After Christmas my skin was going crazy. It's usually on the oiler side of things (a burden in the summertime but a blessing in the the colder months) but it became dry and irritated and was breaking out and no my usual arsenal wasn't making the cut.
I remembered that when I was in high school I used to use Clinique's Dramatically Different moisturizer, which a lot of us are familiar with I'm sure; with its bright yellow colour and boxy packaging. While looking back on it, I probably needed something a little more moisturizing although the thing that I remember most is appreciating how gentle it was.
So on Boxing Day I did I quick buy and dash at The Bay (yes, I was one of the crazy people who went to the mall on Boxing Day but my husband was circling the parking lot waiting for me!) and picked up a couple things from Clinique. One of them being their Take the Day Off Cleansing Balm.
I'd been hearing a lot about these "cleansing balms"; a couple of brands do them and they'd always piqued my interest. But the whole idea of using a "balm" on my face sort of freaked me out and made me wonder, how good of a cleanser could they really be? Well the answer is: AMAZING!
First of all, Clinique's cleansing balm comes in a huge pot and you hardly need to use any at all so it'll last forever. Also, it's totally fragrance-free, not one iota of scent can be found in this product.
You're meant to massage a pea sized amount (and I seriously mean a pea sized amount - and not even a big pea) onto your dry skin and it literally melts away any make up, including mascara. I normally take off my eye make-up with Bioderma but I tested it without having taken off my eye make-up first and while it took an extra 20 seconds, the Take the Day Off balm definitely did its job.
The entire process is really enjoyable and to be honest I actually look forward to taking off my make-at night just because I get to use the Clinque balm. After washing it all away (it doesn't leave a trace of any stickiness or gross film) your skin feels really moisturized and like you've added something good into it. In short, it's just awesome. The price isn't too cringe-worthy, I think I paid $35.00 for it and because I know it'll last a long time and I am definitely forking over another $35.00 to have this in my life when it eventually runs out.
I've been using it for over a month now and I haven't had any issues with irritation. Normally I would have had at least one break out by now and other than a random blemish here or there I'm seriously impressed. So if you were considering picking up this product I would say - don't think - run and buy it.
Rating: Clinique Take the Day Off Cleansing Balm 10/10 (I think that's the best rating I've even given!)
