Another Cleansing Stick! Neogen Green Tea Real Fresh Cleansing Stick Review

My obsession with cleansing sticks started waaaay back when, in 2014 when I arrived in Seoul, thanks to Sheryl from The Wanderlust Project and her love for the Su:m37 Miracle Rose Cleansing Stick. She got me firmly hooked on that, and I also jumped on Belif’s Chamomile Stick when that was released. I loved both, and compared them here. So when Neogen got in touch? Cleansing stick pretty please! I was pumped to try it, so let’s see how it worked out for me after three weeks continual use. I’m gonna kinda compare it to the other two cleansing sticks along the way.

This product was provided courtesy Neogen, but as per this doesn’t affect my review in any way.

Purpose

So I’m actually pretty late on the Neogen cleansing stick bandwagon. It came out quite a while ago and people have talked about it a lot. The purpose is obviously to cleanse. 

On the stick it says:

“…formulated with naturally derived ingredients and real green tea leaves to deep clean clogged pores. While effectively cleansing, the green tea seed oil simultaneously supplies the skin with moisture to deliver a clean and moisturized cleansing experience without over-drying skin. The gently formula performs both makeup removal and cleansing, conveniently simplifying double cleansing into one easy step. Perfect for daily use.”

So they claim that this can replace double cleansing. Not sure how I feel about that!

Product Details & Ingredients

Full name: Neogen Real Fresh Cleansing Stick Green Tea

Amount: 80g (the same as Su:m37 MRCS and Belif Chamomile CS)

Ingredients:

Glycerin, purified water, cocos nucifera (coconut) oil, palmitic acid, stearic acid, lauryl betaine, betaine, camellia sinensis leaf(0.3%), camellia sinensis seed oil(0.1%), camellia japonica seed oil, olea europaea (olive) fruit oil, helianthus annuus (sunflower)seed oil, limnanthes alba (meadowfoam) seed oil, oenothera biennis (evening primrose) oil, tocopheryl acetate, citrus aurantifolia (lime) oil, ocimum basillicum (basil) oil, cananga odorata flower oil, citrus limon (lemon) peel oil, origanum heracleoticum floweroil, citrus aurantium dulcis (orange)peel oil, fragrance.

There are quite a lot of oils here, which may be irritating to some. Check for your own sensitivities.

Directions for use:

“After opening the cap, twist the bottom of the container to the right until the cleansing stick comes up and is clearly visible. On wet skin, apply the cleansing stick directly on the skin using soft circular motions to help massage the skin as it dissolves the makeup. After the makeup is thoroughly dissolved, use lukewarm water to rinse all the remaining product until completely washed off. Please repeat the above process as necessary if you are in need of deeper cleansing.”

Packaging

The packaging is simple, perfect for travel, and sturdy. It definitely looks like a basic drugstore brand, with the transparent green plastic, in comparison to the luxury of Su:m37 and the apothecary style of Belif’s version. I prefer the latter two in terms of packaging, but that’s what higher price points will give you. However the cleansing stick is exactly the same size and shape.

The actual stick of the Neogen cleanser is cut straight across, whilst the MRCS is slightly concave, and the Belif a little convex. The outward curve of the Belif is best for application IMO, but the straight cut of Neogen’s is also fine.

Texture & Scent

Now personally, I initially love the scent. It smells like many other green tea products I’ve smelled, and it’s really refreshing and enjoyable to my nose. However, after massaging in, it does begin to smell a little more like basic soap. It’s just undertones, but it’s not the most pleasant. I’ve also read a few reviews of people who hate the scent…so yeah, a very personal choice.

The texture is hard being a stick, and then when it comes into contact with water, it slightly bubbles and immediately feels creamy on skin. It seems creamier than either the MRCS or the Belif, and that was a difference I noticed straight away. I really like that.

As with the other two sticks, this also includes bits within the stick and in this case they’re tea leaves. The bits are kinda abrasive, as I mentioned about the pieces in the Belif stick. The roses in the MRCS are the the softest ‘extras’ of the three. After three weeks use there are still just as many leaf bits as when I first started using it. I’ve found that with both Belif and MRCS the pieces decrease as you get through the stick.

Application & pH

Because of the harsher texture of the green tea leaves, I find it a little abrasive to directly massage the stick on my face. I was quite surprised by their texture, although I know many will like that light exfoliating feel. I’ve mainly been massaging the stick in my hands first, working up a lather and then applying to my face. This is a little more labor intensive than applying directly to face.

When applied directly to my face, it does seem to lather slightly more easily than the other two cleansing sticks, and even in my hands too (although like I said, this takes a little more work). If you’re not used to low pH cleansers, you may be left underwhelmed with the foaming ability. Typically low pH cleansers do not bubble and foam the way we all love a cleanser to typically do. But I’d rather take the low pH over a stripping foam- each to their own. 

The pH of this cleanser came out between 5.5 and 6 to me, which for my own personal wants, is totally acceptable, and something I was happy with (for reference my water comes out at pretty much a solid 7). If you’re wondering why I’m talking about the pH of cleansers, head over to Snow White and the Asian Pear for a science lesson– that’s where I learned about the importance of low pH cleansers in keeping skin healthy. These days I do try to generally go for low pH cleansers, particularly for daily use, but I dabble in higher pH too if I like a product.

Overall Performance

I’m actually really liking this. Totally into it, because I love the creamy, delicate bubbles and, for the most part, the scent. It feels pleasant on my skin, and gives a thorough cleanse. My combination skin does feel sliiightly tight afterwards, so that’s something to bear in mind, particularly for those of you with dry skin. It’s certainly not been anywhere near as tight as with other cleansers I’ve tried, and I’ve honestly only noticed it because I’ve been carefully analyzing the stick for review.

On the other hand, I don’t think it can remove makeup and act as a one step cleanser, as claimed. I’ve still been double cleansing, as I really do believe it’s the only way to fully remove all my sunscreen and makeup and dirt. The claim that it can act as both is a little bold IMHO.

This is a reasonably priced option, and if I wasn’t a skincare blogger (always testing new products), one I’d definitely repurchase. However I say this based off Korea prices…in Korea, I’ve seen it mostly around 12,000 won. This is what I feel it’s worth- a simple, effective, easy to use cleanser with drugstore packaging. Abroad I’m seeing the price varying wildly, between $12 to $22. I think $22 is seriously overpriced. After all, in Korea I pay about $24 for my MRCS, which is a high end, department store brand, and much more luxurious than Neogen’s version. I see Neogen’s version as the more affordable cleansing stick option, and it shouldn’t be in the same price bracket as the higher end options. My judgments in this review are based on this as a drugstore product.

Comparing Neogen’s stick to MRCS and Belif’s CS, ultimately I think the MRCS will always have my heart, for the pure luxury, soft rose petals and scent. But the Neogen is totally in line with Belif for me in terms of how much I like it. The differences between the three are pretty minimal, and are based largely on scent, packaging and price point.

Like I said, I’m looking at Neogen as a fantastic cleansing stick option for those of us on a budget, and one I’d definitely reach for again if I needed a simple, affordable, but enjoyable, cleanser. Cleansing sticks generally are a form I love, and this one hasn’t disappointed.

Have you tried this? What were your thoughts?