Review: New Simple Eye Make-Up Remover

I've been wanting to try some of the new Simple skincare products for a while now, and when I was at my local Target a few weeks ago I found lots of trial size products for around $1.50 each. The one that especially caught my attention was the Eye Make-Up Remover, which I promptly put into my basket. Now that I've been using it for a few weeks, I'd like to share my thoughts with you.

 Simple Eye Make-Up Remover

(retail: around $1.50, 1.9 oz)

I believe the full-size (4.2 oz) bottle of this product retails for around $7.

Unlike my beloved CVS brand eye makeup remover (which is the only eye makeup remover I've been using for the past few years), this one comes with a flip-top lid and small spout. I really like this lid as opposed to the CVS eye makeup remover, which has a screw-on lid that reveals the core opening of the bottle (there's no small spout to buffer the opening of the bottle like on the Simple bottle). 

With a small spout like this, I find that you waste far less product. You can apply as little or as much of the product as you'd like onto your cotton pad:

According to the label, there are no perfumes, dyes or oils in this product. I can confirm that there is no fragrance to this product and, as you can see, it's clear (dye-free). 

As for the part about this eye makeup remover having "no greasy residue", this is 100% true. In fact, I was shocked the first time I used it. I guess I'm just used to feeling that slightly oily film that the CVS remover leaves behind on my skin, so when I touch my eye area after using the Simple remover, it's kind of amazing that I feel...nothing. My skin literally just feels clean, as if I have just washed my face. No film or residue whatsoever.

When it comes to removing my non-waterproof eye makeup, this stuff works like a champ. I like to saturate my cotton pad and hold it against my eye for a minute or two to let the product do all the work (this is the method I use for all of my eye makeup removers). This helps avoid rubbing, tugging or pulling. 

After holding this product to my eye for about a minute (via the cotton pad), one swipe takes away virtually all of my non-waterproof eye makeup. I really only need one or two additional (gentle) swipes to remover any remaining makeup residue.

As for waterproof eye makeup, well that's a slightly different story. I find that this product doesn't quite remove waterproof eyeliner or mascara as easily as an oil-based remover can. On the first swipe, I see a good amount of makeup on my cotton pad, but I find that I need to saturate a second cotton pad and swipe a few more times before everything is gone. NOTE: I don't ever feel the need to tug, pull or rub though. If I make sure my cotton pads are fully saturated, I can be very gentle and see results, but it just takes two  applications.

I feel no stinging or burning in my eyes when I use this product (yay!) and I also have never experienced that "foggy" vision that sometimes occurs for a minute or two after using oil-based removers (to be fair, I have never had stinging or foggy vision after using the CVS brand remover either).

FINAL VERDICT: if you absolutely cannot stand to feel any type of oily residue after using eye makeup remover, then you might want to give Simple Eye Make-Up Remover a try. My eye area has never felt so clean after using an eye makeup remover before, and it also doesn't give me the momentary foggy vision that some oil-based removers can leave behind. If you regularly use waterproof mascara or eyeliner and you want a remover that takes those products off with minimal to no effort, this one might not be a love-match for you. I can see myself reaching for this on light makeup days when I'm sitting on the couch and don't want to wash my face. Using this after using a makeup remover towelette on my face is a nice combo and, if I'm half asleep, I can skip washing my face at the sink and not feel guilty about it. Will it take the place of my CVS eye makeup remover? No, but only because I like the way my CVS remover takes off waterproof eye products. The little bit of oil in that remover goes a long way and makes it much more effortless.  But if you never use waterproof eye cosmetics, the Simple Eye Make-Up Remover might end up being the perfect product for you. Pick up a trial size at Target before you commit to a full-size bottle and see how it works for you.

I'd also like to add that this product currently has five reviews on the Simple website and all of the reviewers have given it five stars. You can read the reviews here.

Have you tried any Simple skincare products yet? Thoughts?