Just a peek into ye olde bathroom cabinet. Here are the makeup removers currently performing acts of great beauty bravery on my bathroom shelf! 🙂
Trish McEvoy Long-Wear Face and Eye Makeup Remover
Niiiiiiiiiice, although for the life of me I can’t figure out why an $18 bottle of this is so small (just 1.7 ounces).
It whisks away long-wearing face and eye makeup but isn’t oily, and sometimes it can be tough to find removers like this that don’t leave a greasy or oily film behind. This stuff feels just like water, and it doesn’t irritate my sensitive water lines.
A 1.7-ounce bottle goes for $18. Available now at Trish McEvoy counters and neimanmarcus.com.
Klorane Floral Gel Eye Make-Up Remover
This gel formula eye makeup remover is designed for sensitive eyes and feels nice and soothing on my lids. It doesn’t make the skin feel tight, but I find that it doesn’t handle real-deal waterproof stuff, which it’s touted as being able to remove, as well as Trish McEvoy’s remover, and, ironically, it stings my water lines (but my eyes are SUPER sensitive, for what it’s worth).
I don’t really use it very often, mostly when my lids feel dry or tight.
This one’s $16 for a 3.4-ounce tube, and it’s available now at Klorane counters and online.
Cle de Peau Beaute Makeup Remover Towelettes
Good grief! These are hella expensive, but oh, so good.
I mean, I am not a makeup wipe snob at all. I’m usually just as happy with drugstore wipes as I am with anything else. For a long while I’ve alternated between MAC Wipes and the Neutrogena Makeup Remover wipes, but these Cle de Peau ones? — holy crap.
If an eccentric billionaire decided to fund my makeup-loving lifestyle, I’d probably just use these. They’re the softest, most comfortable wipes I’ve ever used.
To borrow an overused phrase, they feel like fluffy little clouds, and they remove everything in a flash. I don’t even have to tug or rub at the skin.
Kinda bomb, but they’re $38 for 50 sheets…
Available now at Cle de Peau Beaute counters and neimanmarcus.com.
DHC Deep Cleansing Oil
This smells like really fancy olive oil to me, which I guess makes sense because olive oil is the numero uno ingredient.
When I use it at night to remove my makeup, I have on more than one occasion imagined having it with tomatoes and basil. 🙂
Mmm… Tomatoes and basil.
It removes everything — long-wearing foundation, waterproof mascara, gel liner, the whole shebang, and one pump does the trick.
I think I might even like it more than MAC Cleanse-Off Oil… I’d say it feels richer, and I have combo dry/oily skin, so I appreciate that.
This one’s $28 for a 6.7-ounce bottle with a pump.
Available at DHC counters and online.
Nude Perfect Cleansing Oil Face & Eyes
A cleansing oil with omega 3s and 6s, this stuff smells amazing! As if it’s made with Jordan almonds.
Like DHC’s remover, this one’s on the richer side and mighty moisturizing. Plus it works fast.
I was hooked on this for a while until I’m pretty sure it started breaking me out… Oh, well.
It’s $36 for a 3.4-ounce bottle with a pump. Available now at Sephora stores and online.
What makeup removers and skin cleansing products have you been you using these days? Got any good stuff on your shelf?
Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,
Karen
Garnier now has a CLEAN+ NOURISHING CLEANSING OIL for $7.99 at CVS which works just as well as my beloved Dermalogica Pre Cleanse (and similar to DHC) for a fraction of the price. You may want to check it out 🙂
Monica
I love a good, cheap makeup remover wipe. I usually get them at Ross for a couple bucks for a 30 or 60 pack. All I ask is that they’re not super perfumey. 😀
Hey Karen! Im seriously intrigued with the DHC now.. tomatoes and basil! 😛 Nude is brand which keeps popping up on blogs and gets so many raves for the cleansing oil, mask and face oil! will definitely try and nab it when I get to!
The DHC Cleansing Oil sounds wonderful! I only recently started cleansing with oil. Coconut oil, to be exact. And I love it!
Hi Karen, I would get the catalog from DHC in the mail with little samples. I never used them but now I’m really interested in the cleansing oil. I’m glad to hear you like it.
The NUDE skin oil serum made me break out. Being acne prone, I think I’m sensitive to rosehip and coconut oils. Sad face.
