Stuff That's NOT Working Out #2- Why I Will Never EVER Buy These 'Makeup Removers' Again

You know that Taylor Swift song which goes like, 'We are never, ever, ever, getting back together.....

When I remove my makeup, I expect that its going to be one of the last things I do that night in the cleansing department. The max I’m willing to do after removing makeup is to use a cleanser just to get rid of any residue from the remover. And that’s not the last step of my night time skincare, I follow it up with a toner, eye cream and moisturizer, if I have some pimples coming through, then I’ll have to apply a pimple buster as well. My point is, there is so much to do at the end of the day that anything which requires extra steps just pisses me off! 

I’ve gone through a lot of makeup removers and the first one I tried was the old Maybelline remover & it was way too oily and really put me off oil based cleansers completely. Which is why I came across 3 really bad makeup removers, they aren’t completely useless, but they fall quite close to that line. So when you go out to buy a new makeup remover for yourself, keep these bad eggs out of your shopping list.

So here are the three, in no particular order. I dislike them all equally!

Revlon Eye and Lip Makeup Remover

‘Easily removes long wearing and transfer resistant makeup’

I’m sure a lot of you have tried this one simply because it’s one of the cheapest makeup removers  available, well it was 2 years ago, I’m not sure how much it costs now. It’s a cream based remover and I thought its oil free but seeing the ingredients list I saw that it contains lot of mineral oil. It does leave a really oily residue on my skin. This has got to be the harshest eye makeup remover out there. This literally stings my eye and makes it red. It’s absolutely unsafe for the eye, and even if you don’t have sensitive eyes, please stay away from this one. 

Swatch & Ingredients list

What’s more annoying are the claims written on the back of the tube: ‘Non-irritating’ & ‘Ophthalmologist-tested’…complete BS in my opinion. It does get out eye and lip makeup, but there are still alot of mascara left. Also, my lashes fall when I use this :(

Rimmel Gentle Eye Make Up Remover Oil Free

‘Removes waterproof mascara’

There are many things that attracted me to this bottle of makeup remover. Firstly, the fact that its oil free, secondly the “gentle” claims, then the claims of removing waterproof mascara, and finally, the fact that it wasn’t expensive. When I brought it two years ago, it costed Rs.350-375 for 125ml which I felt was reasonable for a gentle, oil free, waterproof mascara remover. 

So here’s what pissed me off: This isn’t exactly gentle. It doesn’t sting as much as the Revlon Makeup Remover, but it does sting. Also every time I’ve used this, 2-3 lashes have fallen off. To top it off, it doesn’t remove waterproof mascara, it does remove some of my eye makeup but when it comes to kajal and mascara, it fails. It does work on removing concealer, bb cream and lipstick, but I still wouldn’t recommend it. At its price you can find better options in the market today! It's like water so I couldn't swatch it.

The Body Shop Camomile Gentle Eye Makeup Remover

‘All in one lash and lid cleansing, conditioning and softening. ALL SKIN TYPES’

After three unhappy endings with makeup removers, I decided to go in for one from a high-end brand. I got this one from TBS for 50% off last year, its price was Rs.675. My experience with this is quite similar to the Rimmel Remover. Its also water based, and claims to be gentle but it does sting the eye. Its not as effective as the Rimmel one in removing eye makeup, and it doesn’t remove mascara at all. It doesn’t condition/ soften the eye lids either. 

Since the bottle is circular, it was hard to get a complete picture of the ingredients list. I hope this pic gives you an idea about the basic ingredients

However, this did not lead to lashes falling off as long as it was used within its shelf life, which is just 6 months. This is overpriced and pretty much ineffective and the fact that it can last just 6 months makes it way too expensive to even contemplate, so even if your tempted by 50% or 75% offs at TBS, stay away from this one! Again, it's like water so I couldn't swatch it.

So that's my list of bad eggs in the makeup removers department! Have you tried any of these?