Review: Ole Henriksen Pure Truth™ Melting Cleanser

I was so excited to try the Ole Henriksen Pure Truth™ Melting Cleanser. I was trying to hold out for a sample before purchasing, but the 1floz size caught my eye during a visit to Sephora during the sale and before I knew it, it was in my basket. I didn't want to go with the full sized product as I hadn't tried this before and hadn't really tried a gelée cleanser at all, only balms and oils (which I love). Though because this is new and different, it's instantly on any skincare junkies want list, or at least, it was on mine.

As one would expect, it's a clear jelly-like consistency. It's tinted orange as with most of the Pure Truth line products in Ole Henriksen's line. It comes in a very sturdy glass jar which surprised me as it was the travel size, but it was a pleasant touch. The lid is sturdy and the product comes boxed and also sealed. It very faintly smells of citrus but I didn't find it overwhelming in the slightest. The 1oz size retails for $12 and it also comes in a 4oz size for $34 which I find quite reasonable, though do note I'm a fond user of the eve lom, which isn't quite so cost effective, ok, it's ridiculously priced, but awesome.

The texture is strange, yet cool? It's like goo. I can see young boys in their early teens loving this stuff (not for the intended purpose, mind you - but my brother was always scaring me with magic shop blood, and jiggly "body parts" that had interesting textures). It's thick, yet bouncy. Ok, I'm going to stop trying to describe the texture as we'll be here all day. What are the claims?

According to the box, "this 3-in-1 cleansing gelée effortlessly melts the most stubborn makeup and gently dissolves everyday impurities leaving the skin superbly hydrated. Vitamin C, rose hips and cherry seed oils pamper, nourish and unveil a purely radiant and healthy complexion". Sounds great.

"Directions: Use dry hands and massage into dry skin to melt away makeup and impurities. Add warm water and rinse clean."

So I first tested this the day I was wearing/testing the Too Faced Melted Liquified Long Wear Lipsticks. That also included a mixture of the Laura Mercier Smooth Finish Flawless Fluide in Creme (which is a touch too dark and a touch too yellow and accentuates every single dry patch - but I'm just using up the Sephora sample) and the Makeupever Forever Matte Velvet Plus in #15 (which I'm trying to use up but it is lasting forever!), a Tarte eye primer sample that I don't recall the name of, but I think it might be the brightening one, Makeup Forever Smokey Lash Waterproof Mascara, and one of Tarte's Airblush Maracuja Blushes.

I applied an amount that seemed appropriate (it doesn't tell you how much to use which is slightly vexing - are we talking a pea or a cherry?) and rubbed it into my dry skin. I know the box tells you not to put it in contact with your eyes, but how else is it supposed to remove waterproof mascara? I put it on my eyes since I'm a rebel (not really) though I did get a bit of extra blurry vision, but it didn't burn or sting. I rubbed it in and let it do it's work, and rubbed it in again. I also massaged it all over my face. I did wind up having to add more in the middle which was a bit annoying, but first time user error strikes again.

I actually cheated to get it off since I wanted it to work so badly. Even though the instructions don't tell you to use a muslin cloth, or washcloth or anything, I used my muslin cloth with warm/hot water.

Then I took some cotton pads and some trusty CLINIQUE Take The Day Off Makeup Remover For Lids, Lashes & Lips to see if there were any remnants.

Only a bit of greyness showed up on my right eye, not too bad (yes, I marked these with a sharpie so I would remember, and it's not easy on wet cotton!)

The left eye wasn't so great though.

The face also was a bit disappointing. Can you imagine how it would have been had I not used the muslim cloth??!

And finally lips. This was actually more disappointing than the face, because I made a point of rubbing this into my lips really well and most of the Too Faced lipstick had worn off by this point, I was only dealing with the remnants.

But I'm generous and I like to give things another shot, so I tried it again.

I was wearing slightly less makeup. The same base, the same blush, the same mascara, but I wasn't wearing anything else on my eyes. I had also spritzed myself with a makeup setting spray earlier in the day (-10 hours), and I had been wearing a pretty standard lipstick (not long wearing) which had worn off during dinner. I decided, however, to follow the instructions and not use a muslin cloth because it doesn't say you need to and I admit that the results on my first attempt would have been far worse if I hadn't used one. What I did do this time around was use more product, a lot more product. I also rubbed it into my eyes and let it sit even longer and rubbed it into my skin and let it sit longer, hoping it would help break up the makeup

Much better on the eye front, although I lost several lashes during the process. This cotton pad shows the remnants for both eyes.

