You gotta love a good facial wipe. Sure you may not use it to remove all of your makeup but they definitely are handy when it comes to travelling. Facial wipes are great for refreshing the skin, for cleaning makeup boo-boos, for removing makeup swatches, for spot-cleaning your makeup brushes and more. I don’t use them to remove my eye makeup but on days where I just want to remove all of my foundation or BB cream during the day before tackling the eye makeup in the evening, facial wipes are a must-have in my makeup arsenal.
Today, I thought I’d do quick reviews of 10 different facial wipes and pit them against each other to see how they fare. For the battle of the facial wipes, I purchased 10 packets of facial wipes from various brands, all of which were under AU$10.
Most makeup removing and cleansing facial wipes claim that they remove waterproof mascara. Now to be able to remove waterproof makeup with a basic water-based wipe is quite a claim (I find oil-based makeup removers the best for removing waterproof makeup) so it’s time to see if it really is true. I don’t have any waterproof mascaras to test this theory out with (not a fan of waterproof mascaras, y’see) so I used waterproof eyeliner instead. If the cleansing wipes can remove waterproof eyeliner, it will have no problems in removing waterproof mascara.
Here are the makeup products I used to test the efficiency of these 10 facial wipes: Clinique Quickliner for Eyes Intense in Intense Black, L’Oreal Super Liner Silkissime waterproof eyeliner in Seductive Black, L’Oreal Super Liner Blackbuster marker eyeliner in Extra Black, Face of Australia Big Volumising Lash Mascara and Revlon Super Lustrous lipstick in Fuchsia Shock. The waterproof eyeliner, I have to say, is quite a pain in the ass to remove with water-based makeup removers so if any of these facial wipes can remove it without irritating the skin, it’s a winner.
Each item of makeup tested is carried out the same: 2 strokes of the Clinique and L’Oreal Silkissime waterproof eyeliners on the skin, 1 stroke of the marker eyeliner, 3-4 swipes of the mascara and 3-4 swipes of the lipstick.
The battle of the facial wipes is about to begin. Ready? Fight!
Swisspers Natural Cucumber Refreshing Facial Cleansing Wipes
Texture: Medium thickness, not very porous, soft.
Fragrance: Smells like strongly perfumed cucumbers, the scent can be quite strong.
Size: ~ 19.5cm x 19.8cm, standard-sized.
How it feels on skin: Refreshing, not harsh on the skin. Alcohol-free.
How it removes makeup: Barely removes waterproof eyeliner. Mediocre removal of heavy non-waterproof makeup. Removal of foundation is adequate (will need 2 pieces for 100% removal).
Price: AU$6.00 for 25 pieces
Biore Make-Up Removing Wipes
Texture: Raised bumps on cloth, soft, thin, very porous.
Fragrance: Strong floral scent.
Size: 15.2cm x 18.5cm. Bigger than my palm.
How it feels on skin: Refreshing, not harsh on the skin, the bumps “exfoliates” the skin. Alcohol-free.
How it removes makeup: Removes foundation very well. Doesn’t remove waterproof eyeliner.
Price: AU$8.99 for 25 pieces
Wotnot Natural Organic Facial Wipes
Texture: Soft, thin, not very porous.
Fragrance: Barely any scent on the cloths.
Size: 20cm x 18cm, standard-sized.
How it feels on skin: Refreshing on the skin, very soft, not scratchy at all. Alcohol-free.
How it removes makeup: Removes foundation fine but doesn’t remove waterproof makeup without rubbing the skin hard.
Price: AU$7.95 for 25 pieces
Bioderma Crealine H2O Dermatological Wipes
Texture: Soft, medium-thickness, not very porous.
Fragrance: Smells like detergent. It’s not a pleasant scent.
Size: 22cm x 19.2cm, cloths are quite big, a lot bigger than the standard-sized facial wipes.
How it feels on skin: Not as refreshing on the skin as the popular micellar water, soft, not harsh on the skin. Alcohol-free.
