Anua is one of the biggest Korean skincare brands in English-language search right now, and this bottle is the reason. 12,100 people a month look up the Heartleaf Pore Control Cleansing Oil by name.
Standing in the cleansing aisle at Olive Young, though, the bottle with the loudest claim on it is not this one. Olive Young prints its own ranking badges on the shelf strip, and the 1등 블랙헤드&피지 강력세정 flash — “No.1 for blackheads and sebum” — sits above the Manyo Pure Soybean Cleansing Oil, not above the Anua.
That does not make the Anua a bad product. It does mean the thing you are buying it for may not be the thing Korea ranks it for.
The two bottles, side by side
| Anua Heartleaf Pore Control Cleansing Oil | Manyo Pure Soybean Cleansing Oil | |
|---|---|---|
| Size | 200 ml / 6.76 fl oz | 200 ml |
| Hero ingredient | Heartleaf (어성초, Houttuynia cordata) — soothing | 87% natural oils, soybean, tea tree |
| Olive Young shelf badge | — | 1등 블랙헤드&피지 강력세정 (No.1, blackheads & sebum) |
| Korean price I have read myself | not verified — see below | ₩14,730 for 200ml · ₩22,500 for the 2-pack |
| English searches / month | 12,100 | far lower |
| Korean searches / month | 아누아 클렌징오일 — 390 | — |
So the split is clean. Anua wins the English-language internet. Manyo wins the Korean shelf badge. If your target is blackheads specifically, the Korean retailer is pointing somewhere else.
If your target is a first cleanse that does not leave your face tight and angry, heartleaf is a genuinely sensible choice, and that is what Anua is built around.
What heartleaf actually is
어성초 (Houttuynia cordata) is a herb used in Korean skincare as a calming, anti-redness ingredient — the same lane as centella, not the same lane as an acid. It does not dissolve a blackhead. It takes the sting out of cleansing.
That matters because the biggest cause of “my pores got worse” is over-cleansing: stripping the skin, triggering more oil, repeating. An oil cleanse built on a soothing herb is aimed at that cycle rather than at the plug itself.
Pore Control, in other words, is a positioning phrase, not a mechanism. Read it as “cleansing without provoking your pores,” and the product delivers. Read it as “removes blackheads,” and it will disappoint.
There are two Anua cleansing oils
This trips people up, and the names are almost identical:
| Product | Note |
|---|---|
| Heartleaf Pore Control Cleansing Oil | The one in this review, 200 ml |
| Heartleaf Pore Cleansing Oil Mild | A separate, gentler formulation — about 140 searches a month |
There is also a 20 ml mini sold by several retailers, which is what you sometimes receive when a listing looks unusually cheap.
What to check before you pay: the words Pore Control, and 200 ml / 6.76 fl oz. The word Mild means you have the other one.
This is the eleventh Korean product I have checked where the naming across retailers does not line up. It is the single most reliable way to buy the wrong thing from the right brand.
What Koreans actually reach for
| Korea | English-speaking | |
|---|---|---|
| Brand | 아누아 — 9,900 | anua — 60,500 |
| This cleansing oil | 아누아 클렌징오일 — 390 · 어성초 클렌징오일 — 70 | 12,100 · anua cleansing oil — 12,100 |
| Their niacinamide serum | 아누아 나이아신아마이드 — 110 | 6,600 |
Anua is a real brand in Korea — 9,900 a month is a genuine domestic following, unlike some export-only names I have looked at. But look at the second row: 390 in Korea against 12,100 in English for the same bottle.
So this is not a fake-popular product. It is a real Korean brand whose cleansing oil became famous abroad first. Koreans who buy Anua are often buying something else from the range.
⚠️ A caveat on the numbers: Korea runs most of its searches through Naver rather than Google, so Google’s Korean figures understate domestic interest. I use them for relative comparison inside one market, never as a headcount.
How to use an oil cleanse properly
Thirty people a month search how to use this, and the answer is the same for every cleansing oil — but two of these steps are the ones people skip.
- Dry hands, dry face. Water first turns the oil into a slick that will not grab makeup or sunscreen.
- Massage for a full minute. This is the step that does the work. Ten seconds is not a cleanse.
