Face wash that removes makeup

La Roche-Posay Toleriane Purifying Foaming Cleanser has the best record for taking makeup off: 12 of 12 reviewers said it cleaned off their makeup without a separate remover, though that is a small group. CeraVe Hydrating Foaming Oil Cleanser follows at 24 of 28, and more reviewers weighed in on it than on any other wash here. At the bottom, CeraVe Hydrating Facial Cleanser and La Roche-Posay Toleriane Hydrating Gentle Face Wash sit at 6 of 19 and 4 of 14, with reviewers saying makeup was left behind.

  • 168 store reviews counted
  • Target shoppers
  • Nov 2019 to Sep 2026

Updated . How we count

Did it take the makeup off? What shoppers said
  1. La Roche-Posay Toleriane Purifying Foaming Cleanser 12 said either way
  2. CeraVe Hydrating Foaming Oil Cleanser 28 said either way
  3. Neutrogena Ultra Gentle Foaming Facial Cleanser 10 said either way
  4. Cetaphil Gentle Foaming Facial Cleanser 16 said either way
  5. CeraVe Hydrating Facial Cleanser 19 said either way
  6. La Roche-Posay Toleriane Hydrating Gentle Face Wash 14 said either way

Share of reviewers who stated an outcome for makeup removal. Ranked by the lower bound of a 90% confidence interval, so a product needs both a good share and enough reports to rank high.

La Roche-Posay Toleriane Purifying Foaming Cleanser Best record La Roche-Posay Toleriane Purifying Foaming Cleanser 12 of 12 say it took their makeup off without a separate remover See price & reviews on Amazon
What stands out

The two Hydrating washes at the bottom share one complaint: 52% of the CeraVe Hydrating Facial Cleanser reviews and 45% of the La Roche-Posay Toleriane Hydrating Gentle Face Wash reviews say makeup was left behind. Reviews copied from the brands' own sites read much kinder, at 4 of 5 and 5 of 5, and we show those but don't count them.

The ranking, product by product

Praise and complaints are the points reviewers repeat most, shown as a share of each product's counted store reviews.

1 La Roche-Posay Toleriane Purifying Foaming Cleanser

La Roche-Posay

Toleriane Purifying Foaming Cleanser

12/12 say it took their makeup off without a separate remover

12 of 12 said it took their makeup off and none needed a separate remover, which is a small group to go on. 32% call it gentle and 11% say it costs too much.

What buyers praise

  • Gentle 32%
  • Skin doesn't feel tight 16%
  • Leaves skin fresh 16%
  • Controls oil 11%
  • Lasts a long time 11%

What buyers complain about

  • Too expensive 11%
  • Irritates or stings 11%
  • Drying 11%
Where buyers said it
  • Target 12 of 12
  • Brand site 5 of 6 shown, not counted
2 CeraVe Hydrating Foaming Oil Cleanser

CeraVe

Hydrating Foaming Oil Cleanser

24/28 say it took their makeup off without a separate remover

More reviewers weighed in on this one than on any other wash here, and 24 of 28 said it took their makeup off. 20% call it gentle and 20% say skin didn't feel tight, while 10% say it left makeup behind.

What buyers praise

  • Gentle 20%
  • Skin doesn't feel tight 20%
  • Good value 5%
  • No irritation 5%

What buyers complain about

  • Drying 10%
Where buyers said it
  • Target 24 of 28
  • Brand site 7 of 8 shown, not counted
3 Neutrogena Ultra Gentle Foaming Facial Cleanser

Neutrogena

Ultra Gentle Foaming Facial Cleanser

9/10 say it took their makeup off without a separate remover

9 of 10 said it took their makeup off, which is a small group to go on. 18% say it leaves skin fresh and 18% call it good value, but 18% say it dries skin out.

What buyers praise

  • Leaves skin fresh 18%
  • Good value 18%
  • Gentle 12%
  • Skin doesn't feel tight 12%
  • No irritation 12%

What buyers complain about

  • Drying 18%
  • Breaks skin out 12%
Where buyers said it
  • Target 9 of 10
  • Brand site 6 of 7 shown, not counted
4 Cetaphil Gentle Foaming Facial Cleanser

Cetaphil

Gentle Foaming Facial Cleanser

11/16 say it took their makeup off without a separate remover

Reviewers split: 11 of 16 said it took their makeup off, and 5 said makeup was left behind and they needed a separate remover. 23% call it gentle and 15% say it leaves skin fresh.