How it removes makeup: Removes foundation well, doesn’t remove waterproof makeup well without rubbing, still has makeup residue.
Price: approximately AU$
Face of Australia Purifying Cleansing Wipes
Texture: Medium thickness, soft, not very porous.
Fragrance: Quite strong floral fragrance.
Size: ~ 15.2cm x 19.5cm, quite small for a cleansing wipe.
How it feels on skin: Refreshing, not scratchy nor harsh on the skin. Alcohol-free.
How it removes makeup: Removes foundation without any problems, doesn’t remove waterproof eyeliner, not even if you rub the bejeezus out of your skin. Please don’t.
Price: AU$4.95 for 25 pieces
Simple Cleansing Facial Wipes
Texture: Medium thickness, slightly porous.
Fragrance: Very subtle fragrance, almost no scent.
Size: 19cm x 18cm, standard-sized.
How it feels on skin: Feels scratchy on the skin. Not a fan of these facial wipes. Alcohol-free.
How it removes makeup: Removes foundation and regular mascara adequately. Doesn’t remove waterproof eyeliner well at all.
Price: AU$6.99 for 25 pieces
Garnier Clean Sensitive Gentle Ultra-Cleansing Wipes
Texture: Soft, very thin, porous. Not a fan.
Fragrance: Not much of a scent, fragrance-free.
Size: ~ 21cm x 16cm, slightly smaller than most standard-sized cloths
How it feels on skin: The porous cloths are slightly scratchy, doesn’t feel refreshing on the skin. alcohol-free.
How it removes makeup: Removes base makeup and regular mascara adequately. Doesn’t remove waterproof eyeliner.
Price: AU$8.95 for 25 pieces
NIVEA Visage Daily Essentials Fragrance Free Facial Cleansing Wipes
Texture: Small bumps on the cleansing wipes, thin, porous.
Fragrance: Typical fragrance of NIVEA skincare products, not strong.
Size: ~ 17.7cm x 19cm
How it feels on skin: Refreshing, not scratchy, doesn’t sting the skin. Alcohol-free.
How it removes makeup: Removes foundation well, adequate in removing waterproof eyeliner but will need tougher rubbing of the skin for full removal.
Price: AU$7.50 for 25 pieces
Neutrogena Makeup Remover Cleansing Towelettes Night Calming
Texture: Soft, thin, porous.
Fragrance: I can’t describe the scent. It’s supposed to have a calming scent but it actually has quite a strong one which, in my opinion, isn’t very calming at all.
Size: 19 x 18.5cm
How it feels on skin: Refreshing, doesn’t sting the skin, not harsh. Alcohol-free.
How it removes makeup: This surprisingly removes waterproof eyeliner well. It’s the only one out of the 10 facial wipes here that removed waterproof eyeliner without much rubbing. Suffice it to say that it removes regular makeup well too.
Price: AU$7.99 for 25 pieces
Olay Wet Cleansing Towelettes Sensitive
Texture: Checkered texture (quite interesting), medium thickness, slightly porous.
Fragrance: Very subtle scent. Described as fragrance-free.
Size: 14.6cm x 19.1cm.
How it feels on skin: Refreshing, not harsh and doesn’t sting the skin.
How it removes makeup: Removes waterproof eyeliner but only after some rubbing. Does a decent job in removing regular makeup.
Price: AU$6.99 for 30 pieces
Verdict:
Of all the 10 facial wipes tested, the Neutrogena Night Calming Makeup Remover Cleansing Towelettes are the only ones that can remove that blasted waterproof eyeliner with little rubbing. This is important if you do use facial wipes to remove all of your makeup because you don’t want to be rubbing your eyes with facial wipes just to remove waterproof makeup. I wouldn’t recommend facial wipes to remove eye makeup at all but if you have to, you’ll need something that can do the job without irritating the eyes nor pulling at the delicate skin. I’m not a fan of the scent but in a jiffy, I’d say the Neutrogena one is the most effective.