- Emulsify. Add a little water and keep massaging until the oil turns milky. Skipping this is why people say oil cleansers break them out — un-emulsified oil does not rinse off, it redistributes.
- Rinse, then second cleanse. An oil cleanse is half of a Korean double cleanse. A pH-balanced foam is the other half.
Who this is for
Buy it if: you wear sunscreen or makeup daily, your skin reacts badly to stripping cleansers, and you want the calming end of the oil-cleanse shelf.
Buy the Manyo instead if: blackheads and sebum are the actual problem. That is the bottle Olive Young badges as No.1 for exactly that, and I have read its price off the shelf: ₩14,730.
Skip it if: you are looking for a treatment. No cleanser stays on your face long enough to treat anything — the routine that does is a different post.
Check the label if: your bottle says Mild, or 20 ml. Those are different products.
[🇰🇷 Kate 확인 필요] — 올리브영 아누아 클렌징오일 실가격. 마녀공장은 라벨을 읽어 ₩14,730 을 확인했지만 아누아는 아직이다. 확인되면 위 비교표에 넣고 ml당 단가를 같이 적는다. 확인 전에는 어느 쪽이 싸다고 쓰지 않았다.
[🇰🇷 Kate 확인 필요] — 실사용 후기. 써봤다면 1인칭 문단(세정력·유화 속도·잔여감·눈 시림). 안 써봤다면 이 섹션은 비워두고 매대·성분·검색 근거만으로 간다. 사용 경험을 창작하지 말 것.
Where to get it
- 🛒 Anua Heartleaf Pore Control Cleansing Oil on Amazon — check for Pore Control and 200ml, not the Mild or the 20ml mini
- 🛒 Manyo Pure Cleansing Oil on Amazon — the one Olive Young badges No.1 for blackheads
- 🛒 Shop Korean skincare at Jolse — search “Anua heartleaf” (K-beauty retailer, ships worldwide)
- 🇰🇷 In Korea: Olive Young, in the cleansing aisle
This post contains affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases, and we may earn a small commission from other links — at no extra cost to you. Nothing here was gifted or sponsored.
How I put this together
Not a lab test, not a sponsored placement. What is here: the Olive Young cleansing aisle photographed in Seoul — which is where the 1등 블랙헤드&피지 강력세정 shelf badge above the Manyo bottle comes from, and the Manyo price with it — the product names and sizes as listed by Anua and the retailers carrying them, the top seventeen Google results for the product name, and Google search volumes pulled for Korea and the United States in the same month. The Anua shelf price is not included because I have not read it off a label myself, and I have said so rather than quoting a retailer’s number as a Korean price.
FAQ
Does Anua Heartleaf Cleansing Oil remove blackheads?
It is a soothing first-cleanse oil built on heartleaf, a calming herb. It removes sunscreen, makeup and surface sebum well. For blackheads specifically, Olive Young’s own shelf badge points at the Manyo Pure Soybean Cleansing Oil instead.
What is heartleaf?
어성초, or Houttuynia cordata — a Korean herb used for calming and redness rather than exfoliation. Same category as centella.
What is the difference between Anua’s Pore Control and Pore Cleansing Oil Mild?
They are two products. The one most people mean, and the one with 12,100 searches a month, is the Pore Control version in 200 ml. Mild is a separate, gentler formulation.
Is it good for oily skin?
Yes — 590 searches a month ask this specifically. An oil cleanse suits oily skin because it dissolves sebum without stripping, which is what triggers more oil.
How do I use it?
Dry hands on a dry face, massage a full minute, then add water and emulsify until it turns milky before rinsing. Skipping the emulsifying step is the usual reason people think an oil cleanser broke them out.
Is Anua popular in Korea?
The brand is — about 9,900 searches a month. This particular cleansing oil is not the reason: it pulls roughly 390 in Korea against 12,100 in English. It became famous abroad first.
Do I still need a second cleanse?
Yes. An oil cleanse is the first half of a double cleanse; a pH-balanced foam is the second.
Affiliate disclosure: Some links in this post are affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. If you buy through them, My Korea Palette may earn a small commission — at no extra cost to you. I only feature products I genuinely rate. Full disclosure.