Let me start off this post by saying: It’s not a dupe for Farmacy Green Clean Makeup Meltaway Cleansing Balm.
Sure, they’re both balms, they’re both green, and they share less than 10 ingredients, but that’s pretty much all you’ll find in common with them.
As per the title, I will be more detailed about PF’s Matcha 3-in-1 Melting Balm, but along the way I will make comments about Farmacy’s Green Clean.
CLAIMS
WHAT IT IS:
An ultra gentle 3-in-1 cleansing balm that melts away makeup, deeply cleans away impurities and leaves the skin fully supple and hydrated.WHY IT’S GOOD FOR YOU:
Antioxidant-packed and enriched with Matcha Green Tea, Bamboo Shoot, and Lotus Extract.
Physician’s Formula Offical Website
Price: $14.99 CAD
Amount: 1.40 oz / 40g
Price per oz: ~$10.7 CAD
At first glance it looks like the best bang for your buck, right? Let’s compare to be sure:
Farmacy Green Clean MINI size
Price: $28 CAD
Amount: 1.7 oz / 50 ml
Price per oz: ~16.47 CAD
Farmacy Green Clean FULL size
Price: $44 CAD
Amount: 3.2 oz / 90 ml
Price per oz: ~$13.75 CAD
As we can see, PF is more cost effective than the Farmacy Green Clean full size by $3.05 CAD, and I’m surprised at the price per oz for the Farmacy Green Clean Mini!
INGREDIENTS
FARMACY GREEN CLEAN MELTAWAY CLEANSING BALM INGREDIENTS: Cetyl Ethylhexanoate, Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride, Peg-20 Glyceryl Triisostearate, Peg-10 Isostearate, Polyethylene, Phenoxyethanol, Sorbitan Sesquioleate, Citrus Aurantifolia (Lime) Oil, Citrus Aurantium Bergamia (Bergamot) Fruit Oil, Melia Azadirachta Leaf Extract, Melia Azadirachta Flower Extract, Amino Esters-1, Citrus Aurantium Dulcis (Orange) Peel Oil, Amber Powder, Cananga Odorata Flower Oil, Coccinia Indica Fruit Extract, Solanum Melongena (Eggplant) Fruit Extract, Curcuma Longa (Turmeric) Root Extract, Ocimum Sanctum Leaf Extract, Corallina Officinalis Extract, Moringa Oleifera Seed Oil, Zingiber Officinale (Ginger) Root Oil, Helianthus Annuus (Sunflower) Seed Oil, Water, Glycerin, Butylene Glycol, Echinacea Purpurea Root Extract, Carica Papaya (Papaya) Fruit Extract, Moringa Pterygosperma Seed Extract, Disodium Phosphate, Citric Acid.
PF 3-IN-1 MELTING BALM INGREDIENTS: CETYL ETHYLHEXANOATE, CAPRYLIC/CAPRIC TRIGLYCERIDE, SORBETH-30 TETRAOLEATE, PEG-5 GLYCERYL TRIISOSTEARATE, PEG-10 ISOSTEARATE, POLYETHYLENE, FRAGRANCE/PARFUM, CAMELLIA SINENSIS LEAF POWDER*, PHYLLOSTACHYS EDULIS SHOOT WATER**, NELUMBO NUCIFERA FLOWER EXTRACT***, CITRUS NOBILIS (MANDARIN ORANGE) PEEL OIL, WATER/EAU, PHENOXYETHANOL, SORBITAN SESQUIOLEATE, POLYGLYCERYL-10 OLEATE, BUTYLENE GLYCOL, LACTIC ACID, SODIUM BENZOATE, CAPRYLYL GLYCOL, POTASSIUM SORBATE, ETHYLHEXYLGLYCERIN, HEXYLENE GLYCOL, MALTODEXTRIN, YELLOW 5 (CI 19140), BLUE 1 (CI 42090). *MATCHA, **BAMBOO, ***LOTUS
CAMELLIA SINENSIS LEAF POWDER: antioxidant
PHYLLOSTACHYS EDULIS SHOOT WATER: skin-soothing, antioxidant
NELUMBO NUCIFERA FLOWER EXTRACT: skin-soothing, antioxidant
Sure, there’s some similar ingredients, especially the base of the balms. However, the exprience of each is completely different!
EXPERIENCE
SCENT: Light, artificial pear scent. Notice how for PF it just says parfum and Green Clean actually lists the fragrance derived ingredients.
TEXTURE: Thick balm.

APPLICATION: Scoop of a nickel-quarter size amount for my face and neck. I’d use the latter amount if I was wearing a lot of makeup that day. Melts quickly and keeps a fairly melted, vaseline-like consistency.
FINISH: No residue or heavy moisture.
INSTANT RESULTS: No residue and skin is left feeling calm.
LONG-TERM RESULTS: Nothing crazy to report.
FINAL THOUGHTS
For a Western drugstore brand, Physician Formula the Perfect Matcha 3-in-1 Melting Balm is a nice makeup remover balm. Also the ingredients are not that bad. I’d have to say though, after trying Farmacy Green Clean Meltaway Cleansing Balm in rotation, the experience is totally different. FG feels more luxe, whereas PF just feels like a standard, no fuss balm. Also, Farmacy doesn’t use dyes to get the green colour 😉 So out of the two, I’d still choose Farmacy Green Clean, but I still recommend Physician’s Formula the Perfect Matcha 3-in-1 Melting Balm for those looking for a drugstore alternative!
What do you guy’s think of Physician’s Formula new skincare? I’m glad drugstore brands are coming out with better skincare products and more options for us to choose from!
xo, M
WHERE TO BUY:
iHerb
Shoppers Drug Mart