However, this was left on my face after using the Ole Henriksen which bummed me out. That is a lot of foundation left kicking around after using a product that should have easily removed it all based on the claims. I wasn't even wearing a primer!

There's just something off with this product and I'm not sure what it is. I'm not sure if they need to add an ingredient that really dissolves makeup like it already claims to, or whether they need to say "use a muslin cloth to wipe away excess product and help remove any remnants". I can't lose 8 eyelashes every time I take my makeup off and I don't when I use some of my other cleansers. Nor am I willing to use a zillion other products in combination with this when this claims to effortlessly take off everything!

So this review is a bit of a downer. I am returning my travel jar and going back to my tried and true. It was fun to try this product. It looks so cool, but looks aren't everything.

Review: Kiss-Off Stain Remover

Let me share a short story about my weekend and the magical-ness that is Kiss-Off Stain Remover. My husband and I were traveling to see his parents at their home in Georgia. We left extremely early for our 6:40am flight. I decided to skip the makeup for the first part of our journey and apply it later on during a connecting flight. Application was perfect but I didn't realize that my hand still had some on it and I got it all over my blouse. I forgot about it and the stain stayed on my blouse until we returned home Monday evening. My husband used the Kiss-Off that my father-in-law gave us. It promises to take off :

• Wet and Dry Oil Paint
• Acrylic Paint
• Tempera Paint
• Pencil Marks
• Lipstick
• Make-Up
• Baby Spots
• Wine
• Grass Stains
• Blood
• Coffee
• Pet Stains
• Grease

And it did. It removed the days old stain on my blouse. It is freaking awesome.

So for all of us clumsy makeup applicators, here's my new go-to stain remover.

*Not affiliated. Generous gift from my father-in-law!

Review: Simple Kind To Eyes Eye Makeup Remover Pads

I believe the Simple Eye Make-Up Remover Pads came in one of the recent Allure Beauty Boxes and I was definitely curious about them but it's taken me awhile to try them. Simple promises that these remove waterproof mascara yet are "kind to eyes". The packet comes with 30 circle sized wipes and retails for $5.99. I'm a broken record, but I compare everything to my Makeup Forever Sens'eyes Remover. So, how did these perform?

Horribly. I took two (one for each eye) held them up to my closed eye for a good 10 seconds and waited. I wiggled them a bit to ensure they had access to all of my waterproof mascara and pulled off. All I could see were speckles of mascara and an eye lash. Rubbing netted similar results. So I then applied my Sens'eyes and it was kind of frightening how much mascara was missed by these wipes.

They are textured so I found them great for foundation, but not really cost effective since they are just large enough for one eye.  Not a fan and won't purchase.

Review: Almay Hypo-Allergenic Eye Makeup Remover Pads, Non Oily

Almay is not one of the brands in the drugstore that I go for, but sometimes the deal is too good to pass up. I either paid a minimal price or got these for free at CVS. Almay claims that their eye makeup remover pads "nourish skin as they gently remove eye makeup, even waterproof mascara and longwearing lipcolor, without irritation". I don't know how Almay makes the claims they make about these but I found them ineffective. They managed to remove my long-wearing liner and shadow but they barely made a dent with my waterproof mascara. I also found them drier than I would usually expect for this sort of product. Maybe I got a bad batch? I definitely won't be paying retail price for these in the future!

My Nighttime Skincare Routine

Today I thought I'd share what I've been doing as my nighttime skincare routine. I'm pretty happy with the overall routine. This is generally what I do on a daily basis but it can be altered depending on how my skin is doing. Lately I haven't needed to use any acne related products (knock on wood) so I didn't include any in this post. You'll notice that I spend the majority of my time making sure my face is clean and free of all makeup. I have found that double cleansing and using an oil/balm cleanser has resulted in much clearer skin as otherwise, the makeup and dirt has the tendency of clinging on to my drier flaky bits.

