Then I Met You Review 2026: Ritual, Jeong, and a $37 Cleansing Balm
Disclosure: TrendsInReview may earn a commission if you buy through links on this page, at no extra cost to you. We only feature brands we have independently researched.
Some brands sell products. Then I Met You sells a Korean concept called jeong — the deep, unhurried connection that forms between people over time — and asks you to apply it to washing your face. It sounds like a stretch until you use the Living Cleansing Balm, at which point the argument becomes considerably more persuasive. Founded by Charlotte Cho, the Korean-American aesthetician behind Soko Glam and The Little Book of Skin Care, the brand has collected awards from Allure, Byrdie, Vogue Thailand, and Caroline Hirons’ own product-of-the-year pick. This Then I Met You review examines whether the periwinkle packaging and the philosophy are covering for the price, or earning it.
What Is Then I Met You?
Then I Met You is a Korean-American skincare brand launched by Charlotte Cho, built on what Cho calls the skin-first philosophy she absorbed living in Seoul: treat and prevent concerns at the root through a considered multi-step routine rather than chasing quick fixes. The line is compact and deliberate — a double-cleansing duo, a refining toner, an essence, moisturizers, a mask, a sunscreen, and a gua sha tool — with formulations drawing on Korean ingredient innovations like persimmon extract, birch juice, fermented galactomyces, and ellagic acid. Products are vegan and cruelty-free. The brand sells direct, through Soko Glam and Amazon in the US, and via Cult Beauty in the UK.
What Makes Then I Met You Stand Out
- An award record that is hard to argue with: the Living Cleansing Balm won Allure Best of Beauty 2019, Caroline Hirons’ 2020 Product of the Year, a place on WWD Beauty Inc.’s Top 100 Greatest Skincare Products of All Time, and the 2024 Vogue Thailand Beauty Award.
- Founder expertise that predates the brand: Charlotte Cho is a licensed aesthetician and the person who introduced much of the West to K-beauty through Soko Glam.
- Ingredient sourcing you rarely see elsewhere: 80% birch juice instead of water in the toner; seaberry, persimmon, and fermented galactomyces across the range.
- Restraint: roughly ten products, not sixty. Every launch has a job, which makes the line unusually easy to shop.
- Continued critical validation: the Bong² Bounce Cream took an Allure Best of Beauty award in 2025 — this is not a brand living off one 2019 hit.
Best Then I Met You Products in 2026
The Living Cleansing Balm is the entry point and, for most people, the destination.
1. Living Cleansing Balm — around $37
A sorbet-soft, bright orange balm built on grapeseed, olive, and seaberry (sea buckthorn) oils, with persimmon extract and vitamin E. It melts sunscreen and long-wear makeup on dry skin, then emulsifies with water and rinses without residue. The colour comes from the seaberry oil, not dye. The scent — rosemary, persimmon, grapefruit — is the most polarizing thing about it.
2. Soothing Tea Cleansing Gel — around $34
Step two of the double cleanse: a jelly-textured water-based wash with fermented rice, centella, and licorice. Reviewers who dislike the balm’s scent often keep this one.
3. Birch Milk Refining Toner — around $32
Cho’s own favourite. Roughly 70–80% birch juice in place of water, with 1% AHA (glycolic and lactic), PHA gluconolactone, squalane, sodium hyaluronate, and marshmallow root. It hydrates and gently refines the look of pores and texture — gentle enough that one reviewer used it nightly for a week before realizing it was an exfoliant.
4. The Giving Essence — around $48
5% niacinamide with fermented galactomyces, red algae, and berries, spotlighting ellagic acid. If you are new to essences, this is the step that sits between toner and serum — and the one K-beauty converts miss most when they leave the category.
5. Bong² Bounce Cream
An Allure Best of Beauty 2025 winner. A lightweight gel-cream barrier moisturizer with omega-3 fatty acids and ceramides, formulated for oily skin that still needs hydration.
6. Golki Sculpt & Lift Guasha Roller
The brand’s tool, designed for the massage step the whole philosophy is built around.
What Real Customers Say
The Living Cleansing Balm accumulates the kind of reviews most products never see: five-year repurchasers, sensitive-skin users who say it removes every trace of makeup without stinging, and testers who describe the texture as the thing that separates it from every other balm they own. Retailer reviewers repeatedly note it emulsifies fully and leaves no residue, and that the citrus-rosemary scent turns a chore into something they look forward to. The Birch Milk Toner draws its own quiet devotion — several reviewers credit consistent use with visible improvement in chin breakouts — and the Giving Essence is the product beauty editors name when asked what they would repurchase.
The criticism concentrates on three points, and they are fair. First, price: multiple Cult Beauty reviewers say they cannot justify full price, noting other balms offer more grams for the money. Second, the scent: the citrus essential-oil notes are divisive, and at least one reviewer with combination, spot-prone skin reported cystic breakouts that resolved after removing the balm from her routine — a reminder that rich cleansing balms do not suit every skin type, however award-laden. Third, natural variance: because the colour and scent come from real seaberry and citrus, batches differ, which the brand discloses. Our broader roundup of
K-beauty brands with cult-favourite products gives useful context on where this brand sits in the category.
Social Media & the K-Beauty Wave
Then I Met You is instantly recognizable on a feed, which is not an accident — the periwinkle-blue packaging against the bright orange balm was engineered for exactly the platform it went viral on. But its real credibility came from a professional endorsement rather than an algorithm: when Caroline Hirons, one of the most respected and least sentimental voices in British beauty, named the balm her product of the year, the brand crossed from Instagram-pretty into taken-seriously. Cho’s dual role — founder of Soko Glam, author, licensed aesthetician — gives the brand an authority most launches spend a decade trying to build. If double cleansing is new to you, our guide to
skincare trends worth trying is a good place to start before spending $37 on step one.
Is Then I Met You Worth It? Our Verdict
For the right skin and the right buyer, yes. This Then I Met You review lands on a clear split: if you wear sunscreen and makeup daily, enjoy the ritual of a double cleanse, and have normal, dry, or resilient skin, the Living Cleansing Balm is worth every dollar and the awards are earned. If you have oily, congestion-prone skin, or you are indifferent to scent and texture as part of the experience, you are paying a premium for something you will not use. Start with the balm alone, not a bundle. And if the citrus scent is a known problem for you, start with the Soothing Tea Cleansing Gel instead. Formulation: 4.5/5. Experience: 5/5. Value: 3.5/5.
FAQs
Is the Living Cleansing Balm worth the price?
If you double cleanse daily and remove sunscreen or makeup, yes — it is one of the most decorated cleansing balms ever made, and long-term repurchasers are common. If you rarely wear makeup, a simpler cleanser will do the same job for less.
Will Then I Met You break me out?
Most reviewers report no issues, but rich cleansing balms can be problematic for oily, congestion-prone skin, and at least one detailed account documents cystic breakouts that resolved on discontinuing it. Patch test, and make sure you emulsify and rinse thoroughly.
Is Then I Met You fragranced?
The Living Cleansing Balm contains citrus and rosemary essential-oil notes, which are naturally derived but still fragrance. If you avoid fragrance entirely, choose a different first cleanse.
Where can I buy Then I Met You?
Direct at thenimetyou.com, plus Soko Glam and Amazon in the US, and Cult Beauty in the UK. Cult Beauty’s beauty edit boxes often include the balm at a substantial discount — a useful way to test it.
Comments (0)
All comments are reviewed and approved by an admin before appearing publicly.
No comments yet — be the first to share your thoughts.
