The De-maq Expert range is a relatively new line of cleansers from L’Oréal. I bought the Velvet Creme Wash Expert Makeup Remover last year and I have been using it on and off for a while.
It is a gel-cream makeup remover that foams somewhat like a face wash. (The main ingredients are emollients that can dissolve makeup. Decyl glucoside, a mild detergent, appears later in the list, after the emollients, water, and glycerin.) The direction on the back says, “Apply a small amount of Velvet Creme to damp skin using your fingertips. Gently massage into a creamy lather to foam and then rinse with water.”
It doesn’t really foam up in my hands like a face wash does, but it does slowly lather up as I apply it and gently massage my face. The lather is very cushiony and is not the kind of frothy/bubbly lather from an usual face wash. It dissolves the foundation quite quickly.
(When I don’t use a cleansing oil, I almost always use a bi-phase cleanser to remove my eye/lip makeup first. Like how I tested waterproof mascara removal with Dior’s Cleansing Gelee, I put Maybelline’s Volum’ Express Waterproof on the back of my hand, waited for it to dry up, and tried to remove it. I found that it did take a lot of massaging to dissolve the mascara.)
It takes more water to rinse than normal foaming face washes, but, as a cream cleanser, it rinses fine. There is still minimal emollient residue, and I usually use a face wash (with one-third of the amount I use in the morning) right afterwards.
Overall, I like it and don’t like it at the same time. I like it because it does do the job for me while not irritating my skin and it doesn’t drag my skin like many cream cleansers do during the massaging (mainly because it foams gently). But, what sometimes bothers me is how heavily scented it is. There are times when I can still smell the cleanser after using a face wash and having a shower. It is a little unsettling as I feel that I haven’t rinsed it off thoroughly, although it is clearly not the case.
I have still been using it alternately with my trusted RMK Cleansing Oil N (partly to save cost, since RMK Cleansing Oil N is about three times more expensive), but, as a cream-based cleanser, I think I slightly prefer Dior’s Cleansing Gelee mentioned earlier.
Related Posts:
Simple Moisturising Foaming Facial Wash
Johnson’s Eye Makeup Remover
Crème de la Mer The Cleansing Fluid
(image from www.nikkei.co.jp)