My first cleanse is concentrated on makeup removal. If I'm wearing a lot of eye makeup and/or waterproof mascara, I first apply the Makeup Forever Sens'eyes Waterproof Sensitive Eye Cleanser. This stuff is awesome. I basically compare every other remover to it as it dissolves eye makeup without a residue and it doesn't burn my eyes. While that is dissolving my eye makeup, I use a cleansing towelette. Right now I'm using the Yes to Blueberries Cleansing Facial Towelettes which I was introduced to from Birchbox last year. I like these a lot more than the Yes to Cucumbers version. They don't burn or irritate my eyes, they are pretty effective at removing makeup and they smell yummy. If I'm not wearing waterproof mascara, I've been testing out the Lierac Micellar Water which is pretty decent but does nothing for waterproof mascara, though it removes face makeup like a champ. If I use the Lierac, then I usually don't wind up using a towelette and remove all my makeup with it and a few cotton pads.

My next step is a cleansing balm. I could use this for makeup removal as well; however, since it's a pricey product, I tend to use less of it if I do a pass previously with another cleanser (hence the above step). Right now I'm using (and still loving) the Elemental Herbology Purify and Sooth Facial Cleansing Balm. I've proclaimed my love for this and cleansing balms enough already, but if you haven't tried it, you need to. In the back you can see muslin cloths. Between the balm and the cloth, I get a deep cleanse and also a gentle daily exfoliation. I have a few from The Body Shop and a couple from eve lom that came in a set I bought.

Next step, moisturizer. You can see that I don't use toners, I don't use fancy serums. I'm pretty low maintenance. For my lips, I've been using The Body Shop Cocoa Butter Lip Care Stick, an old favorite. For a bit of a departure, I've been using the Tarte Pure Marajuja Oil as my nighttime moisturizer. I actually use this during the day time as well if I am using a liquid foundation. I've really enjoyed this oil and between the balm cleanser and this oil moisturizer, my skin has never looked better. While I can use it around my eyes as well, I've been trying to finish this Lily B Ultra Eye Cream* which I received from Bloom. It's nice but I'm so bad about using eye creams and the Tarte works on that area just as well and it's only 1 step!

So there you have it. This excludes things like masks, spot treatments as I noted above and manual or chemical exfoliators which I tend to use in the shower. What's your nighttime skincare routine?

Disclosure: Lily B Ultra Eye Cream was received from Bloom for review.

Review: Caudalie Cleansing Water

In the past year or so, I've made it a point of trying lots of these micellaire waters. Given that my skin is fairly sensitive and on the drier side, these new cleansing products seem ideal. Also, I am super lazy and all-in-one products are awesome. I was excited about trying the Caudalie version since I haven't found a Caudalie product I hate yet. I'll cut right to the chase and say that while I don't hate this product, I'm a bit lukewarm. You see, I already have a great love for the Makeup Forever Sens'eyes cleanser and I basically compare every other remover to that blue concoction of wonderfulness. To be honest, I was pretty surprised the Nuxe's version easily removed long-wear mascaras. The Caudalie version removed face makeup like a champ but it left remnants of my eye makeup which included a non-waterproof mascara.

It smells like the signature Caudalie fragrance which is quite strong but doesn't bother my nose and I quite enjoy it. Still, I wish it weren't so highly fragranced. The cleansing water doesn't burn my eyes or skin for that matter. It's non-drying although it seems to leave a bit of a residue that is sticky for the first few minutes after application. I do like it for long-wear lip products as it doesn't taste foul and removes everything on the lips without drying them out. I personally wouldn't buy a product just to remove lip products though as I don't do epic lip swatching sessions and don't wear long-wear products on a daily basis.

I've gone through about 1/5 of my bottle and I just don't know. It's ok? If it managed to remove eye makeup a bit better I'd say I'd repurchase but because it doesn't quite get the job done in that area, it's not something I'd look into buying again. A bit disappointing since I do enjoy the brand in general.

Ingredients: Aqua (Water), Poloxamer 184, Glycerin, Vitis Vinifera (Grape) Fruit Water, PEG-40 Hydrogenated Castor Oil, Cocamidopropyl Butanamide Mea Chloride, Bisabolol, Parfum (Fragrance), Sodium Chloride.

Review: DHC Make Off Sheet

I ordered these from Dermstore awhile ago because I needed to hit a certain dollar amount for an order. A lot of their lower priced items have a minimum number per order, which makes the usual $5 lip balm less helpful when you have to buy 5 of them! The DHC Make Off Sheet retails for $8 and the one in the box is something you can order without buying multiples (the refills are a minimum of 2 per order). Makeup wipes are something that I always need and the cute packaging and reasonable price called to me.

