Clinique Take The Day Off Cleansing Balm Review

It’s finally time for another review. As I said before, I use my products until they are finished – to give you the best possible insight. So I have been testing a cult favourite cleansing balm for a while, and here are my impressions. In today’s post, read Clinique Take The Day Off Cleansing Balm Review.

About Clinique Take The Day Off Cleansing Balm

Here is what Clinique says:

What It Is

Our #1 makeup remover. Makeup-melting balm cleans thoroughly and rinses off completely.

What It Does

Lightweight makeup remover quickly dissolves tenacious eye and face makeups, sunscreens.
Transforms from a solid balm into a silky oil upon application
.Cleans thoroughly, rinses off completely.
Gently helps remove the stress of pollution so skin looks younger, longer.

Ingredients:

Ethylhexyl Palmitate, Carthamus Tinctorius (Safflower) Seed Oil, Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride, Sorbeth-30 Tetraoleate, Polyethylene, Peg-5 Glyceryl Triisostearate, Water\Aqua\Eau, Tocopherol, Phenoxyethanol <ILN30654>

The main ingredient that Clinique highlight is Safflower oil. Safflower oil has high levels of linoleic acid and has natural emollient properties. Emollients are substances that, when applied to the skin, soothe and nourish the skin. In this product, safflower oil acts as a cleanser, where it’s melting the makeup and naturally occurring oils of the skin.

Packaging, texture and use

Packaging

Clinique Take The Day Off Cleansing Balm comes in a lovely purple tub with a screw-top lid. The packaging feels great quality and luxurious. I’m not usually a fan of screw-top lids, but I understand that balm of this consistency can’t come in any other packaging.

Texture

When you first open the product, it looks like a hard balm, but as soon as you scoop it up with your finger, you can see how easily it melts. When melted, it has an interesting texture between oil and balm. It’s kind of like a waxy texture (like a melted candle). Because of that texture, I find it works great at removing makeup – it almost binds the makeup onto itself and removes it completely.

Use

Clinique recommends:

How To Use
Use before cleanser and other treatment products. Massage balm over dry skin with dry fingertips. Rinse well with warm water. Pat dry. Follow with cleanser, then apply eye cream, serum, and moisturizer.

Definitely use it as a first cleanse. I rub it slightly between my fingers to start melting it, then apply it to the skin and keep gently rubbing. It doesn’t take long to melt the makeup, but it doesn’t do the best job of taking off my eye makeup. I usually have a few layers of mascara, so hardly any makeup remover removes it completely – I always need to use eye makeup remover.

It rinses off well, but it definitely needs a second cleanser to clean the skin fully.

Who is Clinique Take The Day Off Cleansing Balm for

Clinique says it is suitable for every skin type, and I agree. There aren’t any fragrances, so it suits my sensitive skin perfectly.

Because of its non-drying formula, it will suit even dry skin. And as safflower oil has oil-balancing properties, it would suit combination and oily skins as well.

So I think it would definitely suit any skin type.

My Clinique Take The Day Off Cleansing Balm Review

I used Clinique Take The Day Off Cleansing Balm daily for about four months before I used it all up. I will say that I probably did use a bit too much product daily, and I think it could’ve lasted me a bit longer.

That being said, using this product was a lovely experience. It melted the face makeup effortlessly, but there was a bit more rubbing needed to remove eye makeup (mostly mascara). And it always left my eyes quite blurry after use, so I had to include my eye makeup remover to remove the remaining eye makeup. But it didn’t burn or sting my eyes, so that’s a plus.

Another thing I noticed was that my pores looked cleaner than usual. It seemed that this cleansing balm did a great job of pulling out dirt from my pores, leaving them looking lighter than usual.

I didn’t notice it leaving my skin feeling particularly soft or hydrated, but I don’t expect that from makeup remover anyway. It doesn’t leave it dry or tight either, so that’s a benefit.

Conclusion – Clinique Take The Day Off Cleansing Balm Review

I liked Clinique Take The Day Off Cleansing Balm, but I will not repurchase it. I feel like other makeup removers are either better for that price point or much cheaper but do the same job.

It does the job fairly effectively unless you are wearing heavy eye makeup or a strong lip stain. Then you might need to include an eye makeup remover.

Clinique Take The Day Off Cleansing Balm Review – it leaves the skin nice and clean, and it doesn’t dry out the skin or leave it feeling tight or itchy. There is no greasy feeling left over after using this product either.

Packaging: 5/5

With its lovely colour and thick, strong tub, Clinique packaging does provide that feel of luxury cosmetics. I don’t like the packaging where you have to dip your fingers in it, but there aren’t many options for a product of this texture, so I don’t mind the tub packaging at all.

Ingredients: 3/5

For a product of this price point, I expected a bit more lovely and nourishing ingredients. Having only one key ingredient for this price is a bit disappointing, in my opinion, but it does work well. It’s just not as luxurious as you would think it would be.

Value: 3/5

The product, in this case, does not justify the price. For €33.50, you will get 125ml of product that will last about 4-5 months. I think other products do the same job but for a lesser price and maybe even last longer. There is a smaller size available, so maybe try that one first before you commit to a bigger one. The small size is 30ml for €12.95.

Clinique Take The Day Off Cleansing Balm 125ml
EU BUY HERE FOR €33.95
US BUY HERE FOR $25.55

Clinique Mini Take the Day off Cleansing Balm 30ml
EU BUY HERE FOR €12.95
US BUY HERE FOR $10.04

Overall: 3.6/5

As you can gather from my post, I am slightly disappointed in this product. For the price of €33.50, I expected a bit more, and I don’t understand the hype. But it is a unique formula that I haven’t found in any other product. It does work well, maybe it’s not the best for removing eye makeup, but that’s not its primary purpose, anyway. I just feel like it’s a bit overpriced and overhyped is all.

If you want to read my other cleanser reviews they are here: