Not Everyone is Going to Like Drunk Elephant Slaai Makeup-Melting Butter Cleanser
It’s time for my Drunk Elephant Slaai Makeup-Melting Butter Cleanser review! Excited? Don’t be! Because not everyone is actually going to like the Drunk Elephant Slaai Makeup-Melting Butter Cleanser formula! Oh my god! Panic! Mass hysteria!
First off, Drunk Elephant has a stellar reputation so anything they do is by default gets labeled as brilliant and awesome and innovative before anyone even tries it! Secondly, I think people are obsessed with cleansing balms at the moment and if you’re a Drunk Elephant fan it’ll bring you a good deal of joy that you can appease your need for more cleansing balm choices especially ones that are available from a potential favorite brand.
According to the brand’s creator this wasn’t an easy formula to master. That could be because it lacks certain fillers, fragrances, etc that other cleansing balms have. There are no essential oils here, no silicone, no mineral oil…it’s a clean formula created with a host of different moisturizing oils (this is a potential downfall for this formula which I’ll explain more in a moment).
Korean and Japanese skincare and beauty has infiltrated our shores in the last five years and I couldn’t be happier about that. As a long time K and J-Beauty lover it’s so nice to see brands I love from Asia being so readily available at stores here in the US. But most important of all many skincare trends in Asia have influenced our market quite heavily cleansing balms being one of those trends.
Everyone has a cleansing balm available today! From Clinique’s cult favorite Take the Day Away Balm to Pond’s newest Cleansing Balm there’s something for everyone in the cleansing balm world.
Now, cleansing balms are no longer innovative nor unique to the US market. They have become fairly standard at drugstores as well as from mid to high-end brands. That makes Drunk Elephant Slaai Makeup-Melting Butter Cleanser a little late to the party. However, what sets their formula apart is the fact it is formulated with a host of excellent ingredients but also, they include a tiny Bamboo Booster along with the larger cleansing balm! This Bamboo and charcoal powder acts to gently exfoliate skin and can be used twice a week mixed with the cleansing balm. Honestly, you’d probably get about a week maybe two weeks out of this really small sample (0.10 oz). I’m actually not going to talk much about it because I have a separate post and review for that add on. I do think maybe it’s a sneak peeks of sorts that perhaps Drunk Elephant will release in a larger size at a later time. Or at least I hope that’s the plan because otherwise, I think including this is utterly stupid at this size. If I can’t replenish it what’s the point!?
Drunk Elephant Slaai Makeup-Melting Butter Cleanser arrives in a 3.88 oz jar which is $34. It has a magnetic spoon/spatula that attached to the top of the jar just like Farmacy Honey Drop Lightweight Moisturizer. I always lose my spatulas so I love the magnetic top! I just pop it on top, it sticks, and when I need it again I know where it is!
Price wise this is a little higher than one of the most popular cleansing balms on the market which is Clinique Take the Day Away Cleansing Balm that’s $29.50 and the same size. But is it is bigger and cheaper than Farmacy Green Clean Makeup Removing Cleansing Balm which is $34 and 3.2 oz. It’s also cheaper than It Cosmetics Bye Bye Makeup 3-in-1 Makeup Melting Cleansing Balm which is $38 and 2.82 oz. The price toes the line between being higher and mid-range however, it is a lot cheaper compared to many Drunk Elephant offerings which pleased me as I would have been upset had they priced it at $45-$50 range. For me, that’s just to high to pay for a cleanser you know?
They recommend this for all skin types but I personally think drier ones will like it best. It’s a solid balm formula which melts into an oil as you apply it on your dry face. Cleansing balms are no different from cleansing oils in the fact you apply them on dry skin, add a little water to emulsify, and rinse.