I really like the Laura Mercier Dual makeup remover, and she IS having a friends & Family sale now…. but still mad that they are out of the 2 items I want most now (during the sale). I like the Sephora waterproof remover formula now too.
“If an eccentric billionaire decided to fund my makeup-loving lifestyle…” this made me laugh so hard!! that’s my dream right there
My go-to makeup removers – Organic coconut oil, Bioderma, and Elizabeth Dehn for One Love Organics Vitamin B Active Moisture Cleansing Oil & Makeup Remover.
I love Boscia make up break up cleanser and Boscia purifying cleanser. Both get every little bit of makeup off, including gel eyeliner and waterproof stuff. I never end up with leftover mascara under my eyes the next morning when I use them. I have super dry skin and their purifying cleanser doesn’t dry my skin out. I keep saying I’m going to try something else, but I haven’t yet.
Well, since I tried micellar water, I can’t use anything else! Although that DHC Oil looks amazing 🙂
The one that really calms my irritable skin, melts away makeup, and smooths my flakies, is good old Albolene Cream, the unscented version. It’s not fancy, not botanical (although it contains beta carotene). It contains petroleum and paraffin and not much else, but I’m not putting it on toast. A year’s supply costs about $7. My grandmother used it for years and years and had *amazing* skin, even at the end of her life, at 96. I don’t tissue it off; I take it off with a warm wash cloth, use witch hazel as a toner, and then bust out the fancy stuff… a serum and an oil. My skin looks the best it has in decades, and I’m 52! (Sometimes I use the Nude oil in the morning before I shower, but never at night.)
I’ve quite liked the Klorane stuff I’ve tried in the past (although this hasn’t included the makeup remover) – I wish I lived somewhere where it was readily available!
I find it really hard to shell out $$$ for makeup removers. Sonia Kashuk eye makeup remover is a staple for me. Some extra soak time on the lashes is required for waterproof mascara, but it does a good job overall. I enjoy Yes to Grapefruit makeup removers on heavy face makeup days or after a run to freshen up before I can get in the shower. And I’ve been using The Body Shop Camomile Cleansing Oil for awhile now. It gets the job done, but I think I’ll try the balm version they have because it melted down to an even thinner consistency when I tried it in store.
Currently using the boscia one and I really like it. It has a minty but also synthetic smell that is not unpleasant and it takes most things off, though I sometimes find specks of mascara lingering on my face. I just really like massaging the oil into my skin.
Currently I’m really loving Bourjois Gentle Eye Makeup remover.. I like it that I don’t have to rub hard to get off eyeliner in tight spaces between the lashes.. just press, hold and swipe. I also like that it’s not oil based, as I don’t like the feeling of oily residue.. and then I use Philosophy Purity as an overall cleanser, however I may switch to a different one when it’s used up, just not sure which one!
I also use the DHC Deep Cleansing Oil, and I love it! I love that it doesn’t leave a greasy film when you rinse it off (unlike straight-up olive oil), and it’s gentle, and as you pointed out — it removes EVERYTHING! I stock up when DHC has it on sale.
My most-used makeup remover is Bioderma Crealine – I love this stuff, and repurchase it every time. I use it all over and for eye makeup. It won’t remove really heavy duty waterproof mascara, but I really don’t use waterproof.
If I need to bring out the big guns, I just use straight up oil.
I love DHC Deep Cleansing Oil! Have used it for several years and it removes all my makeup easily without any irritation. It’s especially great with waterproof eye makeup!
I love Nude’s cleansing oil. I also love Boscia Makeup-Breakup.
I was happy to see DHC on the list. I’m addicted! 😀
DHC’s is my holy grail. Use it daily. When they have the sales on the large bottles, I buy tons at a time, and then refill the travel size pump bottle I keep on the ledge by the shower. LOVE.
The DHC and Nude cleansers sound pretty awesome! I’ve been using the Boscia Tsubaki Oil Cleansing Gel and I love it! I’m almost halfway through the bottle so I’m looking for something new to try. I think I’m going to try the DHC next
Hi Karen, I can spend a ton of m obey on lippies, eye shadows,blushes, etc, but I refuse to use anything but Baby oil. It works fantastic, and doesn’t cost a fortune.