Heaven Scent? su:m37 Miracle Rose Cleansing Stick Review

You’d be forgiven for thinking that the su:m37 Miracle Rose Cleansing Stick was an actual miracle. The raves on the interwebz are nearly universal. This little stick inspires buying frenzies and, when it goes out of stock (as it did when it was temporarily discontinued last year), laments of regret.

Intrigued by the hype, I ordered a stick when it briefly came back into stock on Soko Glam in October. Since then, MRCS (as it’s known in Asian beauty circles) has made a full comeback and can be found for purchase online from various Korean sellers.

MRCS has moisturizing ingredients such as glycerin and coconut oil at the top of the list and contains fermented rose extract filtrate as well as actual fragments of rose petals. (Full ingredient list is in Skin & Tonics’ review.) The light scent is a mix of roses and almost-stale oil. The scent was actually not as strong and therapeutic as I expected. (Maybe mine was getting old?)

Directions: Wet face. Swivel the stick up 1 cm. Swipe the stick onto your face. Massage your face with fingertips to lather up the product. Rinse.

You can massage your face directly with the stick, but since a little bit of product creates a good amount of lather, that method will use up more product than necessary. The rose petals, while pretty to look at, are soft and don’t provide any exfoliation that I can feel. The product feels smooth and soft when applied onto wet skin. It rinses off easily and completely, leaving your skin feeling soft and clean.

The especially great (miraculous?) thing about MRCS is that it can be used during the oil-cleanse step and the foaming-cleanse step (at least according to Skin & Tonics). How many other products can do that? Because of its oil base (and despite not feeling oily), it removes makeup–all except for my super-waterproofed mascara.

During the oil-cleanse step, I still wet my face first before applying MRCS. After rinsing, I use MRCS again as my foaming-cleanse step. So in short, I wash my face two times in a row with MRCS when I’m using it at night. In the mornings, I use it just once.

Because of its dual function and because it’s solid, MRCS is a welcome addition to my travel staples. The last time I took a trip, I actually brought my full-size jar of Ole Henriksen Pure Truth Melting Cleanser in my checked luggage; it doesn’t leak like a cleansing oil might and eliminates the need for eye makeup remover. But is it a liquid? A gel? A solid?? If it’s not a solid, how much should I decant for 2 weeks’ worth of use? And then I still need a foaming cleanser! Oi.

With MRCS (which is about the same size as Fresh roll-on deodorant), I can carry it on without using up any of the precious space in my TSA-approved Ziploc. I’ll need an eye makeup remover, but I can use remover-soaked cotton pads or Kiss Me Heroine Make Mascara Remover to preserve Ziploc space. Way less space than packing an oil cleanser and a separate foaming cleanser!

The major downside for me, and why I won’t jump to repurchase, is how messy it gets after use.

Ugh, always with the water and the rose petals around the rim! It helps to remember to swivel the product up 1 cm before use and to wipe the rim after use, but that doesn’t totally eliminate the mess. Every time I cap it, I shave a little of the softened sides off. So for regular everyday use, I prefer conventionally packaged cleansers.

Bottom line: Travel staple, yes. Holy grail, no.

Pros: Perfect for travel. Works as an oil cleanser and a foaming cleanser. A little goes a long way.
Cons: Can’t dissolve waterproof mascara. Packaging gets messy.