A good makeup remover must have several key features.

It should…

• Remove makeup with minimal effort.
• Leave your skin soft and smooth rather than dried out.
• Have little or no fragrance.
• Avoid causing irritation on the skin or eyes.

Unfortunately, most makeup removers I’ve tried haven’t lived up to all of these points.

In my search for a good makeup remover, I decided to try Clinique Take the Day Off Makeup Remover for Lids, Lashes and Lips. Does it live up to my standards?  We’ll see.

How well does it remove makeup?

The ultimate test, a makeup remover should do as its name suggests and remove makeup. That’s the whole purpose after all.

Luckily, Take the Day Off does a really good job with this. All you do is shake the bottle, apply to a cotton square, and wipe across your eye. With regular, non-waterproof makeup, it took it off with no effort. Waterproof makeup needed a bit more force, though.

Does it dry out your skin?

One of the biggest problems with most eye makeup removers is that they dry out skin. This is usually due to the product having alcohol as one of its main ingredients.

That’s not the case with Take the Day Off. It’s oil-based rather than alcohol-based. It definitely doesn’t dry out my skin. If anything, it leaves a somewhat annoying oily residue.

In that respect, this makeup remover shouldn’t be used for people with really oily skin. The oil in Take the Day Off will just make things worse. If you don’t have that problem though, you should be fine.

Is it fragrance-free?

Have you ever noticed that many products with a ‘Fragrance-Free’ label often have a heavy scent? What’s the deal with that?

While Take the Day Off also has a Fragrance-Free label, it actually lives up to the name. It has absolutely no scent, which is good for me since my skin is sensitive to fragrance.

Does it cause irritation?

No, Take the Day Off doesn’t cause skin irritation, at least for me anyway. And that’s saying a lot since I have super sensitive skin. It lacks the fragrance and alcohol that would make other makeup removers cause red welts or rashes.

Even if the formula accidentally touches my eyes, there’s still no irritation.

The Final Verdict

Although Clinique Take the Day Off makeup remover works really well in most cases, it isn’t for everyone. Since it’s oil-based, a whole section of the oily-skinned public will need to avoid it. On the other hand, it works crazy well for the rest of us. For that, I give Take the Day Off a:

B+

You can pick up this makeup remover online or in department stores for $17.50 for a 4.2 fl. oz. bottle.