The DHC comes in a reusable plastic case and comes with 50 wipes. I had heard good things about the DHC line and was pleasantly surprised with these wipes. They are well saturated with remover and take nearly everything off. I haven't tried them yet on waterproof mascara but everything else comes off easily. They don't irritate my eyes or skin and don't have a discernible scent. All in all, these are nice wipes and the container keeps out air so they don't dry out.

Ingredients: Water/aqua/eau, Butylene Glycol, Sodium Cocoamphoacetate, Hexylene Glycol, PEG-40 Hydrogenated Castor Oil, Methylparaben, Citric Acid, Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Juice, Chamomilla Recutita (matricaria) Flower Extract, Panax Ginseng Root Extract, Etidronic Acid.

Review: Kate Somerville True Lash Lash Enhancing Eye Makeup Remover

As many of you know, my Holy Grail (HG) eye makeup remover is the Makeup Forever Sens'eyes; however, I'm never one to ruling out trying new removers especially for high end brands I'd rarely purchase on my own. The Kate Somerville True Lash Lash Enhancing Eye Makeup Remover came in a recent Neimans order and I quickly decanted the little packet into a spare jar. It's supposed to be a multi-use product as it promises to not only remove makeup but condition and strengthen lashes with a SymLash226™ Complex and that's not all folks, it even claims to reduce the appearance of fine lines and puffiness around the eyes. Honestly, all I care about is the eye makeup removing properties as I've found the less I tug on the sensitive eye area the stronger and fuller my lashes are and the less I lose.

The tube comes with 1.7oz of product and retails for a hefty $35 (the MUFE comes with just about twice the product for $23). Not only did I find that I had to use twice the amount of the Kate Somerville to get off my mascara, even still it left remnants behind that the MUFE quickly cleaned up. Clearly I don't think this is worth the money and I'll be continuing to use and love my MUFE.

Ingredients




Water (Aqua), Caprylyl Methicone, Tridecyl Trimellitate, Isohexadecane, Glycerin, Propandiol, Polysorbate 20, Sodium PCA, Trehalose, Polyquaternium-51, Sodium Hyaluronate, Myristoyl Pentapeptide-17, Aloe Barbadensis Extract, Camellia Oleifera Leaf Extract, Camellia Sinensis Leaf Extract, Chamomilla Recutita (Matricaria) Extract, Euphrasia Officinalis Extract , Oenothera Biennis (Evening Primrose) Oil, Persea, Gratissima (Avocado) Oil, Rosa Canina Fruit Oil, Urea, Triacetin, Sodium Hydroxide, Citric Acid, Acrylates/ C10-30 Alkyl Acrylate Crosspolymer, Disodium EDTA, Ethylhexylglycerin, Phenoxyethanol, Fragrance (Parfum)

Review: Pond's Wet Cleansing Towelettes Evening Soothe

The Pond's Evening Soothe Cleansing Towelettes came in the target beauty bag from a few months ago. I was in the middle of working through a package of the Salma Hayek Nuance Detoxifying and Toning Wipes which I started liking more than my review would lead you to believe as every time the Salma Hayek line goes on sale, I have been picking up a pack or two of them (very mini review - the packaging keeps the wipes moist all the way to the last one which makes the price a little easier to handle - with the sales they've been comparable to the other wipes I mentioned in the original review and they remove makeup and eye makeup well and they don't irritate my eyes/skin and if I don't cleanse afterwards due to laziness they do not break me out). Anyway, I did finish the Salma Hayek ones and I'm supposed to be reviewing the Pond's so let's get to it!

The Pond's generally retail for around $6 but can often be gotten on sale or in multi-packs which brings the price down significantly. The wipes are quite saturated with product but are a little soapy. The smell isn't my favorite as it's the chamomile and white tea mixed with soap. I don't mind soapy smells especially in cleansing products, but I hate when they add other scents to try to cover them up. The wipes removed makeup well but really burned my eyes. Even though I use my old standby, Makeup Forever Sens-eyes, I still like to quickly run the wipe of the moment over the eye area to catch anything the Q-tips didn't pick up. I wouldn't be able to do that with this makeup wipe and for that reason I would not repurchase. I'm sure those with less sensitive eyes would be fine but for me it's a no-go.

