Review & Comparison: Cleansing Oils - Garnier vs Naruko vs Tatcha

Cleansing oils made a huge explosion on the western market few years ago (they have been available in asian countries for quite some time). At first I was quite hesitant, that it is not just a gimmicky fad, that would quickly go away. But I have to admit, I have been hooked and not planing to stop using this type of cleansers for a long while. I use sunscreen liberally and find that gentle face washes that I favour, are not enough to remove sunscreen at the end of the day. By using cleansing oils I kill two birds with one stone, dissolve make-up and sunscreen at the same time (I follow with gentle face wash as well).

I decided to talk about three oils I am currently using. They come from different ends of spectrum price wise and availability wise. As usual, I am trying to judge products as objective as I can. I am not going to discuss ingredients too much. Face cleansers cannot be evaluated like that for several reasons. They do not stay on your face for more than one minute (not enough time for beneficial ingredients to start working). You wash them off (and any extracts and vitamins that they had go down the drain!). It is the most important how they clean and whether they leave skin feeling tight and uncomfortable or not. Cleansers can not treat your skin like serum or cream can.

Left to Right: Tatcha Pure One Step Camellia cleansing oil; Naruko Taiwan Magnolia Brightening and Firming cleansing oil; Garnier Nourishing Cleansing oil.
  

[In the ingredient lists below I've highlighted in red those ingredients that are in generally irritating in any skin care product and also marked in bold basic oils in formulations.]

Tatcha Pure One Step Camellia Cleansing Oil 48$ US/150ml (5fl.oz). This cleanser is not based on mineral oil. I personally like the feel of this product the best. It has the thickest consistency out of three and I feel you actually need less product to take off make-up. It is also the most effective at dissolving make-up. Rinses off clean, leaving skin very soft. This oil has very nice, very light elegant fragrance. Unfortunately, this is the most expensive choice. Actually I am torn whether to repurchase it or not. On the one hand, it is the best cleansing oil I've tried (and I love the texture and smell of it), on the other, it is too expensive for a cleanser. I would rather spend money on antioxidant serum. 4.5 out of 5.

Ingredients: Cetyl Ethylhexanoate, Oryza Sativa (Rice) Bran Oil, Polyglyceryl-10 Dioleate, Polyglyceryl-2 Sesquicaprylate, Camellia Japonica seed Oil, Glyceryl Behenate/eicosadioate, Water, Algae Extract, Camellia Sinesis (Green tea) Leaf Extract, Glycerin, Ethylhexylglycerin, Alcohol, Fragrance, Phenoxyethanol.

Naruko Taiwan Magnolia Brightening and Firming Cleansing Oil 20$ US/120 ml (4fl.oz). This cleanser is based on mineral
oil. I don't have anything against mineral oil in general. It is not commedogenic and has no harmful side-effects, that it is rumored to have (it is quite inert, do not react with anything and cannot  penetrate skin at all, just sits on the surface). But I prefer the feel of no-mineral oil based cleansers (just a personal preference). Taiwan Magnolia Cleansing Oil smells amazing (as most of Naruko skin care products), reminds me slightly of bergamot. There are several essential oils in this product (lemon, magnolia) which can be a problem for sensitive skin. The are at the very bottom of the list, and if left on the skin only for 20-30 seconds they shouldn't be a problem for most people. Takes off make-up pretty well, but a little bit not as effective as Tatcha's oil. Rinses off clean. I have to apply the rest of my skincare quickly after cleansing, otherwise skin feels a bit tight and dry. People with very dry skin has to be cautious. Price is ok, not cheap, but reasonable. This is my second bottle, but I am not sure whether I will buy it again, since it is a bit drying. 4 out of 5.

