I was pretty excited when I saw these Sephora Collection Black Magic Makeup Remover Cloths on the Sephora website. I’d been eyeing The Original MakeUp Eraser for a while, but it was $20 and hot pink, so I resisted. These, on the other hand, are $12 for a two-pack and are black (with hot pink tags, but that’s OK). So I ordered them and gave them a try!
The idea behind this product is that you get it wet and then wipe your face and it removes all your makeup, without any soap or other cleanser. Sounds amazing, right? Especially for those of you with sensitive skin, or if you’re removing and reapplying a lot in one day for a photo shoot or performance with major makeup changes. Not to mention that while $12 for two little washcloths is a bit pricey, since they’re reusable they’d quickly pay for themselves if you used them to replace wipes (my usual makeup remover of choice) or specific makeup removing cleansers.
So after a recent gig I gave it a go. Here’s my post-performance, drinks and dinner face:
This was a small hafla in a dimly-lit venue so I didn’t go very heavy on the foundation or contouring, but there’s still a decent amount of makeup, including mascara and black liner, which the cloth is supposed to get. How would it fare?
The cloth is made out of a soft microfiber, it seems pretty similar to what “minky” blankets are made out of. It’s the size of a small washcloth. The instructions say to fully saturate it with warm water and use a circular motion on the face to remove makeup. That’s what I did, although it was hard to do a circular motion on my eyelids, so that was more of a wipe.
The results were pretty good! It took off all my face makeup, the lipstick, the mascara, the liner, and the shadow. Well, not ALL of the liner and mascara. I found that it’s difficult to really get right up against your lash line with the cloth, so there were some little nooks and crannies that had black left in them. I had to follow up with a cotton ball and eye makeup remover to get those last little bits, but I often have to do that no matter what sort of cleanser I use.
Over all, I really liked it. It was quicker and easier than washing my face with a cleanser, but more pleasant than using a makeup wipe. I don’t have sensitive skin, but I do find that wipes often leave a gross sticky feeling, and some of them make my eyes burn. This left my face feeling clean and soft, ready for a quick application of moisturizer before bed.
After using the cloth, you’re supposed to rinse it out and leave it to air dry. My thought is to use each side once, then give it a proper washing. You can machine wash it with your other towels. The package says to hang to dry, but the tag says you can tumble dry low, so when I do my towels this weekend I’m going to throw one in the dryer and see what happens.
I see this as a better option for the traveling belly dancer than makeup wipes. It’s easy on the skin and easy to pack — Sure, wipes don’t take up a lot of space but I’m always worried about them popping open and drying out. And those of you with sensitive skin will of course enjoy that it’s gentler than wipes! I’m not sure how it would do with really heavy-duty stage makeup, and I’m concerned about whether glitter might get caught up in it and not wash out. Time will tell, as I test it with different products on my face, but I’m definitely bringing it along to LVBDI and my 3.5 week 8 Elements and Waking Persephone Pacific Northwest Adventure. If it disappoints me after further testing I’ll make a follow-up post.
Note: I can’t accurately compare this to The Original MakeUp Eraser since I never tried that one, but I can tell you that according to Sephora’s site the eraser is 7″ by 16″. The Black Magic cloths by contrast are 7″ by 7″. Personally, I find them to be just the right size, and think that all those extra square inches would make for an unwieldy damp cloth. However, if you feel like 7″ by 7″ might be too tiny, invest in the original instead!
Second note: At the time of this review the Black Magic cloths are out of stock on Sephora’s website, but still available in my local stores. I’m pretty sure they haven’t been discontinued and are just sold out, so you can either sign up to be notified of a restock, or check your nearest store.