Photo By: Elin Chow

I was introduced to The Face Shop Rice Water Bright O2 Cleansing Foam while I was doing some quick shopping at The Face Shop retail store. A retail assistant came over to assist with my purchase and while she was attending to me, she tried to convince me to include this Rice Water Bright O2 Cleansing Foam into my shopping basket as well. Of course, I was not very keen in making a purchase, especially when I am not familiar with this product at all. Surprisingly, the retail assistant was very patient and followed me around the store, trying to convince me how great this cleansing foam was. At the end, I was pressured into making a purchase and I was actually glad that I did. Thanks to the persistent retail assistant, I managed to add another great facial cleanser to my skin care routine.

What The Face Shop Says

The Face Shop Rice Water Bright O2 Cleansing Foam is a gentle facial cleanser made with Rice Water that helps to cleanse and remove impurities from the skin effectively. While cleansing, its rice water ingredient also keep the skin moisturized, leaving it feeling softer and brighter than before.

Benefits Of Rice Water On Skin

For centuries, rice water is Asia's one best kept secret due to its many amazing skin benefits. Rice water, or in particular, fermented rice water, is known to be rich in antioxidants, minerals, B vitamins, vitamin E and traces of Pitera, the magical anti-aging elixir found in all SKII products. Pitera is famously known for its ability in promoting cell regeneration, thus helping skin to stay young and beautiful.

Apart from that. the nutrients in the fermented rice water is said to have the ability to shrinking pores size, reduce fine lines, fade dark aging spots and firm up the skin. Due to its antioxidants properties, fermented rice water is also believed to have the ability to ease inflammation, thus creating a healthier, smoother and more radiant looking skin.

What I Like About This Cleansing Foam

1. Gentle cleanser

The Face Shop Rice Water Bright O2 Cleansing Foam is an extremely gentle cleanser, yet it cleanse the skin well. While keeping the skin clear and clean, it does not strip the skin of its natural oil, thus leaving it feeling soft and moisturized.  I am actually pleased that my skin does not feel irritated or dry after I washed the cleansing foam off with clean water. On the other hand, I find this product rather effective in helping me to soothe the irritation and redness during my bad skin days.

I do not have dry or sensitive skin, but still, I often get red patches on my face sometimes, especially on bad air days. The skin tends to dry and flake off at these spots, leaving an itchy sensation. Whenever at such times, I would usually find myself reaching out for this cleansing foam to soothe my irritated and sensitive skin. I must agree that this product is very gentle on skin, yet it efficiently helps to exfoliate flaky dead skin cells.

In addition to that, I noticed that my complexion seems to appear brighter and glow more radiantly on the days when I used this product. I actually like the consistency of this product too. It is very soft and creamy, but not too runny. Surprisingly, it foams well too. This product also comes with a very light milky rice smell which I am not particularly fond of. The smell is nothing unpleasant, so I am not sure why I dislike it.

Unfortunately, this cleansing foam does not have any oil controlling properties at all. My skin tends to feel very greasy again just after a few hours I had washed my face with The Face Shop Rice Water Bright O2 Cleansing Foam. Thus, this might not be suitable for all skin types as what The Face Shop has claimed. Instead, my experiences with this cleansing foam actually tells me that it might be more suited for people with dry or sensitive skin due to its gentleness.

2. Removes makeup efficiently

Furthermore, I must say that this product really does a great job in helping me to remove some of my waterproof makeup without causing any irritation to my skin and eyes. However, do not expect it to remove everything.

3. Packaging

I have a love - hate relationship with the packaging. First, let me explain what are the things I love about the packaging.


The Face Shop Rice Water Bright O2 Cleansing Foam comes in a sturdy pump tube with a transparent cap, containing 120ml of the product. I always feel that such packaging is very hygienic and easy to use. While the it is beautiful to look at, I actually find the packaging a little bit too bulky and not exactly travel-friendly at all. Even so, I would still find myself packing this product into my travel bag whenever I am going for a weekend getaway. This is when I usually put on very minimal makeup and since this product serves well as both a facial cleanser and an effective makeup remover. I figured it out that it will make my life much more convenient to bring it along for my shorter trips.
However, the only bad thing is that the tube is opaque, which makes it impossible for me to determine how much of the product is left. I would definitely love to know how much of the cleansing foam I have used so that I could buy a new one before it completely finishes up.

Most of the pumps does not work flawlessly all the time. For those that does not work well, a lot of the product might be stuck and gone wasted at the bottom of the tube if I could not get them out. Annoyingly, the dispensing pump cap of this product cannot be opened, which makes it impossible for me to get to the bottom of the tube. As much as I love the packaging, I also hate the fact that so much product has been wasted.

It would be great if The Face Shop could consider changing the packaging to a transparent tube, with a pump cap that can be opened. This would definitely help its consumers to avoid any unnecessary wastage.