From late nights out to freshening up after a long haul flight, cleansing wipes have saved us a huge amount of time and hassle when it comes to makeup removal.
I tested three that are new to the market: Senka Perfect Puff, Nivea Make Up Clear Cleansing Wipes and Cetaphil Gentle Skin Cleansing Cloths.
Here’s how they performed:
MY THOUGHTS ON THE…
TEXTURE
The Senka Perfect Puff feels thicker than the usual cleansing wipe. There are three layers of “puffs” to the wipe and it doesn’t feel abrasive on the skin.
From left to right: Senka Perfect Puff, Nivea Make Up Clear Cleansing Wipes, Cetaphil Gentle Skin Cleansing Cloths
Both the Nivea Make Up Clear Cleansing Wipe and Cetaphil Gentle Skin Cleansing Cloth have a perforated texture.
CLEANSING POWER
All three cleansing wipes are meant to be able to dissolve “hard-to-remove makeup” – in a beauty junkie’s dictionary, that ideally, means waterproof eyeliner and mascara – so I brought out the most long-lasting products from my personal stash for a test.
Benefit’s They’re Real Push-Up Liner has quite the budge-proof reputation – there’s a reason why they made a remover specifically for it – and so do the brand’s famous tints. YSL’s Fusion Ink foundation and Givenchy’s Phenomen’eyes Waterproof mascara, last for at least a solid eight hours on me.
Also in the test is Kose Esprique’s Bright Lasting Rouge, Chanel’s Crayon Sourcils Sculpting Eyebrow Pencil, and Nars’ Creamy Radiant Concealer. All swatched on my arm in the same sequence as the picture above, and left to dry for 30 minutes.
My bare arm.
How the makeup applied looked after 30 minutes.
ON THE FIRST SWIPE
Each of the three cleansing wipes were held down at a section for about a minute, then I gently swiped it over the makeup, once. All three removed a decent amount of makeup on the first try.
From left: Senka Perfect Puff, Nivea Make Up Clear Cleansing Wipe, Cetaphil Cleansing Wipe
HOW MANY SHEETS DID IT TAKE TO REMOVE ALL THE MAKEUP?
For all three, a single sheet was enough to remove all the makeup that was on my arm. But a little scrubbing was involved when it came to the eyeliner. On a separate testing however, all the sheets could remove the Nars Larger Than Life Long-Wear Eyeliner and Clio’s Kill Brown Liquid Eyeliner.
My arm after removing all the makeup, with a little red patch from scrubbing off the eyeliner. The other red marks in the photo are from the tint, which had staining properties.
HOW IT FEELS ON MY FACE
Senka: The puff felt very soft on the face, almost like a giant cotton pad. Its size is also very convenient and easy to hold compared to the usual large sheet. There was no sticky feel after removing my daily makeup – tinted moisturiser, penciled brows, a dust of contour powder and lipstick. One sheet was enough for the whole face.
Nivea: I had hoped for this cleansing wipe to be a little more moist when I first took it out of the packet. But, it was actually enough to remove all my makeup – again, the same light makeup as described above – with a single sheet.
Cetaphil: I’m impressed at how well this removed makeup – it’s easy to expect “gentle” products to be less effective than its “heavy-duty” counterparts, but this performed just as well and left a slight moisturising layer on the skin.
As with all three, it’s best to follow up with a cleansing oil or your regular foaming wash after. Cleansing wipes should not be taken as do-it-all deep cleansers for the skin if you’re wearing a full face of makeup.
WHICH ONE SHOULD YOU GET?
The three tested here are safe to use for all skin types. But if I had to classify them, I’d say reach for the one from Cetaphil if you have a slightly mature or dry skin type. Those who use drying acne products may want to try it too.
The one from Nivea will be great if you have combination skin – the after-feel is refreshing and lightly hydrating; the skin doesn’t feel greasy.
Finally, Senka’s Cleansing Puffs will work for anyone, particularly those who hate the feel of textured wipes on the skin; it’s soft and comforting. The size is great, too, if you struggle with big sheets.
Senka Cleansing Puff, $3.90 for eight puffs (From April 2); Nivea Make Up Clear Cleansing Wipes, $9.50 for 25 sheets; Cetaphil Gentle Skin Cleansing Cloths, $13.90 for 25 sheets are available at all leading pharmacies.