Review: Klorane Soothing Eye Makeup Remover with Cornflower Water

A sample of the Klorane Soothing Eye Makeup Remover With Cornflower Water came in my November Birchbox. As I already have a Holy Grail (HG) makeup remover (the Makeup Forever Sens'eyes) I felt no great pull to try this one. But curiosity got the best of me and I'm also trying to weed through the sample sizes currently littering my bathroom counter. The Klorane Soothing Eye Makeup Remover comes in a 3.4oz bottle and retails for $9 - which is fairly reasonable all things considered as it's not a drugstore brand. The problem is it doesn't work. Sure it removes eyeshadow but most regular cleansers do, even ones that don't specify they are for makeup removal.

I took a cotton square, doused it with a generous portion of the remover and set it on my eye and patted. The first time I used it I maybe did that for 10-15 seconds and swiped it away and hardly any of my waterproof mascara came off. So I tried it again and left it on for a full minute. Same thing. Some of it came off but the Qtip that followed with a smidge of the MUFE got it off in a few seconds. Even though the price is very reasonable, I would not repurchase and I wouldn't recommend if you use any waterproof products.

Review: TheBalm Balms Away Eye Makeup Break-Up

There had been talk that quite a bit of The Balm products, or theBalm per the packaging, had made their way to TJmaxx. Well, given that I love a bargain, I took a look and managed to find theBalm Balms Away Eye Makeup Break-Up cleansing balm. I don't think I've ever used one of these softer-solid oil based cleansers to remove my makeup, but I know they are quite popular (Egyptian Magic, straight coconut oil and Albolene are ones I've heard of).

Who could resist the retro packaging, the cute reusable tin or the price? It looks like I missed the majority of theBalm items as this was was on clearance for $8 (regularly $20 at Sephora). Thankfully, I visited a TJmaxx that locks away all of their makeup and skincare items in clear boxes that can only be opened at the cash wrap so everything is pristine (this also comes sealed for those wondering).

But a deal isn't a good deal at all if the product doesn't work. While the texture of this is quite emollient and a bit strange for me after using the cooling gel/lotion texture of the Makeup Forever Sens'Eyes, I was pleasantly surprised that this took off my Makeup Forever Smokey Lash Aqua mascara (which is the true test for makeup removers). I applied a small dollop of the Balms Away, massaged into the eye area for the recommended time frame (30 seconds), took a slightly wet cotton round and held it over the eye and wiped away and everything looked gone. But the true test was I then took a q-tip and applied some of the Sens'Eyes, expecting that there would still be a bit of black on the white tip. Nope. Nothing more came off.

After removing the balm, my eye felt as though it had a bit of residue but in a pleasant way. It felt as though I had applied eye cream that sunk in. Honestly, my eyes would probably prefer if I switched to this remover as my skin breaks in the line under my eyes which feels like a paper cut and is very painful if I'm not careful. 

The packaging is absolutely adorable and even though the ingredient list doesn't have the most expensive ingredients (mineral oil is the first ingredient), the product is made in the US which gives me some assurance. Really, it's absolutely adorable and even if I don't repurchase as I prefer the texture and feeling of the MUFE, I'm definitely going to use this quite a bit this winter when I know my skin is going to crying for some much-needed moisture.

Review: Nuance Salma Hayek Detoxifying Facial Cleansing & Toning Towelettes

The only skincare item that I've tried from the new Nuance line so far are the Nuance Salma Hayek Detoxifying Facial Cleansing & Toning Towelettes. Think they could have come up with a longer name? Anyway, these retail for a slightly high price of $7.99 for 25 pre-moistened wipes. If I remember correctly, I think they were priced slightly higher at my local CVS but I've now misplaced the receipt. The towelettes are also on the small side: They are slightly smaller than some of the other wipes I've used in the past and measure approximately 7.5"x 5.25" (for reference Garnier wipes are ~$6 at 5.9" x 7.8").

I found these did a really good job of removing all of my face makeup but I need a stronger remover for my eye makeup as I wear waterproof mascara (thank you MUFE). They are slightly textured so they pick up a lot yet are soft so they don't irritate. They come in a baggy but with a flip-top plastic cap to keep the moisture in. I did rub it over my eye area after the initial pass with the remover and they didn't burn my sensitive eyes. They smell like laundry detergent which may bother some but it far beats the sickly sweet cucumber scent from the Yes To Cucumber ones for me. I still prefer the cucumber scent from the Epielle and the Garnier one is also pleasant but as long as it's not overpowering, I'm not too picky.