Having said that, my favourite facial wipe out of the lot is still the Wotnot Natural Organic Facial Wipes. It has the softest cloths out of the 10 facial wipes and feels most refreshing on the skin. The one by Biore is quite good too. Surprisingly, the one I dislike the most is the one by Bioderma. I love the popular micellar water but their facial wipes are not good. The scent is unpleasant and they don’t feel as good on the skin as the rest. I’ll just stick to the proper makeup remover from now on.
Oh boy, it’s going to be a while before I finish using all these facial wipes. 😛 By the way, if there are any other facial wipes you’d like me to review or pit against, let me know in the comments.
Do you use facial wipes? What’s your favourite? Better yet, which is your least favourite so that I know which one to avoid. 😛
I actually avoid wipes like plague because I’m terrified the tugging and pulling will make the lines on my skin a lot worse. I stick to facial cleansing oils because I can control how much tugging I do 😀
LeGeeque recently posted..Casual Friday with Pop Basic Rubi
Yeah I know what you mean. Facial wipes should stay away from the eye area, especially if you have waterproof makeup on. A lot of wipes don’t remove waterproof mascara even though they say they do. People don’t know and go at their eyes with the wipes. So much rubbing! *shudder*
Anyway, they’re great for spot-cleaning brushes, that’s for sure. I’m going to have a LOT of facial wipes after this post for that 😛
I used the neutrogena one when I traveled a few months back and omg it felt SO harsh against my skin, really rubby, not soft, felt like I was using the hard side of the kitchen cleaning sponge lol.
Oh no! That’s awful. I thought it was all right on me. Hello leather skin! 😛
If you want super soft wipes, the Wotnot is really good. Rubbish at heavy makeup removal but if you want to remove foundation or just an overall freshen-up, I highly recommend it.
I only ever use facial wipes if I am too tired to have a proper make up removing session! The ones I’ve got are the Lacura ones from Aldi and they do a good job. But I don’t tend to use waterproof make up.
MissCarole recently posted..The Picture of the Month – July 2013
I stumbled upon the Lacura ones when I was doing a spot of grocery shopping at Aldi yesterday. Was wondering how they fare. I might try them out after I’m done with this lot. I now have 10 packets of facial wipes to finish up! 😛
Oddly enough I never really felt compelled to try make-up wipes!
I find massaging the cleansing milk to melt away my make-up at the end of the day kinda therapeutic..so despite of how late it is or tired I am, removing my make-up and taking a bathe relaxes and gets me ready for bed.
If I’m REALLY tired, I’ll use the B’iore jelly make-up remover when I’m in the shower to remove my make-up. Its very convenient, and removes eye make-up and mascara!
There’s a Biore jelly makeup remover? Jelly?? What’s this interesting thing I’ve never heard about? 😛
I seldom use makeup wipes too and very rarely use them to remove makeup. When I was on holiday last month, I decided to save up on space and weight and brought makeup remover wipes to do the job instead. Big mistake. They were absolutely rubbish in removing my eyeliner and because I didn’t have anything else that time, I had to use those wipes to try to remove the eyeliner. Eventually it was removed but I ended up tugging so much at the delicate skin! Removes waterproof makeup my aunt Fanny.
Yes there is! Look up Biore Aqua Jelly Makeup Remover..
When you’re in the shower just pump 1 or 2 pumps out and massage it all over your face, then rinse off!
Melts away even stubborn mascara and gel eyeliner…convenient and the “jelliness” reduces tugging at the eye area.
