A solid cleansing balm is an anhydrous formula that turns into a silky milk on contact with water and the warmth of your skin. It removes make-up, waterproof included, with no cotton pads and no double cleanse. Someone who removes make-up every evening throws away between 365 and 730 cotton pads a year, and a solid cleanser removes that waste entirely. Sternartica's ÉCLIPSE lasts around 4 months of daily use.
A solid cleansing balm is an anhydrous product (water free) that turns into a silky milk on contact with water and the warmth of your skin. It removes make-up, including waterproof , with no need for cotton pads or a double cleanse. It rinses straight off with water.
Someone who removes make-up daily throws away between 365 and 730 cotton pads a year. Multiply that by the millions of people who wear make-up and the numbers get dizzying. And yet most of the alternatives on offer (washable pads, reusable wipes) still start from cotton.
Solid cleansing balm offers something else: doing without cotton altogether.
Why do conventional cleansers need cotton pads?
Most liquid cleansers, lotions, milks and cleansing oils are designed to be applied on an absorbent support. Cotton acts as both applicator AND the thing that carries away the dissolved make-up.
Without cotton, those liquid formulas run, are hard to measure out, and often need a second pass (the famous "double cleanse") to remove the oily residue.
A solid cleansing balm sidesteps that logic completely.
How does a solid cleansing balm work?
A solid cleansing balm is an anhydrous formula, with no water in it. At room temperature it is solid. On contact with lukewarm water and the warmth of your skin, it turns instantly into a silky milk that wraps around and dissolves your make-up.
It works through emollients and gentle cleansing agents that dissolve make-up pigments, including waterproofformulas, which resist precisely because they are designed not to dissolve in water.
The oils in a solid cleansing balm grab hold of the pigments and the residue from foundation, mascara and waterproof eyeliner, and the water carries them away when you rinse.
No cotton pads. No double cleanse. Skin is clean in a single step.
Does it really work on waterproof make-up?
That's the question everyone asks, and the answer is yes, as long as the formula is well built.
Waterproof make-up is designed to resist water alone. It isn't designed to resist active oils. It's the same principle as the oil cleansing method: a cleanser based on oils and emollients dissolves waterproof pigments where water alone fails.
Our ÉCLIPSE was formulated specifically for sensitive eyes : its ergonomic shape allows precise application on the eyelids, and its formula, free of essential oils and allergens, doesn't sting the eyes, even on direct contact.
ÉCLIPSE, solid cleansing milk
40 g · ~4 months of use · waterproof · fragrance free
How to use a solid cleansing balm properly
- Wet your face with lukewarm water , and wet the cleansing bar too.
- Glide it gently over the areas with make-up: forehead, cheeks, eyelids, lips. It turns into a milk straight away on warm, damp skin.
- Massage with your fingers in circular movements for 30 to 60 seconds. Take your time over waterproof areas.
- Rinse thoroughly with lukewarm water. Skin is clean, soft and residue free. No cotton pad needed.
- Keep the bar out of the water between uses so it lasts longer (up to 4 months of daily use).
