Clinique Take The Day Off Cleansing Balm

As I've said before, I usually don't talk much about skin care because (1) I'm always changing mine (which is bad, I know!) & (2), everyone's skin is completely different. But recently I've kind of settled into a skin care routine, so I wanted to talk about what I use.

One of the first 'new' products I started using was Clinique's Take The Day Off Balm. I'd heard absolute horror stories about Clinique Skincare, so never even looked at it. But then I saw their Take The Day Off Cleanser for Eyes & Lips, & after a bit of googling, hit upon the balm cleanser. Everyone was raving about it, & then it kept popping up on Beaut.ie blather - So after an absolutely crap day, I ended up just going to the till with it in my hands.

First up, the packaging is nice. I like the purple tub & silver/ mirrored lid - It's just quite pretty. I know people tend not to like tubs because of hygiene reasons, but there's no other way to house a balm product really. It contains 125ml of product, which means you won't run out quickly either.

But the product itself - There's no smell. It's white. It's not miraculous. Basically, it's a very basic product, that I absolutely love. It takes off all my make up, if I use it as my first cleanser, & if it's my second cleanser/ morning cleanser, it leaves my skin feeling clean, & soft. It doesn't strip my skin, it doesn't hurt my eyes or leave my face red. And it didn't cause any break outs - I don''t believe in a 'purging atage', something either breaks your skin out or it doesn't. But with this, you just melt some of the cleanser in your hand, rub it into your face, then wash it off using a face cloth & warm water.

It costs €28 for 125ml, & may seem expensive for something so basic, but I haven't even used a quarter of it over two months - I put some into a small travel pot when I went home for Christmas, & I know the pot still has some left in it. Plus, I'll happily pay that for something that does its job & doesn't irritate my skin at all. This is the first balm cleanser I've used, but I like using products that you wash off with a face cloth & warm water - It feels nicer on my skin! Okay, it sounds like I'm not overly enthusiastic about Take The Day Off, but in reality, I absolutely love it & will definitely continue to use it.

Have you used Take The Day Off? Or do you recommend another balm cleanser?

Chloe x

NIMA Mitt

Hey everyone!

I received a NIMA Mitt about six weeks ago & have been using it religiously since then, to give the best review possible. The mitt is used for removing make up, without using any cleanser.

Originally, I was slightly confused - How could I take off my daily make up just using a mitt? I wasn't the only one. My friend asked what the difference between this & a face cloth was. There's a big difference!

The NIMA Mitt is a pink mitt made of microfibres. By just running it under warm water, you can remove make up quickly & easily. Just rub it over your face & you can see the residue on the mitt. Plus, it desn't hesitate to tackle eye make up! I wear heavy eyeliner and have no problems taking it off. It does take slightly longer than using a remover, because you're not breaking down the make up, but it doesn't tug at the eye area.

Before & after use.

In addition, the microfibres give your skin a light exfoliation, without irritating it. I now use my NIMA Mitt during the week & switch to a cream cleanser at the weekend. I use a n exfoliator at the weekend but that's sufficient. Because I'm using less products, I find my skin is much better behaved!

To clean the mitt, just rub a bar of soap against it, rub it together & rinse. It has a little loop of ribbon, so I hang it on my window to dry. It is important to follow cleaning instructions - I had no soap one night & used baby shampoo since I use that for brushes, but it stayed grubby.

The NIMA Mitt costs €12.95 & is available online.

How do you remove make up?
Chloe x

Emergency cleansing alternatives!

Hey guys!

So this is very much a last-minute, unplanned, not-very-well-planned-out type of post, that's coming as a result of my lack of organisation. As usual, I came home from college this weekend, but I didn't bother to bring home a bag or anything (I only had a large suitcase, & refused to bring it on the Luas at 8AM on a Saturday, I don't have a death wish. As it turned out, I woke up early so actually had breathing space on the Luas, & most likely could have brought the suitcase. But hey, too late now.) Either way, after just returning from Christmas holidays, I figured I didn't have anything to bring home - My washing could wait. But, the one essential I forgot was cleanser. Normally, I have some in my apartment & at home, just in case. But I left my No7 Hot Cloth cleanser in my apartment, along with my tea-tree oil cleanser, and even my emergency face-wipes. I thought I had left some of Tesco's cucumber cleanser down home (it's actually so good, & so cheap!) but couldn't find it. Apart from some ancient Clearasil, which wasn't so appealing, & half of Boots stock of face wash, I had nothing.

UNTIL. I thought of a suggestion from about a year ago. One of my friends had been talking about the Oil Cleansing method, which I had dismissed. Although my skin is dry, it breaks out often, badly, & unexpectedly. But tonight, I was desperate. Also, not very well prepared. All the reviews I quickly checked online suggested castor oil & sunflower seed oil. My mum doesn't tend to have these in her presses, so I had to improvise. Hello, Dunnes best sunflower oil & Johnson's baby oil. (Can you feel my desperation?)

Very simply, I mixed about a teaspoon of both in an egg cup. I poured it into my hands & rubbed them together, to warm it up, then gently rubbed it into my face with small circular motions. I was going to avoid my eyes, seeing as I have eye make-up remover, & then decided I may as well try that too. So my whole face got a going-over. I could literally see my make-up melting off, which did make me feel like at least something was being removed. Removal of the oil was pretty easy - I ran a muslin cloth under hot water, & washed it off. I figured it was better to soak a face cloth in the hot water & just press it on my eyes to melt my eye make-up, then used a cotton bud dipped in remover to take off the last remaining bit.

The result? Well obviously I can't comment on any effect it has on my skin, since it's only an hour later, but seeing as it was a once off, it hopefully won't go mad. My make up is definitely completely off, which is brilliant, plus it feels pretty moisturised from the oil which is appreciated right now!

Unusually for me these days, I had a full face of slap on.

Applied especially for Saturday night mass.

And BOOM, no make-up.

Also the appearance of a twelve year old without glasses & eyeliner.

So overall, while I can't see myself resorting to the Oil Cleansing method full-time, it was handy when I had nothing else! Have any of you had to resort to alternative cleansers? Or do you use the Oil Cleansing method every night? Let me know!

Chloe x

PS Also left my camera up there, hence the grainy web-cam photos. Apologies!