Looks very interesting! Will get mum to send me one from Malaysia. Thanks! 🙂 x
I used to love using the Simple ones and found that they worked ok. But then again, I only have foundation and blusher on. I find that most wipes (have tried Simple, Biore and Neutrogena Deep Cleansing) have either a scratchy texture, or very soft that they stretch and tear easily. 🙁
Base makeup and blusher, not a problem. Any of these wipes (and more) will do quite a decent job in removing them. It’s the crappy texture of some of the cloths that sucks. I just use the leftover of those to spot clean my brushes instead. That’s when the roughness of the cloths will work to my advantage. Oh yeah, CLEAN IT GOOD!! 😉
I do like Neutrogena face wipes, but I still do a proper cleanse afterwards. I was impressed when I first tried Neutrogena wipes, so knew they’d do well in this “face off” 🙂
xx
Ms Jelena recently posted..Melbourne Cup 2013 – the Fashion!
Me too. I still have to do a proper cleanse after the wipes. Actually it’ll be three times cleansing: wipes, oil cleanser, regular cleanser. Makes you wonder, gee just how dirty is this girl’s face? 😛
facial wipes are awesome for travels and I only just recently discovered that when I was packing for my previous holiday.
i like the Biore one, in pink colour, not the same one as you have featured. I had wanted to try the Garnier, but since it’s scratchy, I guess I’ll skip that. Wonder if you have tried the Nive Pure & Natural wipes? I don’t wear eye makeup these days, so as long as the facial wipes can remove base/ foundation/ bb cream, blush and lipstick/ gloss, I’m happy enough.
plue recently posted..Guerlain Sakura Cherry Blossom G Blush & TheBalm Down Boy – Excellent Combo!
I know which Biore you meant. The oil-based makeup remover wipes, right? I used that for my holiday and it was rubbish. Couldn’t remove my mascara and eyeliner. Ended up using at least 4 wipes just to get everything off. I didn’t have anything else with me so I had to stick with it. It’s okay in removing foundation but the rest, meh. Makes me wonder why it’s so popular.
I’ve not tried Nivea’s Pure & Natural, only the Daily Essentials one. Is it good? Worth checking out?
eeeps! sorry to hear Biore didn’t work for you, as that work pretty okay for me. Most probably it worked cuz I didn’t need to remove eye makeup lol!
not sure if the Pure & Natural wipes are any good, but I know Yishan has it in her swatching kit! Which is what got me interested in trying it out hahaha 😀
plue recently posted..Guerlain Sakura Cherry Blossom G Blush & TheBalm Down Boy – Excellent Combo!
I also use Lacura from Aldi. For just 2 dollars they do amazing job!
Right, that’s two recommendations for the Lacura one. I’m so getting one to try!
I have never used facial wipes to remove makeup and I guess is because I do not believe they do a good job. I am currently using Bioderma micellar water and really like how it works on my skin. Could I know how do you actually used it? I am trying to remove my makeup gently with Muji facial cottons soaked in the micellar water but I am just afraid I am tugging my skin too much.
For the Bioderma Crealine H20, what I do is soak a facial cotton with the product. Like super soak the entire pad. If I’m not wearing any eyeliner or waterproof mascara, just regular eyeshadows, I place it over my eye, gently press it down and leave it there for 10-20 seconds. No tugging, no dragging, just gentle pressing. After that, gently wipe off. I do exactly what Lisa Eldridge did here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lxU4jiIMguM
I use facial wipes every evening to remove the bulk of my face makeup – but I use a dedicated eye makeup remover for my eyes – I have yet to find a wipe that does a good enough job. Although the Neutrogena wipes look promising!
