Banila Co Clean It Zero Review – My Current Favourite Makeup Remover

If you follow me on Facebook,  you would know that in the latter half of last week, all my time and energy was dedicated to son’s inter-school basketball tournament. It was thoroughly exhausting but the team winning the trophy made it all worthwhile.  Now, I hope to get back to blogging….

While Memebox was delivering internationally,  they had come out with a special Banila Co box which had the Clean It Zero,  full sized as well as sample size,  a much raved about product. I really wanted that box, for this cleanser as well as the clay mask that it had but unfortunately,  it was sold out before I could buy it.  But when I heard of this website,  beautynetkorea.com, which had a set of sample sizes of Clean It Zero, I just had to get it, if only to know what the hype was about. Read on to know if the Clean It Zero deserves all the rave reviews or not….

(Please excuse the blurry pictures…they were taken in a hurry.)

Packaging

The Banila Co Clean It Zero, both sample sized as well as full sized, come in a pale, translucent pink tub with a bright pink screw-on lid. While I don’t mind creams and body butters with tub packaging, for a cleanser, it feels a bit unhygienic. I would have preferred it to be in a tube packaging but perhaps that wouldn’t have been suitable for the texture of this cleanser. Anyway, I use  a spatula to scoop out the product from the tub. The full sized cleanser comes with a little spatula but since mine is the smaller one, it obviously doesn’t come with one.

 Texture

The Banila Co Clean It Zero has a lovely balm-like texture, similar to Vicks actually. It goes on like a balm and melts into a delightful oil-like slippery texture. This makes it wonderful for gently massaging your face while cleansing it. It also has a very mild pleasant fragrance that if far, far better than the smell of the Clarins Cleansing oil.

Efficacy

I love the way the Clean It Zero breaks down all but the most stubborn waterproof makeup and leaves the skin feeling clean and soft without stripping it of it’s natural moisture. Dirt, grime, sunscreen, foundation, lipstick, eye pencil simply doesn’t stand a chance when the Clean It Zero is out to do it’s job. Waterproof eyeliner, mascara and lip and cheek stains mostly go away but not totally.

Here, I have swatched the Maybelline Hyper Glossy liner, the Maybelline Colossal Kajal in turquoise, the L’Oreal Moist Mat in Orange Power, MAC Whole Lotta Love and The Body Shop Lip & Cheek stain. That blob that you see on top of the blush is the Clean It Zero.

You can see how well it has cut through all the makeup with the exception of the Hyper Glossy (shall definitely review it soon). If you add a little water to it now, it emulsifies and becomes milky just like the Clarins Total Cleansing Oil does. Here, for the pictures, I simply wiped it off with a tissue….

Except for traces of the liquid liner and a little bit of the TBS stain, everything else is gone. I had to take just a little bit more to get the liner and stain out but this was just swatches. For my face, I use a separate cleanser for the lips and the eyes most of the times. Sometimes, if I’m not wearing waterproof stuff, then the Clean It Zero works for the whole face and neck.  And the skin doesn’t get dry either. I actually don’t even need to wash my face with a face wash after cleansing with this!

Price

There are several websites that sell the Banila Co Clean It Zero but when I bought the samples, beautynetkorea.com had the best deal. On that site, the Jumbo sized pack (180ml) is currently on discount at $25.21 (original price $36) while the normal full sized tub (100ml) is priced at $18 (original price $25.71). The set of 5 samples of 7gm each is priced at $7.11. However, if you live in India, especially in Mumbai, no matter which size you order, prepare to pay….you guessed it, customs duty 🙁

My views

I had originally thought I would just test one of the sample tubs and keep the rest for when I travel since they are perfectly sized for that. However, it has become my HG makeup remover and I have almost finished my 4th tub. I’m planning to buy the jumbo sized one next because then, I can simply put some in these little tubs when I travel. It is a wonderful, effective product and a big tub will definitely last long since you don’t really need too much.

What do you think of the Clean It Zero? What is your favourite product for makeup removal?