Clinique Take the Day Off Cleansing Balm

Today's review is on Clinique's Take the Day Off Cleansing Balm.

I don't go a single evening without using cleansing oil as part of my skincare routine. My pores tend to clog very easily, so if I don't get off all my sunscreen and makeup completely at the end of the day I will definitely suffer for it the next day. I purchased this because I needed a travel friendly cleansing oil at school. The DHC Deep Cleansing Oil, which I love, along with many other cleansing oils, come in pump bottles which tend to spill and get all over the place in your overnight bags or suitcases. So, I've been using this religiously since February every night. If I break out, I know that it's my hormones, and not my cleansing habits, causing the problem.

The clear plastic tub is decently sized and priced--it contains 3.8 oz of balm, and costs $27.00. I bought it around mid to late February, but I've already used over half of the tub, since I get a little too application-happy whenever it's time to wash my face, haha.

The balm is white, and pretty much looks like a tub of hair wax, without all the sticky goopiness. Doesn't have much of a scent. To apply, you slide your fingers across it until they pick up the desired amount of product, and then rub it into your uncleansed face. I like to dot my face with the balm before rubbing it in completely. As you rub in the cleansing balm, the heat and motion from your fingers turns it into an oil which is extremely easy to spread. This means it can also be somewhat unsanitary since you're dipping your fingers into it with every use, but if you wash your hands prior it should be fine. The opening of the tub is wide, so there's no problem getting to every single last bit as you run out.

After you've gently rubbed and massaged your entire face, you rinse off the balm/oil with warm water. It emulsifies and turns white before coming off your entire face. If you have dry skin, you can probably skip a second cleanser, but I always follow up with a generic drugstore cleanser to take off all the residue from the cleansing balm, so when I apply my moisturizer it will penetrate my skin more deeply.

This cleansing balm's ingredients consist of: ethylhexyl palmitate, carthamus tinctorius (safflower) seed oil, caprylic/capric triglyceride, sorbeth-30 tetraoleate, polyethylene, peg-5 glyceryl triisostearate, water, tocopherol, phenoxyethanol

Though this product works just great, I think it's only worth purchasing if you travel and require a convenient cleansing oil. However, if portability is not important, I'd say skip this product and opt for a cheaper Japanese drugstore version. I really want to try Kose Softymo Deep Cleansing Oil, which is recommended by other beauty bloggers. I've tried more expensive cleansing oils like DHC Deep Cleansing Oil before and I think the DHC cleansing oil has more beneficial skincare properties than this Clinique balm, since it left my skin feeling a lot smoother...but that may just be a consequence of the ingredients.