Nivea Eye Make Up Removers: Extra Gentle vs Double Effect

For years I've been using the Nivea Daily Essentials Extra Gentle Eye Make Up Remover (phew). When I noticed that Nivea had another remover that claimed to be stronger I was intrigued as to whether it would do that job any better. I've always found removing eye make up such a chore so decided to give it a go and do a comparison post for you. 

The Extra Gentle remover is exactly that, gentle. It doesn't irritate my eyes in the slightest. It's relatively good at removing make up, it does the job but does tend to struggle a bit with eyeliner. It comes in a clear liquid, simply pour on to a cotton pad and wipe over your eye. Nice, non-offensive smell, doesn't leave greasy feeling - all round it's pretty good, but you can end up scrubbing a bit at your eye. 

Double Effect has quite a different formulation. It has an 'oil phase' sitting on top of an 'aqueous phase' (in simply terms it's an oil sitting on top of a watery formula). The oil being hydrophobic floats on top, and you have to vigorously shake the bottle to get the two to combine. The oil supposedly removes the make up (even waterproof) and the water based part nourishes your lashes.

Now down to the important bit, does it remove make up better than Extra Gentle..? And the answer is a firm yes. I did a side by side comparison and soaked a cotton pad in each remover and left them on for 30 seconds, and Double Effect had removed practically ALL of my make up, where as Extra Gentle left over half of the make up still on there. Double Effect melts away your make up so quickly, there's no need for any scrubbing. 

But. There's always a but. Double Effect claims to be gentle, but I'll have to disagree. I don't have overly sensitive eyes but this does tend to irritate mine rather a lot. Not to the point where I can't use it, but it's not a pleasant feeling. If you have very sensitive eyes or wear contacts then this might not be for you. Another downside is that is does leave quite a greasy residue, but as I follow up with a creamy cleanser (Body Shop Cucumber Cleanser for those interested) it doesn't really bother me.

I've decided that Double Effect is best left for days with heavier make up. On a day to day basis I only wear eye shadow and mascara, and so Extra Gentle can cope perfectly fine. Days which include eyeliner and waterproof mascara, I will definitely be reaching for the Double Effect.