These can obviously found only at CVS stores and online. This was nice to try and I'll finish my pack but I won't likely repurchase (unless there was a particularly good sale - $8 seems ridiculous to me after spending $1 on the Epielle ones for so long).

Review: NYX All Purpose Makeup Remover Gel Type

When Cherry Culture was having their 50% off NYX sale a few weeks ago, I decided to pick this Makeup Remover Gel up as it reminded me of the La Roche Posay gel I liked so much. This is the same idea, as it is water based.

According to NYX:
"A water-based gel in a pump that gently removes all traces of makeup. This clear gel eliminates brow makeup, eye shadow, mascara, eye liner, liquid makeup, face powder, blush, lipstick, lip liner, lip gloss and even dirt. Vitamin B nourishes skin and leaves your face feeling soft and clean."

It retails for $9 and the pump bottle contains 3.04 ounces of product.


I do like this gel for the majority of my makeup removal but it barely even touched my Makeup Forever (MUFE) waterproof mascara (the true test for any remover so it seems). So much like most miscellar waters and gels, this doesn't remove waterproof mascara.

To be quite honest, the recent price increases in NYX products (among other things) has not made me super excited to try any new products from the brand and I do feel that $9 is a bit much for the line, especially for such a small bottle of remover. The bottle has a good quality pump and the makeup remover is pretty good for all things non-waterproof but it's not so awesome that it warrants the high price tag.

If you liked the La Roche Posay Gel Remover like I did, you might want to give this a shot but I'd personally wait for a sale if I were you.

INGREDIENTS: Aqua, L-glutamic acid/n-coco acylderivs, Compds, Glycerin, Protein extract, Hydroxyethylcellulose, Diazolidinyl urea/iodopropynyl butylcarbamate.

Review: Sens'Eyes - Waterproof Sensitive Eye Cleanser

I recently finished a mascara and opened up a fresh one and specifically one that was waterproof. Whether it is tearing from allergies or sweating from the air conditioner not being turned on yet at work, my eye makeup has been all over the place and my (non waterproof) mascara has been smudging under my eyes throughout the work days, something that is definitely the opposite of professional!

I've been testing out the Make Up Forever Aqua Smokey Lash which so far I love everything about but the price. Holds a curl, doesn't flake or smudge, doesn't run and is near impossible to remove.

My Vichy Cleansing Water barely got any of it off so I pulled out the big guns. Make Up Forever Sens'Eyes - Waterproof Sensitive Eye Cleanser. A sample bottle had come with the set I bought that had the mascara so I tested it out.

It is awesome!

Doesn't burn my super sensitive eyes, removes most if not all of the mascara. And it basically disintegrates.

Witness the most unflattering picture ever:

Bye bye mascara (and any eye makeup that had the misfortune of meeting this cleanser)! I apply with a Q-tip and kind of massage it in and then take a damp cotton wool and wipe it all away.

Kaput! Bam! Pow! Gone!

Review: Yes to Cucumbers Natural Glow Facial Towelettes

I've heard good things about these towelettes so a month or so ago, I picked these up at my local Rite Aid (also found at Walgreens and some Targets). The Yes to Cucumbers Natural Glow Facial Towelettes come in a package similar to other facial wipes, however the case has a plastic flip top opening which does help in keeping the wipes moist. They retail for around $6 for 30 wipes.
First, I want to go into why I use facial wipes. If I'm feeling well, I use these before I clean my fave with another more involved cleanser. If I'm feeling poorly, in a perfect world, this would remove all of my makeup in an easy swipe and go.

I found that these wipes can only be used when I'm feeling well and wind up cleansing my face twice. They do not get rid of all my makeup, not even the foundation that I use which is usually a BB Cream or tinted moisturizer. Granted, my skin is dry and every foundation-type product I use clings to dry bits and is therefore harder to get off, but the La Roche Posay Cleaning Gel removed everything and the Vichy does as well with slightly more effort involved.

The other issue was the scent. I suffer from sinus headaches and/or migraines and this smell just puts me over the edge if I'm already feeling poorly. It is Bath & Body Works Cucumber Melon times 100. It is very strong and quite cloying. If you are a migraine sufferer, please be careful with these. One sniff and I felt the familiar zap and nausea.

