Tuesday 25 January 2011

Super speedy review - Estee Lauder Gentle Eye Makeup Remover


Claire's Mum buys lots of fancy makeup things which give her lots of gifts-with-purchases (whoa, grammar where have you gone?) which she passes on to Claire who in turn gives them to me, for Claire cares not for lotions and potions and basic skincare :P Anyway this is something that came into my possession in such a way.
If you wanted to buy it, it would cost you £17.50 for 100ml. It's a clear, watery liquid but emulsifies a bit on the pad to make some whitish bubbles. Smells a bit alcoholy but not terrible.
This is going to be a super speedy review because there really isn't much I can say about this. I used it once and won't ever again.

I used it in what I assume is the normal way, dumping a bit onto a cotton pad, holding it over the eye and then sweeping the makeup away. As i put it on my eye it stung a bit, but my eyes are sensitive and most makeup removers sting a little bit, so I didn't think to much of it.  But then the stinging got worse. After about 30 seconds my eye was burning, seriously burning, and getting worse and worse. I had to run into the kitchen and rinse my eyes for ages before the burning subsided, but even then my eyes still stung for a long time. I didn't get any of the product IN my eye, this was just from the soaked pad being laid on/swept across my closed eyelid.

Other than that it worked fine, my makeup was removed like it was meant to be. But who cares if it worked at all when it hurt so much Gentle my arse!

I don't know why it burned, maybe I'm allergic to something in it (I do have very sensitive skin and I think i'm allergic to some facial skin care ingredients, but I have no idea what :/) but if you have sensitive eyes I wouldn't risk it.  Won't use it again, but maybe I'll give it to someone in my family and see how it works for them... Yeah, blind your family Lillian, that's a good idea! :P

10 comments:

  1. Ouch, sounds horrible! :( I always get that kind of reaction from eye make up remover, there must be something nasty in it. I've been trying the Simple remover figuring it would be less full of chemicals, but it still burns a little. I'd rather use something that didn't burn at all! :P xxx

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  2. I agree totally, I have this too and there is nothing gentle about it!!!, I've gone back to slapping sorbalene cream all over my eyes to remove my makeup!

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  3. I think I have it. I do not like makeup removal liquids, I prefer to use pure mineral oil - does not irritate skin nor eyes. If am out of mineral oil or travelling, I use whatever cooking oils there are in the kitchen. I do not recommend cold press olive oils though - you end up smelling like a salad :P

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  4. Gemx:
    I always get a bit of stinging, but nothing this bad ever before! I don't know anything about the ingredients, but I assume there's some sort of solvent to dissolve the makeup, and that's probably quite harsh on the delicate eyes. I like using just my cleanser or facial wipes, the ones I've used don't really sting.

    Jadegrrrl:
    It's weird it's specifically called 'gentle' I've actually tried a different Estee Lauder remover that didn't claim to be gentle but didn't sting nearly as much. Never heard of sorbalene cream, is it good?

    LiisK:
    I've heard of using cooking oil before but the idea just chreeps me out :P I hate oily feeling things on my skin, especially near my eyes. Still I'm glad it works and is really gentle :)

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  5. So bad to hear the product sucks so much. Estee Lauder makes my favorite mascara (which I first recieved from my mom, she got it as a gift-with-perchace). But I've never tried any of their other products. And after reading this I will stay far away from their makeup remover. It sounds pretty bad.

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  6. Make Up Monster:
    It's weird actually, I've tried another one of their makeup removers (one that didn't claim to be gentle) and it was fine! Well it stung a little, but ALL makeup removers sting my eyes. I'd stay away from this one though, it really really burned until i rinsed my eyes out.

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  7. This post made me giggle because it reminded me of my old grumpy trusty and super efficient dermatologist. He's one of those golden hearted folks hiding behind seemingly grumpy manners lol. Anyway, I see him every now and again to help me deal with my allergies and sensitive skin and he may be biased but he is quite critical of high end cosmetics, apart from a few brands and products that he consider to be serious.

    He told me that when you have sensitive/allergic skin you should avoid products that incorporate a wide range of ingredients for the simple reason that it increases your chances to react to one of these ingredients as well as your chances to react to the heavy combo even if you were not allergic to any of the individual ingredients. And would you guess it, according to him high end brands tend to justify their expensive prices by using a wide range of ingredients as well as hyped-over ingredients that are often not very known yet.

    Regarding products labelled as "gentle", he said that the "dermatologically tested/formulated" mention on the packaging is often meaningless. He also said that many companies just don't get sensitive skin and go on adding even more stuff to their formula (which might have been fine as is actually!), in order to make it "gentle" when in fact it should be the contrary, making the formula more simple is what sensitive skin needs, less is more pretty much! He even went as far as to say "the more expensive it is the more chances it will be bad for your skin" lol.

    Seems that this was true for you too in this particular instance! xo

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  8. I didn't mean to post as "anonymous", sorry ! Sarah xo

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  9. Confession: I don't use make-up remover. I don't find I normally have sensitive eyes, but I've never found a remover that works and doesn't sting, and normally they sting and don't work! I never go high end but to be honest if they sting as well I won't bother. I just use remover wipes, or good old soap! Olive oil is good if I have stubborn gook on.

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  10. ew. This is why I stick to Biore or Yes to Cucumbers

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