Thursday, August 25, 2011

NARS eye makeup remover review

NARS eye makeup remover: shaken, not stirred.

           My  NARS eye makeup remover mini is a really gorgeous addition to my counter. The clear and aqua dual layers give the bottle a soothing look. I had high hopes for high functionality. In this review I'll go over my thoughts and experience with NARS eye makeup remover.

          First, I'll cover my normal eye makeup removing routine. My go-to remover is Clinique Take the Day Off makeup remover, which is also a dual layer remover. I shake it vigorously and soak both ends of a Q-tip in the solution. One end per eye is sufficient to remove every last bit of eye makeup. Clinique is a bit oily, so I always make sure to rinse it off with a gentle soap.

           NARS eye makeup remover is a thinner solution and not so oily. This is helpful because it doesn't run down my face as quickly as Clinique. Unfortunately this is the only plus side of this remover. I dipped my Q-tip as I normally do and attempted to remover my eye makeup. Eyeshadow was easily removed, however it did a poor job of removing my mascara. My mascara last month was NARS Larger Than Life Volumizing Mascara which has a reputation of being difficult to remove so it was a good test for this remover. Clinique's remover was able to remove all the mascara with a little extra rubbing with my Q-tip. The NARS eye makeup remover was unable to do so. I rubbed my lashes with the NARS remover extensively, however it just couldn't get everything off in one go. I even tried using two soaked ends of the Q-tip in succession then washing my lashes with facial soap for cleanup. The result was a mascara shadow under my lower eyelid that I couldn't remove with soap. I ended up having to clean up with my Clinique remover. The performance was incredibly disappointing.

          To top things off, if a little bit of NARS eye makeup remover got in my eye, the result was a painful sting. Because of the sting, I would find this hard to use even if I was wearing easy-to-remove eye makeup.


          So in summary, NARS eye makeup remover gets two thumbs down from me. It stings my eyes and it can't even remove NARS mascara. Something I've noticed is that I love how NARS does color, but I don't feel the same about their supporting cast of products. I had a similarly poor experience with NARS Oil-Free Primer (it made me break out). This is not a huge loss for me, since using NARS skin products makes me uneasy anyway.  Even though NARS says it doesn't test on animals, NARS skin products are made using Shiseido (NARS's parent company) technology. Numerous NARS artists have told me this. For those of you who care about animal cruelty, Shiseido is a known animal tester.  The NARS-Shiseido connection is an idea I've struggled with for a long time.

          Thanks for reading this entry! I hope it wasn't too much of a downer.  Have you ever tried NARS eye makeup remover? Do you have any eye makeup remover recommendations?

Love, Dovey.

8 comments:

  1. Too bad the products sucks, cuz the bottle is very pretty to look at :'(. I use DHC's Deep Cleansing Oil for both eye and face makeup.

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  2. Too bad about this, I have heard equally negative reviews on the NARS Cleanse off oil to remove make up! It seems their skin care line is not as good as their make up range...
    I use their primer with no issues, but it's not a very special primer.. Im just using it up! It was even discontinued bc it claimed to be silicone free? and it turns out it wasnt silicone free?? no idea

    For eye make up remover I like Boots Botanics Eye make up remover and Sonia Kashuk! SK a bit more bc it has a less oily residue left on the eyes, both are found at Target!

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  3. Amy - thanks for the rec! Fortunately there are so many choices out there. I will certainly look into DHC. I've been interested in cleansing oils for a while now.

    Lilladylife- Really, Sonia Kashuk? That's almost too good to be true!! Will def. be looking into that

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  4. Aww, that's too bad you don't like it. I've never tried it before :p Have you ever used Clinique's makeup remover? I really like that one but I hear lots of ppl say they like UP and Up from Target and another person said Sonia Kashuk :D

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  5. That's a bummer. My go-to eye makeup remover is Neutrogena's Oil Free Makeup Remover. It does a pretty good job of removing everything. I do have to soak a cotton ball for the top of my lids and mascara. I will have to back for seconds with a Qtip to get the bottom lashes if it's been a particularly smoky eye day!

    Yeah, I have bad experience w/NARS skincare so I just don't go there anymore unless it's a makeup event. My skin won't react if their skincare has been on my face for a few hours.

    Good luck finding a new remover and at least you didn't pay full price for this bottle!

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  6. Thanks for the review! I use Suqqu eye makeup remover for Japanese and Waterproof mascaras, and Almay Non-Oily Eye Makeup Remover pads for regular mascara.

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  7. Thanks for mentioning Shiseido animal testing... I was unaware of that! NARS is hit and miss for me. I heard the SK is great, too, but I have yet to try it. The best eye makeup remover I've tried is the Lancome Bi-Facil but it's $$$. And I don't think I've met a remover yet that doesn't sting my eyes :/

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  8. Rd&l - yep. Love cliniques the best!
    Lexi- I've tried neutrogena too. I agree with you!
    Jamilla- I've never heard of suqqu. Sounds intriguing though!
    Sarah- stinging is the worst isn't it?

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