$3.70 bargain everyone should buy in Bali

It’s not something Indonesia is really known for, but it’s something Aussies need to add to their list the next time they’re in Bali.

Indonesia may not, at first glance, be known for its beauty industry, but the country has a booming makeup and skincare landscape that Australian shoppers can take advantage of on holiday.

In the last five years, Indonesian brands have begun to dominate the local market, which used to be saturated with imported skincare and makeup from international brands like L’Oreal and Maybelline.

Now, however, shoppers have a wealth of local Indonesian beauty brands to choose from including relative newcomer Somethinc, which was launched by Indonesian entrepreneur Irene Ursula in 2019.

The $3.70 cleanser is reportedly popular as it is gentle and good for all skin types.

According to Somethinc, which boasts 1.4 million Instagram followers, it sells the “Number 1 jelly cleanser in Indonesia”, named the “Low pH Gentle Jelly Cleanser” – and retail outlets in the city of Medan in North Sumatra told news.com.au that the cleanser has been a huge hit across the country since its launch.

Somethinc describes the cleanser as “a vegan-based facial cleanser with a jelly texture formulated with gentle ingredients such as Japanese Mugwort and Tea Tree,” and the product is also halal and certified by the Indonesian Food and Drug Authority (BPOM).

You can buy bottles of the cleanser at pharmacies, supermarkets, and skincare stores across Indonesia.

The cleanser is also “clinically tested to balance skin pH without drying, stripping, and damaging the skin barrier,” according to the Somethinc website.

At a beauty store in Medan, salesperson Meli said the product “flies off their shelves”.

“We sell bottles of the cleanser every single day, which is very unusual for any product,” she said.

“Customers like it because it is so gentle on their skin and because Somethinc is a trusted local brand.”

Salesperson Meli said that her store sells bottles of the cleanser every single day.

In addition to Japanese mugwort and tea tree oil, the cleanser is infused with Centella asiatica, which has been used for thousands of years in Indonesia to treat skin inflammation, and calendula which is also known for its anti-inflammatory properties.

At a branch of the Guardian Pharmacy in Medan, a salesperson named Siti confirmed that the Somethinc cleanser is the number one jelly cleanser in their stores, and attributed its popularity to the fact that it is unisex, vegan-formulated and can be used by a broad range of customers.

At a branch of the Guardian Pharmacy in Medan, the cleanser is one of their ‘trending products’.

“I would recommend it for Australian customers shopping in Indonesia as it was formulated to treat all skin types and is particularly well suited to sensitive skin or customers who suffer from redness,” Siti said.

Like Meli, Siti said that the cleanser is a bestseller at the pharmacy, despite having a slightly higher price point than other Indonesians brands.

She added that Indonesia’s skincare industry has been “booming for the past year and a half” as customers like local skincare because many formulas have the same ingredients as imported products at a lower price.

The cleanser has been a hit since it launched.

“Customers are discovering that they can get products with things like pure vitamin C, niacinamide or hyaluronic acid in them locally, without having to pay the higher prices of imported products like L’Oreal or La Roche Posay,” she said.

The cleanser retails for $3.72 for the 30ml “travel size”, $9.44 for 100ml or $19 for the 350ml “jumbo” size on the Somethinc website, although they do not ship internationally yet.

For shoppers in Indonesia however, they can pick up the cleanser in Watsons or Guardian pharmacies, as well as some supermarkets, minimarkets and skincare stores.

Somethinc sells 350ml "jumbo" bottles of the cleanser in addition to the 100ml bottles.

‘I tried the cleanser with some trepidation’

While it may be a bestseller across Indonesia, I tried the cleanser with some trepidation because it contains tea tree oil – an ingredient that has caused my skin to break out in the past.

I was also concerned about the peppermint oil in the cleanser that promises a “cooling effect”, and whether that too would irritate my sensitive skin.

Somethinc also sells makeup in addition to skincare.

However, having used the cleanser for over a week, I was delighted with the results. Good to its name, the cleanser is extremely gentle and didn’t cause any irritation. As my face can tend to feel greasy and oily after an afternoon in the fierce Indonesian heat, the tea tree oil in the cleanser made it feel squeaky clean and fresh.

My group of four testers, sourced from objective family and friends who had not tried the cleanser before, also unanimously liked the product, with the number one comment being that it is “so rich”.

While the product starts off as a gel, it immediately turns into a thick lather when you add water, leaving your skin feeling clean but not dry. I used the cleanser both day and night, and didn’t see any redness or sensitivity as a result, although I also didn’t notice any of the promised “cooling effect” from the peppermint oil – which for me was a positive rather than a negative.

For shoppers who like tea tree oil products like the Body Shop’s tea tree oil range, they will likely enjoy the Low pH Gentle Jelly Cleanser, but at a much lower price point.

Somethinc also sells a full skincare and make up range in addition to its famous cleanser.