Clinique Take The Day Off Cleansing Balm

I had never heard of cleansing balms before my Birchbox this month. I received a sample of Cailyn Dizzolv'it Makeup Melt Cleansing Balm and I loved it! I've been using makeup wipes for years now and it wasn't until this past year that I realized how much makeup was left behind. I started using an astringent after the wipe and the cotton pads just kept coming away with more makeup. When I tried the Cailyn balm sample, there was nothing left on my face. I really want to buy a full size of it, but it's $36 for 100ml on the Birchbox website and I have to wait for shipping... blah blah blah... So I checked out my other options. I found this Clinique Take The Day Off Cleansing Balm on the Sephora website for $28.50 for 125ml so I figured I would give it a try, since I was going to Sephora that weekend anyway.

The product comes in a large squat container that is a lovely shade of purple with a silver cover. The original texture of it is very stiff, some people have said it looks like lard. I think it reminds me of a solid coconut oil, but at the point that you can still scoop it out with your fingers. The first time I used it, I used a spatula that I have. Some people prefer this because of possible contamination, etc... I am not one of those people. It's much quicker for me to just dig in with my fingers. I wash my hands before touching it anyway. There is no scent with this product whatsoever. That may make this a better product for some people than the Cailyn balm with a very distinct (though, amazing!) scent.

This balm should be applied with dry hands to a dry face. The thick product will melt into an oil to rub into your skin. Wait! An Oil?! On my Oily face?! ... Yes. Don't be afraid. The oil takes off all the makeup then rinses completely off your skin. If you want, you can follow it with a toner or other cleanser. What I do is take some out of the container, about the size of a quarter, then rub it between my hands to spread it out - not so much that it's a liquid, just to get onto my fingertips, then rub all over my face. This is a great time to give yourself a facial massage. It's safe to use around eyes and works wonderfully at getting all of your eyeliner and mascara off, though it does make a mess. Sometimes I will use a different cleanser to take off most of my eye makeup first (if I'm wearing a lot) then let the balm get the rest of it. Then rinse my face with warm water and pat dry. I usually follow it with a quick swipe of witch hazel on a cotton pad, just to make sure the oil is gone, then my night moisturizer. It's actually a lot faster than what I was doing.

I am officially a cleansing balm convert now. I used to not want to take the time to put my hair back, get my face wet, etc... but it just works so much better taking off all my makeup that I take the time now. This is a really gentle product that is available everywhere, since it's Clinique. This will be very easy to travel with too, since I can just put some in a smaller container to take with me.