The Beauty Test: Can this reusable cloth really take off your makeup?

If you've ever considered cutting down on your skincare routine to lessen your environmental impact or to simply minimize your expenses, the Original MakeUp Eraser Makeup Remover Cloth (P999) is probably the most popular option. Featuring a soft polyester blend, the cloth promises to erase all traces of makeup - waterproof mascara included - with just water!

My daily makeup consists of liquid foundation, concealer, setting powder, all your usual color cosmetics, and waterproof mascara. I usually double cleanse with an oil or balm and follow up with a low pH cleanser, but threw those out of the window for a few days to make way for testing MakeUp Eraser's hefty claims. Here's what happened:

The instructions were simple: just wet the cloth and wipe makeup away! The Eraser holds little liquid even when drenched with water. To the touch it feels feather-soft, but once rubbed on the face, I could feel it tugging. If you're not a fan of physical exfoliation, this product is probably not for you.

On my first try, it made my face so dry and patchy, like the moisture was all sucked out. I was shocked to see so many more patches as my texture is usually normal and only got flaky around the nose and the corners of my mouth. I chalked it up to the effect of my über-matte foundation and proceeded to hydrate.

On the next try I was pleased to be less patchy and as seen above, it looks like it took all of my makeup off.

To the touch, my skin felt squeaky clean but a simple wipe test showed that a thin film of makeup residue still remained. And although it also felt like some of my mascara was taken off, the majority of it was still on my lashes.

Conclusion: this will not replace your double cleanse routine.

However, I offer an alternative: when wearing non-waterproof makeup, this can be the first step to double cleansing. You can wipe with the Eraser and then wash with your second cleanser to remove all traces of makeup off your face.

With light makeup, I tried spreading some cleanser all over my face and proceeded to wipe it off with the Eraser and water. I rinsed the Eraser every so often to remove the soap until I had wiped everything, and it took all of my makeup off. 

After usage, the Eraser is easy to hand wash and the company claims that it is machine washable as well. Just scrub with any soap and the residue will wash away (although with lazy washing, the sides are harder to clean as seen above). And since it doesn't hold too much water, a few squeezes by hand and with towel almost completely dries the Eraser off. It will definitely be ready to use again the next time you need it.

While the Eraser's claims of "removing 100% of all makeup without any harmful chemicals or soaps" is not quite inaccurate, it's still a handy tool for making your cleansing routine faster and easier. It's worth a look for those who don't like using traditional makeup removers, or want to minimize the wastage of cotton pads and other disposables. The cloth is also purported to last up to 1,000 washes so even if you wear makeup every day, it'll last you almost 3 years. That's really economical for just P999!

Would you consider switching to the Makeup Eraser for your cleansing routine? Have you

The Original MakeUp Eraser Makeup Remover Cloth is available at BYS counters.