Ingredients: Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride, Phenyl Trimethicone, Mineral Oil, PEG-12 Diisostearate, Castor oil, Laureth-7 Citrate, Squalane, Water, Alcohol, Tocophrol, Butylene Glycol, Phenoxyethanol, Phytoferulin Complex (Kalanchoe Extract, Licorice Root Extract, Alpine Scullcap Extract, Masterwort Leaf Extract, Ginkgo Biloba Leaf Extract, Alps Wormwood Extract, Leontopodium Extract, Calendula Flower Extract, Chamomile Flower Extract, Green Tea Leaf Extract), Butylated Hydroxy Anisole, Olive Oil, Rose Hip Oil, Argan Oil, Calendula Oil, Jojoba Oil, Magnolia Grandiflora Leaf Oil, Magnolia Officinalis Bark Extract, Alpha-Arbutin, Taiwan Magnolia Flower Water, Essential Oil Lemon.

Garnier Nourishing Cleansing Oil 8$ US/125ml (4.2fl.oz). Mineral oil based cleanser. I have to say, that since all cleansing oils feature detergents and emulsifying agents, they do not let any oils stay on your skin (hence oils cannot moisturise it), so don't be fooled by such claims. This product is the least effective out of three cleansing wise (it doesn't remove well cream eyeshadows, for example). It is the most affordable of them all. Rinses off pretty clean. The smell is horrible though. Really have put me off. Excuse my not so elegant comparison, but it smells like "sea breeze" scented toilet air freshener. I try not to breath when using it. Definitely not repurchasing. 2 out of 5.

Ingredients: Mineral Oil, Zea Mays (Corn Germ) Oil, Polysorbate 85, Carthamus Tinctorius Oil (Safflower Seed) Oil, Cetyl Ethylhexanoate, Sorbitan Trioleate, Simmondsia Chinensis (Jojoba Seed) Oil, Glycerin, Macadamia Ternifolia Seed Oil, Squalane, Fragrance, Water, Propylene Glycol, Tocopherol, Linalool, Pentaerythrityl Tetra-di-t-Butyl Hydroxyhydrocinnamate, Hexyl Cinnamal, Isopropyl Myristate, Moringa Oleifera Seed Oil, Alpha-Isomethyl Ionone, Imperata Cylindrica Root Extract, Caprylyl Glycol, Carbomer, C10 30 Alkyl Acrylate Crosspolymer, Acrylates.

Verdict:

• Fragrance. All of the featured oils have a fragrance (which is not good for the skin). Though I do love smell of Naruko one, the less is always better. Which makes Tatcha the winner.
• Make-up remover. Tatcha Camellia Cleansing Oil is the best make-up remover. Though Naruko's oil does cleanse pretty well too. Garnier's oil is ok. By the way, none of the cleansers remove non-waterproof mascara (since it's water soluble).
• Feel. All of the oils rinse off well. Naruko is a bit drying. Tatcha's is the best texture wise and leaves skin very soft.
• Price. Garnier is drugstore choice and very affordable. Naruko is rather affordable. Tatcha's oil is too expensive for a cleanser. (This one really depends on one's budget.)

I recommend Tatcha One Step Camellia Cleansing Oil, if you do not have tight budget. I recommend Naruko Taiwan Magnolia Cleansing Oil, but not for people with very dry or very sensitive skin. Garnier Nourishing Cleansing Oil I cannot recommend to anyone.
Personally for me the winner is Tatcha One Step Camellia Cleansing Oil.

P.S.: As usual I like to through in couple of thoughts about brands in general. I've tried a starter kit from Tatcha, since this brand has an appealing marketing story. They claim that they used secrets from geisha beauty manual from 18th century. Since I have a weakness for asian culture I was really drawn in. Visual representation of products and website is superb. Products are crazy expensive (100-190$ per bottle), and you would think you would get state of the art skincare. But most of their serums and creams feature alcohol as third or forth ingredient, which is a high concentration to do skin any good. The rest of formulations are good, but not impressive. Except cleansing oil and plotting papers I would not recommend to spend so much money on their products.