I first discovered and wanted to start using makeup wipes after watching an extremely in depth (to the point where there was a lot of extraneous information) about removing makeup. She had oils, liquid removers, lotions, creams and wipes. I had never experienced anything beyond the generic eye makeup remover in the bottle from CVS. This girl I had watched claimed that wipes were easy and simple. They took off makeup and cleansed your face in one simple step. So, with this in mind, I set out to buy my first few towlettes. I believe the first ones I ever purchased were the ones from CVS – the generic store brand. They were called –
CVS Cleansing and Makeup Removing Towlettes (Retail price: $2.99)
-They come in a super crinkly baby blue and white package with a white plastic top to keep the moisture locked inside. The sheets are 6.0 x 7.3 in and are “now textured”. There are 25 wipes in the package.
-TIP: These claim to be pre-moistened but, like any other wipes out there, they are not as moist as we want them to be. The result of using dry towlettes is feeling a dry, scratchy and not so effective piece of cloth clean your face. So, to solve this problem, run a few drops of tap water through the package to wet the wipes thoroughly. Also, make sure to keep the package upside down so the first wipe you get is the moistest.
-Overall Review: The “now textured” meant a sort of quilted, bumpy texture. I do find that a slightly textured wipe is the most effective in terms of removing your makeup. If your wipes have little bumps all over, it will feel scratchy. Yet, if it is smooth in some place and has slight indentations etc. it will feel smooth yet, will effectively take off your makeup without damaging your skin. I felt that these were on the less scratchy side of all the wipes I’ve tried yet, they are still scratchy. I don’t think any wipes are extremely smooth and gentle on your skin. Any wipes that claim to be “exfoliating” are truly “exfoliating”. I am not a fan of rough , sandpaper like wipes but, some are. I did find that these wipes were one of the more effective of the few in terms of cleaning off my makeup effectively.
-Rating on a scale of 10: 7/10
Up and Up Deep Pore Cleansing Cloths (Retail Price: ~$7)
-These come in a dark pink and white packaging and have 60 wipes that are 5.0x8.0 inches.
- Overall Review: These wipes claim to “deep clean” and exfoliate while removing both makeup and dirt. These types of wipes seem ideal at first. But, think about how many times you exfoliate your face a week. Three at most? So why would you want to remove your makeup with these wipes every day if they exfoliate your face? These are super scratchy honestly. I also remember that they were not as effective as I had wanted them to be. They didn’t remove my makeup thoroughly and I had streaks of mascara left on my face by the time I had used one wipe. Although these are a good price for 60 wipes, the wipes are significantly smaller. They have little bumps all over them that are really scratchy. My eye are and face were often left red after using these wipes with no pressure at all.
-Rating on a scale of 10: 3/10
Up and Up Makeup Remover Cleansing Towlettes (Retail Price: ~$4)
-They are in a darker blue and white package with a “lid” of the same material as the rest of the packaging. There are 30 wipes in this pack and they are 6 x 7 5/16 inches (same size as the CVS).
- Overall Review: These are the wipes that I’ve repurchased the most. I find that they are the most effective and least scratchy of the bunch. They excel in terms of makeup removal power where I find that my makeup comes off quite easily –even false eyelashes and waterproof mascara. Also, I find that these are not as scratchy as the rest of the ones I had tried. It has slight quilting and does claim to deep clean. Yet, they are not terrible. I also find that these do dry out quite easily so add in some extra generic makeup remover or tap water and shake the wipes around for extra moisture.
-Rating on a scale of 10: 8/10
I'm still trying out a few more brands of makeup remover wipes (I will edit this post when I have a full opinion). I did repurchase the ones I like best recently.
