Review: Seventh Generation Lavender and Mandarin Facial Cloths

Purchased by Me

I'm a creature of habit when it comes to my towelettes, but when I see a good deal on a product that's piqued my interest, I can't say no!

When I first saw the Seventh Generation facial cloths, body lotions and body washes at Walgreens back in February, I was definitely curious. Until that point, I had known Seventh Generation as an eco-friendly household cleaning products brand, so I was excited to see them branch out into personal care.

But as usual, prices tend to make me pause, so instead of impulsively buying everything on the spot, I decided to wait for a good sale. Recently I spotted the facial wipes at a local discount store (Grocery Outlet) for $2.99 each, so I didn't hesitate to grab both varieties. These retail for $6.49 at Walgreens, by the way.

 Seventh Generation Facial Cloths in Lavender and Mandarin

(retail: around $6.50 each, 30 cloths per package)

These facial cloths come in two varieties: Lavender (soothing) and Mandarin (refreshing).

From the Seventh Generation website:

Treat your face to a gentle, thorough clean whenever you like. Gentle facial cleansing cloths are infused with 100% plant-based cleansers that leave delicate facial skin feeling nurtured and healthy. Choose Mandarin to refresh, Lavender to soothe.

USDA Certified Biobased 100%
No parabens or  phthalates
Gluten-free
Naturally sourced fragrance
Removes dirt, oil & makeup

The size of these cloths is perfect--not too small, not too big (they're 7 inches by 7.8 inches).

The texture of these cloths is very soft, but not so soft that it's hard to pick up and remove makeup/dirt/grime. I hate it when facial cloths are so soft that they glide over the skin and glide over my makeup too. You know what I mean?

Also, the construction of these cloths is nice and sturdy. I tend to be rough with my facial cloths and I hate it when, halfway through using one, there's already a hole in the middle or it starts to disintegrate. No issues at all with these.

The construction of the packaging is very sturdy as well. The outer lid snaps tightly in place to keep the cloths from drying out, and the inner seal (which you'll see in a moment) is easy to reseal again and again without the adhesive wearing out.

Let's start with the Mandarin cloths:

 Seventh Generation Mandarin Refreshing Facial Cleansing Cloths

As expected, these cloths have a very natural, citrus scent to them. No orange-cream or citrus candy scent to these--they smell like a blend of orange, grapefruit and mandarin essential oils (which is what they contain). The scent is medium-strong. For reference, they're not quite as strong as Pond's Evening Soothe Towelettes (which are very strongly scented, to my nose) but they are stronger than Epielle wipes (which I consider light-to-medium scented depending on the variety). The Mandarin cloths are also not as moist as the Pond's Evening Soothe Towelettes, which are incredibly saturated to the point of being too wet for my personal test. I think the Seventh Generation cloths are perfectly saturated--wet enough to be effective, but dry enough so that you don't feel like like it's a sopping wet cloth sloshing around your skin.

As far as makeup removal goes, these were quite effective at removing my long-wear foundation, powder, blush, lipstick, eyeshadow and eyebrow pencil. I did have to use a second cloth to remove every last trace of my liquid liner and washable mascara. This is nothing new (I always need as second cloth for eye makeup) and I also like to "jump-start" the cloth by adding some actual eye makeup remover to the cloth, just to make mascara removal easier and avoid having to tug or pull at the eye area.

Absolutely no residue is left behind after I use these cloths. My skin doesn't feel greasy, sticky, oily or dry. It just feels clean and fresh.

The lavender cloths:

  Seventh Generation Lavender Soothing Facial Cleansing Cloths

These cloths have a very strong lavender fragrance to them. I get nothing but pure lavender essential oil here and for me personally, it's a bit overwhelming. In fact, these might be the strongest facial wipes I've ever encountered when it comes to fragrance (they're even stronger than the Pond's Evening Soothe Towelettes, in my opinion).

Just like with the Mandarin cloths I very much like the saturation of these cloths--they're wet enough to be effective, but dry enough so that you don't feel like like it's a sopping wet cloth sloshing around your skin.

As for makeup removal, they're identical to the Mandarin cloths I described above.

And just like the Mandarin cloths, there's no residue left behind after I use these cloths. My skin doesn't feel greasy, sticky or oily,.HOWEVER, I do experience mild stinging after using these cloths, which I would probably attribute to the high level of fragrance. My face stings for about 5-10 minutes after using these, but it does not become red or irritated--it just stings.

FINAL VERDICT: If you're looking for a more natural alternative to your regular facial cloths and you like the fragrance of essential oils, these might be a nice fit for you. They get high marks from me for packaging, size and texture of the cloths and also their ability to remove my makeup. I also love that they don't leave any oily, greasy or sticky residue behind. My only word of caution is that, if you're sensitive to fragrance, the Lavender cloths might be a bit overwhelming. They are VERY strongly scented, and they also sting my face after use (which I'm assuming has to do with fragrance). So if you're sensitive to fragrance, I think the Mandarin cloths would be a better option. Other than that, I love these and I'm glad I was able to get them at a discounted price locally. I'm not sure if I'd pay $6.50 for them, but I would definitely buy the Mandarin cloths if there was a good sale at Walgreens.

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