MAC Gently Off Eye and Lip Makeup Remover

Eye makeup remover is one of those necessary evils for me, I cannot get all of my eye makeup off without the use of a separate product.  Any type of traditional face wash will not get my eye makeup off, between mascara and primers, trying to use a face wash will only result in a big mess on my eyelids and under my eyes.  I have raised the white flag and just given up trying to use one product and know that I must use a separate eye makeup remover if I want to correctly get all of my makeup off.  I liked the Sephora Collection product that I had been using for the past few months but I decided that I wanted to try a new product and wanted to find one that is made to get all kinds of professional makeup looks off my face.

I decided to see what MAC had available since I was already mascara shopping from this company and wanted to see if I could get everything done at one counter.  MAC makes several eye makeup removers and I looked at each one online and decided that I would ask for recommendations the next time that I go to the counter and see what the makeup artists there use to get their makeup off.  All of the makeup artists at the counter that I go to wear tons of eye makeup and if it will get all of theirs off, then it will be more than able to get all of mine off.  What was recommended to me as the best eye makeup remover from MAC was the Gently Off Eye and Lip Makeup Remover and I added a bottle of it to the pile that I already had behind the counter.

This eye makeup remover is a oil-based formula, a type of formulation that I haven't used in years and have very little knowledge of.  I have used oil-based washes in the past and know that they get makeup off like no other kind of cleanser so I was willing to try this type of product out.  "Oil and water do mix, for twice the impact – just shake. A dual-phase, easy-does-it formula that sweeps off even tenacious waterproof mascara and lip colour. Absolutely gentle; suitable for all. Cucumber extract soothes, Damascus Rose flower water refreshes. No need to rinse.", states the MAC website for the description of the product.

The first thing that I learned about this product is that you must shake it and mix the oils for it to be effective, I tried using it without shaking and had eye makeup residue all over my eyes.  After shaking, I tap the top of the bottle unto my cotton balls and shake enough product out to dampen the cotton balls.  Dampening the top of cotton balls releases enough product to get all of my eye makeup off without any issues.  One or two swipes on my each eye will get all the makeup and primer off and I love that my mascara doesn't smear down on my cheeks with the use of this product.  I am very happy with this formula.

My issue with this product is that I do not like the bottle.  It is a traditional squeeze bottle but I have found that I have to tap the bottle several times to get any product out at all and I didn't like the product the first few times that I used it because I wasn't getting enough product out to correctly clean off my eye makeup.  I learned how much was needed within a few uses and I have no problem with it now but I wasn't happy when I first tried it.  This bottle makes it harder than need be to get the product out and could turn off users of it.

This is a great eye makeup remover formula, my only issues are with the bottle.  The formula is a great oil-based formula and gets all of my eye makeup off without fussing.  This is one of my favorite eye makeup removers that I have ever used and I will re-purchase this one again when I run out of it.

photo courtesy of MAC