Clinique Take The Day Off Make-Up Remover

I'm a massive fan of Clinique's Take The Day Off Cleansing balm, in fact, it's my favourite skincare product ever. Therefore, it was only right I try out their eye make-up remover too. I love to use separate eye make up remover to my cleansers as I have sensitive eyes and they are easily irritated by products. I've heard several good things about this product such as winning the SHE Magazine Beauty Awards 2011 for best eye make-up remover, so I thought it had to be a good investment. I've used the whole bottle to make sure my review is as informative as possible.

 

Clinique's Take The Day Off Make-Up Remover for lids, lashes & lips claims to be a two-way formula that loosens the grip, then speeds up the departure of the most persistent, eye make ups, mascara and lipsticks. Even waterproof mascaras. It is also suitable contact lens wearers. It's ophthalmologist tested and perfume so it's suitable for those of you with sensitive eyes like me! Sounds pretty good eh? It comes in a lilac plastic bottle, so any clumsy moments won't leave you with a broken bottle and a floor covered in expensive solution. The cap has a lock on it similar to a medicine bottle, you push down and twist, very simple but effective at making sure your product doesn't leak if you're travelling.

 

The bottle consists of a half water based, half oil based solution. You shake the bottle up for a few seconds so that they mix together to create a cloudy consistency. You the remove the cap and apply to a cotton pad and hold over the area you want to remove make-up from. I personally found it really hard to work with, it was great for removing eye shadows and lip products in seconds. However, I have a battle trying to remover mascara, this goes for all brands of mascara and I don't even wear waterproof either. I soak the cotton pad generously and hold over my eyes for around a minute, it just removes the odd trace of mascara and it comes off all flaky; I have to use loads of product and really work with it and rub and tug to actually remove the majority of it, not good for the eye area at all!

 

I also found the product quite greasy too, I would definitely cleanse after even though it claims to be suitable for before and after, I can't see having that much oil sitting on your skin to be good for your pores. I do wear quite a few coats of mascara which could impact on why my review is so negative compared to others, however, I've not had a problem with a variety of eye make-up removers before and for the price tag of £17 for 125ml, I expected this to be better than my drugstore equivalents, not worse. I don't recommend this product at all, you can get much better for a fraction of the price. I was left really unimpressed from one of my favourite skincare brands, I'm hoping this is just a one off.

 

 

 

La Roche-Posay Rosaliac Micellar Make-Up Remover Gel

Phew, what a name! Anyway I thought I'd give you a little review on my latest form of make-up remover because I think I've tried just about everything. I like to use some form of make-up remover before washing my face as I like to make sure it's super clean and make-up free to avoid any excessive breakouts. I've used creamy cleansers to face wipes but someone new has recently taken my eye and I just had to jump on the hype and give it a try.

Micellar waters have been popping up everywhere this year with several brands bringing out their versions. Micellar waters are essentially tiny oil molecules suspended in water. When applied to the face, the the gentle formula that doesn't require the assistance of water then grabs onto unwanted particles and dissolves them. Many people have raved about how good they are at removing make-up without being harsh and hosting several skin benefits. I haven't really bothered much until I noticed my favourite skincare brand had one too.  I'm a massive fan of La-Roche Posay products, my skin just thrives on them; my face never looks red, it keeps my break outs to a minimum and it doesn't burn or irritate my skin.

La Roche-Posay's version is in a gel form as opposed to other brands 'water' form. It's targeted towards those of us with sensitive, reactive skin that is prone to redness. The bottle instructs you to apply using a cotton pad or with your fingers and then wipe off carefully. You don't have to rinse the gel off but if you want to make sure your face is thoroughly cleaned I'd advise using a general face wash afterwards too.

I haven't been using the product for long but I'm so glad I picked it up and ditched my face wipes! The solution is incredibly refreshing and thoroughly cleansing which is unexpected for such a good remover. My skin wasn't left red and irritated from the scrubbing I'd have to do with face wipes and I feel that if I was in a rush to get to bed, this alone would do a decent job at removing make-up without waking up with a breakout. The only problem I had is that I had to use A LOT of cotton pads and a decent amount of product but I do wear pretty high coverage, heavy foundation so I'm not too fussed.

I really do recommend this to those of you with skin like mine who find it hard to get products targeted to 'sensitive' skin that hold that claim without doing a rubbish job. Not the cheapest micellar formula on the market, retailing at £12 but it's currently on offer at Boots for £9 so it's worth a shot!