Chelsea recently posted..Review: Physician’s Formula Mineral Wear Talc-Free Mineral Face Powder
I agree with you; gotta use a separate eye makeup remover for the eyes because the wipes just won’t cut it. I guess that’s why I don’t like how these facial wipes claim to remove waterproof mascara. Err they don’t! 😛
Somehow i don’t like to use makeup wipes, though they are so convenient. I have always found them to be very drying for me 🙁
itspinkpot recently posted..Inspiration: Applause Please, Italian Artistry
Facial wipes are definitely not for everyone, especially for those with sensitive skin. I like to use mine to spot clean brushes. 😛
Tine 🙂 Lets be kind to the brushes 😉 You never know how sensitive they are 😀
itspinkpot recently posted..D.I.Y : Blemish Vanishing Turmeric Face Mask
Wow Tine! Bravo, this post is A+++, super like it! Shopping for 10 different brands and diligently trying each of them. Salute! Haha, I like to travel with wet wipes, maybe it makes me feel like an adult baby 🙂 Reality is, I am not as clumsy though I think that I need wet wipes, lots of it! Thank God I don’t have such obssession with facial wipes. I believe in double cleansing my face with cleansing oil and then splash with water followed by my regular cleanser. Facial wipe, like wet wipes, only gives the temporary clean relief feeling…you know that you ultimately still need to go wash the hands or wash the spot clean area on clothes for example…same goes for the face. That’s me la 😛
For eye makeup, I am currently using eye makeup remover and cotton pad. I actually dislike rubbing my eyes with the soaked cotton pad. Each time I do that at night, I always imagine hundreds of fine lines and wrinkles will secretly form in due time. Sigh…I think I will stop once I finish my stash. I have another 3 bottles to go (yeah, they were cheap then). I will probably use cleansing oil for the entire face to minimize tugging the skin.
Thanks Jennifer! So glad you like it. Shopping for the 10 packets was fun. Now having to use up all 10, maybe not so much 😛
Any way to minimise tugging of skin around the eye area is a very good thing. Spend more money now, save money later on fixing those wrinkles 😉
Wow! This is a good read! Thank you for showing results on those list.
Pleasure! 🙂
Thanks for this comprehensive review Tine. I ❤ the Wotnot wipes but it doesn’t remove eye makeup well 🙁
Sunshine recently posted..Movember Mustache Nails
I love the Wotnot ones but yeah, like you said, they’re pretty lousy in removing eye makeup. Best to use a specific eye makeup remover and the Wotnot wipes just to refresh the skin 🙂
What a useful and comprehensive post – thanks Tine. 🙂
My pleasure Annamaria. Now I have a LOT of facial wipes to get through 😛
Battle of the facial wipes!! The title is so good!!
I’ve only tried the Wotnot out of all these – and they work really well for my skin. I’ve tried another brand I’ve forgotten which contained apple juice and honey, but the wipes weren’t soft so I ran back to Wotnot 😉
I never thought to use face wipes to clean my brushes or to correct boo-boos – how clever!
Sabine recently posted..Get to know the Ionmax Ion70 humidifier!
The Wotnot wipes are fantastic. Okay, to be fair, they can’t remove eye makeup, especially not mascara, eyeliner, etc but you’re not meant to anyway. Leave the eye makeup remover for those. For the face however, the Wotnot ones are so soft!
Yeah, after this “battle”, I now have heaps of facial wipes. The lousy ones are used to spot clean makeup brushes. At least they’re put to good use and not wasted, right? 😉
I’ve been a faithful user of the nivea wipes to remove my waterproof mascara and eyeliner.
You need to rub it away quite a bit and it’s obviously not the nicest feeling. Have you ever tried the bulk wipes by MAC? I only discovered them recently while browsing (and obviously sampling) at their booth. They worked quite nicely and leave your skin feeling hydrated and smooth afterwards. They’re definitely on my list for the next shopping spree 😉
I’ve not tried any of the ones by MAC. Not a big fan of the brand. 😛 Still, I wonder if they have any testers in store? Might try them out 🙂
I love the wotnot wipes to bits! I’ve never tried anything that’s so soothing and moisturising
I know, right? They’re so soft, definitely the softest I’ve ever used. Love!
hi there,
I also love the whatnot – the other I like is the yes to cucumbers soothing hypoallergenic wipes – have you done a comparison of these two?
Not on the blog but I’ve tried the Yes To Cucumbers wipes and personally, I’m not a fan. The Whatnot’s much much better. 🙂