If you’re looking for the best Clinique Take the Day Off cleansing balm dupe, I have an amazing budget dupe for you.
Clinique’s is one of the most popular cleansing balms around – it’s something about the way the solid balm melts so effortlessly.
It is often likened to the Elemis Pro-Collagen Cleansing Balm, which although similar is even more expensive!
But the brand that I’ll introduce you to is often gatekept by hardcore skincare enthusiasts – it’s a cult brand that you can only buy online.
Table of Contents
- Clinique Take the Day Off main ingredients
- The Clinique Take the Day Off Cleansing Balm Dupe
- Price difference: Clinique vs Mighty Melt dupe
- Full breakdown of the similarities: Clinique cleansing balm dupe
- Does Clinique Take the Day Off cause acne?
- Clinique cleansing balm vs oil
- Clinique cleansing balm vs charcoal
Clinique Take the Day Off main ingredients
First, let’s look at the key ingredients in the Clinique cleansing balm.
I recently did a poll on my Instagram, asking my followers what they consider a true dupe to be.
To find a true Clinique Take the Day Off Cleansing Balm dupe, I had to consider this.
Between identical ingredients and similar ingredients, the overwhelming majority voted for similar ingredients.
We also all agreed that the dupe must be cheaper than the original, and perform similarly.
In other words, it can’t just have a similar formula – it must also perform identically or very similarly.
This is the complete ingredients list for Clinique Take the Day Off:
Ingredients: Ethylhexyl Palmitate, Carthamus Tinctorius (Safflower) Seed Oil, Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride, Sorbeth-30 Tetraoleate, Polyethylene, Peg-5 Glyceryl Triisostearate, Water, Tocopherol, Phenoxyethanol
Between only nine ingredients, this cleansing balm removes heavy makeup so easily!
This is mostly due to ethylhexyl palmitate, which is what most different cleansing balms are primarily made of.
The Clinique Take the Day Off Cleansing Balm Dupe
Now for the dupe!
If you want an equally powerful Clinique Take the Day Off Cleansing Balm dupe that doesn’t cost nearly £40, this is an incredible option.
The dupe is called Mighty Melt by Geek & Gorgeous. This is an affiliate link, so if you click on it I may make a small earning, however I’m not in contact with G&G or associated with them whatsoever.
Interestingly enough, Geek & Gorgeous is made by the founders of Incidecoder.com (an ingredient decoder website).
Ingredients: Ethylhexyl Palmitate, Oleyl Erucate, Olive Oil PEG-7 Esters, PEG-20 Glyceryl Triisostearate, Synthetic Wax, Phenoxyethanol, Ethylhexylglycerin
As you can see, there are only seven similar ingredients in the dupe formula, starting with ethylexyl palmitate as expected.
I would say the main difference vs Clinique is the lack of safflower oil.
Safflower oil is an emollient plant oil that feels moisturising on the skin.
Geek & Gorgeous’ Might Melt instead contains oleyl erucate which can be likened to jojoba seed oil.
Price difference: Clinique vs Mighty Melt dupe
However, Mighty Melt is only £12.50 on Amazon vs. £34!
Clinique Take the Day Off cleansing balm is available in sizes ranging from 30ml to 250ml.
30ml is a tester and £13 whereas the largest size, 250ml, is £52!
The ‘regular’ size is 125ml and costs £34, which is £27.20 per 100ml.
In comparison, the Clinique Take the Day Off cleansing balm dupe, Might Melt, is only £12.76 per 100ml.
Mighty Melt just comes in one size of 98ml.
For a little extra off, you can even find Mighty Melt on JustMyLook for £10.60 and free delivery!
Full breakdown of the similarities: Clinique cleansing balm dupe
To truly compare the Clinique Take the Day Off cleansing balm dupe to the original we need a full breakdown of the similarities.
Ingredients
I love that the Clinique doesn’t contain any harsh alcohols or essential oils.
This is why I don’t think the Farmacy Green Clean should be recommended as a dupe – it’s far too fragrant.
While the rest of the ingredients aren’t identical, they are fairly similar.
It’s good to remember that even if the ingredients were identical, this may not make the products identical.
The amount of ingredient is also important to what the formula really feels like.
It’s clear to see that Geek & Gorgeous have chosen alternative ingredients to some of the Clinique ones.
For example, the safflower seed oil vs Oleyl Erucate.
The Clinique Take the Day Off dupe and original both have a couple of surfactants.
Surfactants are what make the oil rinse off well, vs leaving a film on the skin (this is why pure oils aren’t the same as a cleansing balm).
In my personal opinion, I have noticed a light film with the Clinique version, so I prefer Mighty Melt.
Skin type suitability
Both the original and dupe are suitable for all skin types.
No matter whether you have dry skin, sensitive skin, oily skin or combination.
Cleansing oils, unless they contain exfoliants like salicylic acid, typically are suited to any skin type.
This is because they are used for only 1-2 minutes during your double cleanse.
During this time, they’re working to breakdown the oils in your makeup and sebum from the day.
The surfactants help to rinse away all of the day’s grime, along with the cleansing balm, hence the name ‘take the day off’!
Eye makeup removal
Both work great as eye makeup removers, if that’s how you like to remove yours.
When it comes to breaking down sunscreen and makeup, they both do a great job.
Mighty Melt is not any less effective in this arena, even with waterproof makeup.
Does Clinique Take the Day Off cause acne?
Those who’ve followed me for a while will know that I don’t rate the cleansing balm for acne prone skin.
Me personally, I have clog-prone skin.
I’m aware this isn’t a ‘real’ skin type, but no skin types are actually real – they’re just categorisation that helps us communicate how our skin is to others.
My skin gets little clogs and bumps easily when using most products.
Seriously, it takes a lot for me to find products I like for this reason.
Whilst I think Clinique Take the Day Off cleansing balm is an amazing makeup remover, it does unfortunately give me small bumps. As does the Mighty Melt!
However, I know I’m in the minority here. This is why I provide lots of dupes on social for products that others love, even if I don’t.
Remember that what does and doesn’t cause clogged pores is very personal to everyone.
I recommend reading my post on pore clogging ingredients to get a better understanding – there’s a lot of misinformation in the beauty community on this!
Clinique cleansing balm vs oil
Clinique’s Take the Day Off line also include a cleansing milk, makeup remover, cleansing mousse and cleansing oil.
I personally haven’t tried the cleansing oil or cleansing milk from this range, but they are entirely different products.
I know that sounds obvious, but let me explain.
Clinique have essentially piggy-backed on the popularity of the TTDO cleansing balm, and created more products to buy.
You might assume the cleansing oil, for example, is simply an oil version of the balm (and dressed in purple packaging).
But really, it’s an entirely separate cleansing oil, so it should be treated as a separate product.
Geek & Gorgeous only have the one cleansing balm in their range, so nothing to compare here.
Clinique cleansing balm vs charcoal
There is also a version of the Clinique Take the Day Off cleansing balm made with charcoal.
Charcoal is known for detoxifying in all kinds of areas. It’s often seen in medicine and skincare.
Whether or not including charcoal in skincare is actually helpful, though, is not conclusive. There appears to be a lack of evidence.
For this reason, I doubt there is any difference for acne when it comes to the Clinique cleansing balm vs charcoal version.
The only additional ingredients are charcoal, tocopherol and silica dimethyl silylate.
It’s not like a huge overhaul of formula, just the addition of charcoal really.
