Review: Neutrogena Ultra Light Cleansing Oil

Purchased by Me 

I feel like it's my personal mission to try every single cleansing oil that hits the drugstores. Why? I have no idea. Well, I take that back. I guess I'm always searching for something that might compare to my beloved holy grail DHC Cleansing Oil, so I pretty much won't stop buying drugstore versions until I find it.

To date, I've reviewed for you the Garnier cleansing oil, The Body Shop chamomile cleansing oil, the DHC cleansing oil and I thought I reviewed the Eclos cleansing oil, but it turns out that I haven't (I like that one quite a bit though, and I think it's one of the closest formulas, performance-wise, to the DHC cleansing oil for me). I have NOT tried the new Simple cleansing oil or the new Burt's Bees cleansing oil, but I'm sure I'll get there eventually.

Which brings us to this new cleansing oil from Neutrogena...

Neutrogena Ultra Light Cleansing Oil

(retail: around $8.99, 4.0 oz.)

I picked this up at Walgreens shortly after I posted about it back in June and I've been testing it ever since.

Before I get into this review, I want to mention something to new readers or those who may be new to cleansing oils. I have very oily skin, and I know it seems counter-intuitive to use an oil for cleansing when your skin is already oily. But I have had such great luck with cleansing oils, and I find that some of them actually HELP with curbing oil production. How? Well when oily skin is stripped of all its moisture (by harsh cleansers, etc.), the skin can sometimes overcompensate by producing even MORE oil. If you've ever used a harsh cleanser and noticed that your skin felt extra oily a few hours later, that's exactly what I'm talking about. You skin was more than likely overcompensating for the moisture that was stripped due to that cleanser. So finding a good cleansing oil that completely, yet gently, cleanses the skin may actually help you to maintain an even balance, even if you have oily skin.

Moving on...

Standard pump dispenser

Sorry that I didn't take a photo of this oil on my hand, but there's really nothing to see here. It looks just like baby oil (clear, colorless) and the consistency is on the thin side (not as thick as olive oil--more like jojoba oil). 

If you're new to cleansing oils, make sure both your hands and face are completely dry during application. You only use water AFTER you have applied the oil, to help emulsify and then to rinse.

Those who avoid mineral oil in their skincare are going to want to skip this one, since mineral oil is the main ingredient. Also note that this formula contains small amounts of rosemary leaf extract and green tea leaf extract (Camellia Oleifera Leaf). Rosemary oil can be problematic for some, but it seems that most experts agree that rosemary leaf extract is a good antioxidant for the skin, and of course it is widely-agreed that green tea leaf extract can be very beneficial to the skin. Now whether or not your skin can benefit from small amounts that are applied and then rinsed away is a whole other issue, and one I'm certainly not qualified to debate. 

No country of origin listed on the bottle

I always try to tell you where the products I review here on the blog are made (I know that's very important to some of you), but the country of origin is not printed on this bottle, and I couldn't find this info on the Neutrogena website or the Ulta website.

After using this product every night for over a month now, I can tell you that I'm pleasantly surprised by how much I like it. Is it as good as my beloved DHC cleansing oil? No. But it's closer than any other drugstore cleansing oil I've tried to date.

I had it in my head that, because of the mineral oil, this was going to be a difficult formula to rinse and that my skin would have an oily residue after rinsing. That was my assumption based on the fact that this is how all of the other cleansing oils containing mineral oil have performed for me (including several Korean and Japanese cleansing oils I've used over the years). But there's something in this Neutrogena formula that allows for a very clean rinse, and that was so surprising the first time I used it. It rinses much cleaner for me than the Garnier cleansing oil, and almost as clean as the DHC. In fact, I would say that if your skin is on the dry to very dry end of the spectrum, this MIGHT leave your skin feeling a tad dry/tight. I say that because there have been a few times where, after using this product, my oily skin felt almost on the verge of feeling a tiny bit dry/tight (but not quite).

As for makeup removal, I find this product easily breaks down all of my makeup almost immediately upon contact (my favorite thing about cleansing oils!) and that includes stubborn mascara. I always use Benefit They're Real Mascara as my test since that mascara is very stubborn, and this cleansing oil breaks it down like buttah, no problem. Now, if you're wearing waterproof mascara, waterproof eyeliner, long-wear foundation, primer, the whole nine yards, be prepared to do some serious massaging during application. Cleansing oils take some time to work into the skin, and this one's no exception. I personally find the whole process very relaxing and gratifying, but if you're the type who wants to remove everything as quickly a possible and be done with it, just keep in mind that you do need to devote some time to working this product into the skin and massaging it into every little part of your face before rinsing.

Speaking of rinsing, this product does emulsify a bit when you mix it with water (which should be done only during the final rinse stage). There's no foam or anything crazy like that, but it does feel a little milky once it mixes with the water. When I'm rinsing this product off my face, it doesn't rinse as cleanly as say, a foaming cleanser, but it does rinse away cleaner than the Garnier cleansing oil, as I mentioned above. I feel almost no trace of oil after I'm done rinsing, and after I pat my face dry with a clean towel, my skin feels soft and clean, with no oily, sticky, or greasy residue.

I've tested the efficacy of this cleanser by applying some of my Simple Micellar Water with a cotton pad to my face after cleansing. In almost every case, this cleanser passed the test, leaving no lingering makeup residue behind. There were a couple of times that I did see some lingering foundation near my hairline, but I think that was mostly due to user error (I get lazy when I'm super tired) than anything else.

I also want to mention that I don't see any lingering mascara or eyeliner under my eyes when I use this cleanser, which is something I cannot say for the Garnier or The Body Shop cleansing oils, which both leave me with slight raccoon eyes after cleansing.

As for the fragrance of this cleansing oil, the first time I used it I thought, "Oh, how fun! This smells like candy!" But the more I used it, the more it reminded me of something else. My boyfriend said it sort of reminded him of cherry cough syrup (which totally bummed me out because cherry cough syrup is one of the most disgusting things on the planet to me), and I do no agree with him. It took me a while to place it, but I swear this cleansing oil smells exactly like Classic Cherry ChapStick to me. And I love that scent, so I love this too. It's not strong though, in case you're worried about that. By the time I'm done rinsing, I really can't detect the scent at all.

I also want to mention that, after over a month of use, I haven't noticed any irregular breakouts or irritation, and this cleanser hasn't made my face feel or look more oily than usual (again, I have oily skin to begin with), nor has it dried out my skin.

FINAL VERDICT: This cleansing oil totally exceeded my expectations. If your skin is normal-to-oily and you're looking for a cleansing oil that can remove all of your makeup without leaving any oily residue behind, then you might want to consider giving this one a shot (if you don't mind mineral oil in your skincare). I'm hesitant to say that this will be a good fit for those with dry to very dry skin, only because there have been a few times where my skin ALMOST felt a little dry/tight after use. My skin has never actually felt dry, tight, or parched after using this cleanser, but I can see that if I had dry skin to begin with, this might be an issue. Other than that, I think this might be my favorite drugstore cleansing oil yet, because it doesn't leave any oily residue behind and it really removes my makeup like a champ. Plus, it smells like Cherry ChapStick, and that's never a bad thing (to me, at least).

Do you already own the Neutrogena Ultra Light Cleansing Oil? If so, how has it been working for you? Do you agree (or disagree) with my assessment? I'd love to hear from you.

The products featured in this post were purchased with personal funds. For more information, click here.