Review: Nivea Visage Refreshing Cleansing Wipes (for Normal & Combination Skin)

I've never believed in using wipes solely to both remove makeup and cleanse the skin but I always have a pack around for lazy, headache-y or backache-y days when I cannot stand too long preparing my skin for sleep.

Also, I like to keep one in my bag. It's really handy during makeup shopping moments when I'll be swatching and testing like crazy in stores. Dry tissue doesn't take it all off sometimes.

I picked this one up without much thinking because the back of my hand was full of swatches, I ran out of cleansing wipes and I was already planning to get one anyway.

It claims to:

"Cleanse, tone and invigorate in one easy step. Removes make-up and waterproof mascara for a fresh skin feeling."

Here's my way of describing how I felt about this product when I first used it:

Takes a wipe out. "Hrm... tiny raised surface all over? Probably would take the make up off better."
Gently wipes my face. "So dry?"
Nevermind, continue wiping. Looks at it, nothing. Looks as clean as when it's pulled out from the package.
Rubs harder on the skin. "Ok.. now I see some colour but wth it feels rough on the skin."
Runs it across the lids. "Wth? Eyeshadow still there?"
Rubs harder. "Gosh it's so rough".

Of course, I haven't used it only once to come up with this review cos that would be unfair. I've used it twice. LOL I know, doesn't make any difference but honestly, I wouldn't wanna use it on my face again unless I'm REALLY tired.

Cons
I didn't like how the wipes aren't well soaked, they feel dry. And I assume because of that, it made me rub harder because I felt as though it didn't take off the makeup, hence the rough feeling on the skin. It felt even more uncomfortable on delicate areas like the eyes. I've never tried removing waterproof mascara but if they don't remove eyeshadows easily, I conclude it's not any easier to remove waterproof mascara. I've tried removing regular mascara though. It did the job but with quite some effort and rubbing.

Pros

The only good thing about this is it is supposedly packed with vitamins and natural lotus extract. Um.. I don't really know what's good about lotus extract but I'm just quoting what's on the packaging. Also, it's free of alcohol and the packaging seals securely. This product claims to be suitable for normal & combination skin. It was neither oily nor drying on the skin, which in my opinion is a good balance.

Good to know
Smells fresh, definitely scented. And if you don't cleanse your skin after using it, the scent does linger. Nivea at the moment makes 3 types of cleansing wipes for different skin needs: Normal and Combination Skin, Dry and Sensitive Skin, and Mature Skin. Here's a list of the ingredients for Normal & Combination Skin:

Aqua, Isopropyl Stearate, Nelumbium Speciosum Extract, Panthenol, Tocopheryl Acetate, Glycerin, VP/Hexadecene Copolymer, Sodium Acrylates/C10-30 Alkyl Acrylate Crosspolymer, Propylene Glycol, Phenoxyethanol, Methylparaben, Methylisothiazolinone, Limonene, Linalool, Hydroxyisohexyl 3-Cyclohexene Carboxaldehyde, *Benzyl Alcohol, Citronellol, Alpha-Isomethyl Ionone, Geraniol, Butylphenyl Methylpropional, Benzyl Salicylate, Hexyl Cinnamal, Parmum

*A little confused, in the package it says "Alcohol free", so Benzyl Alcohol is not alcohol? Please enlighten me, thanks!

**After squinting so hard to look into the tiny words in the package and struggling to type out all these uncommon chemical names, I saw the list of ingredients on the website where I could have just copied and pasted it here. =.= Great.

Conclusion
It does remove makeup but it takes quite some effort to do so. Uncomfortably. And I will not recommend using it alone to take off makeup without cleansing with a cleanser afterwards. I've never tried cos I'm a chicken. Tried it, BROKE ME OUT :( It left my skin in a balanced condition - neither oily nor dry - which is great but I wished the wipes could be made more moist, that would have made the product more likeable.

I will still use this but not on my face, it'll only be used to remove makeup I test at the back of my arm or wherever the swatch can be. I don't remember how much I paid for it, most probably around AUD 6-8 for 25 wipes, which I think is not worth the price at all. Definitely won't repurchase.

If after reading this anyone is still interested to try, I got this at Big W and this should be readily available in any supermarkets and leading pharmacies like Priceline.

Anybody has any cleansing wipes to recommend? I've only tried MAC and Biore and I really like both! The Biore one is definitely not available in Australia but MAC's pricing here is kinda steep.