, BUTYLENE GLYCOL, COCAMIDOPROPYL BETAINE, GLYCERYL STEARATE, TORREYA NUCIFERA SEED OIL(750mg), SALICYLIC ACID, CITRUS UNSHIU PEEL EXTRACT, ORCHID EXTRACT, CAMELLIA SINENSIS LEAF EXTRACT, DEXTRIN, CAMELLIA JAPONICA LEAF EXTRACT, DISODIUM EDTA, MENTHOL, OPUNTIA COCCINELLIFERA FRUIT EXTRACT, ROSA CENTIFOLIA FLOWER EXTRACT, SODIUM HYDROXIDE, PEG-100 STEARATE, THEOBROMA CACAO (COCOA) EXTRACT, SODIUM BENZOATE, FRAGRANCE

*The Innisfree Green Promise is threefold:

1. Contributing to reducing carbon emission
2. Using 70% natural ingredient in skincare
3. Returning 1% of annual profit to neighbors

Brand Marketing

I absolutely love Innisfree's brand. I wish more of their skincare products worked for me (that's why I prefer Skinfood), but I still have more to try, so there's hope! 

CONCEPT: As you saw in Innisfree's Green Promise, they are an ethical company who cares about using natural ingredients, leaving a low carbon footprint, and helping "neighbors" (not sure who that is though!).

INGREDIENTS: I also like that the natural ingredients come from Jeju island, which is both luxurious and helps the Korean economy. However, I almost wish the products were more than 70% natural. Then again, I guess not every brand can be like Lush!

DESIGN: I love Innisfree's simple, minimalistic branding design, and especially that their packaging is recyclable. 

Brand Marketing
♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

Packaging

Packaging is simple, functional, and recyclable. No complaints here! 

Packaging
♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

Scent

Horribly strong herbal smell. At least it went away after a while. 1/5 instead of 0/5 since the smell didn't stick around.

Scent

♥♡♡♡♡

Effectivity

Innisfree's CLAIMS:

1. This refined, foamy lather thoroughly cleanses pores while preventing and relieving skin trouble.

1. Contains natural ingredients, such as salicyl acid, to remove dead skin cells and treat skin problems

Let's see how it looks in a swatch test. I marked small patches of eczema I had on my hand, so you can see how it fares during the cleansing. I do not necessarily have sensitive skin on my face, but I did have some acne.

I think the eczema showed how my acne reacted to using the cleanser. I used it for about two weeks in hopes that the redness and enlarged pores it was giving me was just the product working, but it wasn't. 

PROS

• Seems to be working for other reviewers from the Innisfree site. 
• Squeaky clean feeling, if some people like that (not me!)

CONS

• Skin felt tight and a little dry, as though it were TOO squeaky clean
• Pores seemed swollen, or enlarged (right after washing, but it would ease up a little after a while)
• Acne or trouble areas in general felt irritated and red
• A few new breakouts
• No positive change after using for two weeks

Claim 1: "cleanses pores while preventing and relieving skin trouble" ✘

I thought my enlarged pores meant they were being cleansed, but that wasn't the case at all. In two weeks, my skin trouble was not relieved and instead got worse.

Claim 2: "remove dead skin cells (and treat skin problems)" ✓

It certainly left my skin feeling squeaky clean, so it seems like it's done its job on this account. I put the second part to the skin in parenthesis since I believe it applies more to Claim 1. 

Instead of giving it 0/5 hearts, I'm leaving one just because some people might like the squeaky clean feeling it gives, which goes along with the "remove dead skin cells" part of its claim. 

Effectivity
♥♡♡♡♡

Overall

Favorite quality: As I said before, it has good reviews on Innisfree's site, and does leave you with a squeaky clean feeling.

Least favorite quality: Instead of clearing up my skin troubles, it made them worse :(

Would I buy this again? Never!

Would I recommend this? If your skin is not try or sensitive and if you like the squeaky clean feeling, I'd say try it. It's only $10 bucks, which is on the low side for a cleanser, and has good reviews on Innisfree's site.

Innisfree's branding and packaging saved the day on the overall score! Overall score should be a 3/5, but I'm going to cheat and knock it down to 2/5, because I think it's a better reflection of this product's performance. 

Overall score

♥ ♥ ♡ ♡ ♡