So, these are just not for me. I'm going to finish my pack but not repurchase.

Product Rave

I know sometimes you don't realize you love a product so much until you've used it up, go searching for it and can't find it anymore and then take to swagbucks hoping you will be able to find and order it. In my case this was using up a pack of the Essence of Beauty Eye Make-Up Remover Pads Non-Oily. These things are awesome and I ran out, looked through my local CVS and could not find them anyway and promptly freaked out. These do a great job of removing eye makeup and even the most waterproof mascaras. And at $5.99 for 80 pads, it doesn't exactly break the bank. Well thankfully, they are still available for purchase on the CVS website though the site doesn't have a 'page' for the product so I hope they aren't discontinuing them! Either way, if you've been looking for a gentle makeup removing product that doesn't irritate sensitive eyes but takes off the most waterproof of mascaras, I'd give these a shot. You bet I'll be ordering a few bottles? jars? containers? of this myself as I do not want to run out again!

Disclosure: This includes a referral link to Swagbucks which is awesome btw. =)

In Which I Ask You For Help

I appreciate all of you who read Jeweled Thumb for reviews, swatches and other rambles but I don't have all the answers (obviously). So as much as I love the La Roche Posay Cleansing Gel and a whole host of other products to remove my makeup, sometimes a girl has got to pare down. And in this case I'm not talking about my makeup stash. What I am looking for is something, or shall I say, one thing (!) to remove my makeup.

My wishlist:
Something that removes face makeup and waterproof mascara, something in a state other than liquid form and something that doesn't burn my eyes! Oh and not irritating my sensitive skin is another plus.

I was eyeing the Clinique Take The Day Off Cleansing Balm. Has anyone tried this? I also recently tested the Estee Lauder briefly at the counter and it at least did a good job of removing the makeup on my hand. Have any other suggestions?

I know many of you like cleansing oils, but I need something I can wipe on and take off easily that isn't so liquidy and messy!

Review: La Roche-Posay Rosaliac Micellar Make-Up Removal Gel

whew, long title!

I'm in a process of testing out a range of skincare for le blog and discovered I was getting more break outs than usual. I initially assumed that it was the new skincare range so I stopped it for awhile and I was still getting the breakouts. Well, I found the culprit, or culprits. First of all, the skincare system that I'm testing is for sensitive skin and doesn't remove makeup (#1) and (#2) - my makeup removing wipes were nearing the end of the pack and were starting to dry out and not thoroughly remove the makeup I was wearing.

So, I broke out this strange gel that I had picked up on a whim on CVS on clearance. La Roche-Posay is a french brand that gets a lot of love all over the blogosphere and I like as well but it can tend to be a little out of my price-range.

Before I go into detail, this particular product seems to be discontinued, however there are two similar products by the brand on the market (also cheaper - huzzah) Physiological Micellar Solution by La Roche-Posay and the La Roche-Posay Physiological Cleansing Gel. One is a liquid and one is a gel, both require no water.


Anyway

I paid far less than the $24.50 retail price for this, but was intrigued. It's specifically for those with sensitive skin and promises to remove all face and eye makeup. One of the main problems I have while cleansing my face is making a complete mess of my sink and bathroom in general. This is especially problematic with things like cleansing oils, they run, they slip, I can't see and complete chaos ensues!

Here's how I tested this out. First, I rubbed my face with the cleansing wipes I was using (the Super Aqua Perfect Cleansing Tissue by Missha btw) then I applied some of the cleansing gel to the same wipe and wiped my face again. Oh my gosh, there was a lot of product that the other wipes were leaving behind! So I did my whole face. The only thing that this didn't remove was my waterproof mascara (the Lash Stiletto I reviewed here). I really like the concept of this and it wasn't harsh at all. I even got some in my eyes... slightly on purpose and it didn't sting. So even though it didn't remove my mascara (yes, I got to use yet another product for that) it was a fast mess-free alternative to wipes. And could be a lot less wasteful if you use a reusable washcloth or muslin cloth.

So, in closing, really cool product and a great alternative to wipes or separate cleansing oils. I wonder if the two newer version remove waterproof mascara, cause if so, I am super intrigued and will be testing them out. Also stay tuned for a review on said mystery skincare line I was referring to!

Have you tried any of these products? What did you think?