Drunk Elephant’s formula is created with a host of amazing fruit and seed oils. It’s literally jammed back with oils! I think that does make the formula melt faster but it may also hinder it. I can totally dig all the oils as I have drier skin and they feel great. I also like that the formula just melts down into this gorgeous creamy oiliness. Now here’s the bad news….this is difficult to wash off. It doesn’t quite emulsify and break down as easily as many cleansing balms do. They recommend rinsing with cool water and I’m all about lukewarm water myself as it doesn’t strip your skin. Hot water just doesn’t really agree with my drier skin so lukewarm to cold is great for me. However, sometimes some cleansers need a bit of hot water to rinse them completely away. This is one of those formulas that needs a bit of heat to get it to break down and melt away so you can rinse it away easily. Some reviews reported they needed a wash cloth to remove it all and yeah, that’s an option. I’m not going to lie this isn’t the easiest formula to rinse away. Some people reported that it didn’t remove waterproof mascara nor did it do well with sunscreen but I had no issues. It most definitely removed my makeup very easily. I had no makeup residue left behind! Although, difficult to rinse it away it did finally break down and it didn’t leave behind any oiliness nor any greasy feel or finish. It’s a very rich balm but it does at some point finally break down, rinse away, and leaves skin feeling quite soft. I do feel like a little goes a long way with this formula. I used a little over the size of a quarter and it was a bit too much and was not only difficult to break down but did leave behind a bit of a film. Using less produced way better results.
Soooooooooooo….!
I’m going to throw it out there and say that the people that will love this the most is those with drier or aging skin. You have to put a little backbone into removing it and that will irritate some people who want a quick one and done with their cleansing. I didn’t mind so much as I enjoy my nightly skincare ritual but sure, when I want to go to bed fast and just want to get things done quickly this likely won’t be the easiest cleansing route to go.
Did I like it? Yes. It’s fragrance-free, creates a lovely oil as it melts down, and removes all my makeup easily without stripping. Did I not like the time it took to remove it? Debatable. Like I said, I don’t mind when I have time but if I’m tried and just want to go to bed it might be an issue for me!
Would I recommend you buy it?
Yes, if you have dry skin I think you might love this one!
Drunk Elephant Slaai Makeup-Melting Butter Cleanser is available now.
Have you tried it?
What did you think?
Where to buy
Drunk Elephant Slaai Makeup-Melting Butter Cleanser is a new cleansing balm that’s 3.88 oz in size and $34. This is a solid balm cleanser that turns into an oil upon contact with dry skin that acts to remove makeup. It contains a host of amazing oils. Sheesh! Pretty much the entire formula is oil! Which is great as I really think this formula is fabulous for drier skin. All in all, I felt it did a great job removing my makeup. However, it is a formula that doesn’t quite emulsify as easily as other cleansing balms I’ve used in the past and it proves a little difficult to rinse completely off. Once it it is removed it leaves skin lightly hydrated without any film left behind or tightness.
Ethylhexyl Palmitate, Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride, Carthamus Tinctorius (Safflower) Seed Oil, Lauryl Laurate, Polyglyceryl-3 Laurate, Polyhydroxystearic Acid, Helianthus Annuus (Sunflower) Seed Wax, Polyglyceryl-10 Laurate, Sclerocarya Birrea Seed Oil, Euterpe Oleracea Fruit Oil, Actinidia Chinensis (Kiwi) Fruit Extract, Fragaria Ananassa (Strawberry) Seed Extract, Vaccinium Macrocarpon (Cranberry) Seed Oil, Borago Officinalis Seed Oil, Adansonia Digitata Seed Oil, Polyglyceryl-2 Caprate, Citrullus Lanatus (Watermelon) Seed Oil, Prunus Amygdalus Dulcis (Sweet Almond) Oil, Schinziophyton Rautanenii Kernel Oil, Vaccinium Angustifolium (Blueberry) Fruit Extract, Ximenia Americana Seed Oil, Tocopherol, Glycerin.
- Very rich and lightly hydrating on drier skin.
- Doesn’t leave skin tight nor dry.
- Removes makeup easily.
- Difficult to remove, lots of rinsing required or even a wet washcloth.
Drunk Elephant Slaai Makeup-Melting Butter Cleanser seems an ideal pick for drier or aging skin in my opinion.