What buyers praise

  • Gentle 23%
  • Skin doesn't feel tight 19%
  • Leaves skin fresh 15%
  • No irritation 12%
  • Controls oil 8%

What buyers complain about

  • Stripping or tight 8%
  • Irritates or stings 8%
Where buyers said it
  • Target 11 of 16
  • Brand site 5 of 6 shown, not counted
5

CeraVe

Hydrating Facial Cleanser

6/19 say it took their makeup off without a separate remover

Makeup left behind is the main complaint, in 52% of its reviews, and 13 of 19 reviewers said they needed a separate remover. 6 of 19 said it took their makeup off, and 20% call it gentle.

What buyers praise

  • Gentle 20%
  • Controls oil 8%

What buyers complain about

  • Drying 8%
  • Irritates or stings 8%
Where buyers said it
  • Target 6 of 19
  • Brand site 4 of 5 shown, not counted

Share of 25 store reviews that mention each point. A full bar is 50%.

6

La Roche-Posay

Toleriane Hydrating Gentle Face Wash

4/14 say it took their makeup off without a separate remover

This one has the weakest record here at 4 of 14, with 45% of its reviews saying makeup was left behind. 23% call it gentle, but 18% say it irritates or stings.

What buyers praise

  • Gentle 23%

What buyers complain about

  • Irritates or stings 18%
  • Drying 9%
Where buyers said it
  • Target 4 of 14
  • Brand site 5 of 5 shown, not counted

Share of 22 store reviews that mention each point. A full bar is 50%.

Where these numbers come from

The 6 products ranked here carry 22,959 reviews at Target. We read the newest reviews of each product (up to a thousand per listing), kept the ones that talk about makeup removal, and counted up to 40 per product, posted between Nov 2019 and Sep 2026.

A review counts only when the reviewer used the product themselves. We drop reviews written in exchange for a free product or a sweepstakes entry (0 on this page), and products that are no longer sold.

Target also shows reviews first posted on brands' own websites. We show them on product cards but never count them, because brand-site reviews run more positive than store reviews of the same products.

Because we searched for the problem, people who had it are overrepresented. Compare products with each other rather than reading a share as your own odds.

Skin type, skin tone and age splits use what reviewers chose on Sephora's review form (and age on Ulta's when given). We only show a split when enough reviewers fall on each side.

Amazon buttons appear only on products that most reviewers here say fix the problem (at least 60%, with enough reviews to trust it). Everything else gets no buy link.

An AI model labels each review against a fixed list of points, and we spot-check the labels before publishing. We publish counts, never the reviews themselves.

Read the full method

Product pages we read

  1. La Roche-Posay Toleriane Purifying Foaming Cleanser Target (19 reviews counted)
  2. CeraVe Hydrating Foaming Oil Cleanser Target (40 reviews counted)
  3. Neutrogena Ultra Gentle Foaming Facial Cleanser Target (17 reviews counted)
  4. Cetaphil Gentle Foaming Facial Cleanser Target (26 reviews counted)
  5. CeraVe Hydrating Facial Cleanser Target (25 reviews counted)
  6. La Roche-Posay Toleriane Hydrating Gentle Face Wash Target (22 reviews counted)

Questions buyers ask

Which face wash takes makeup off?

La Roche-Posay Toleriane Purifying Foaming Cleanser has the best record (12 of 12), followed by CeraVe Hydrating Foaming Oil Cleanser (24 of 28) and Neutrogena Ultra Gentle Foaming Facial Cleanser (9 of 10). More reviewers weighed in on CeraVe Hydrating Foaming Oil Cleanser (28) than on any other wash here, so its record rests on more reviews.

Does CeraVe face wash remove makeup?

It depends on the wash. 24 of 28 reviewers of CeraVe Hydrating Foaming Oil Cleanser said it took their makeup off. For CeraVe Hydrating Facial Cleanser it was 6 of 19, and 52% of its reviews say makeup was left behind.

Does La Roche-Posay Toleriane face wash remove makeup?

Check which one you are buying. La Roche-Posay Toleriane Purifying Foaming Cleanser has 12 of 12, while La Roche-Posay Toleriane Hydrating Gentle Face Wash has 4 of 14, with 45% of its reviews saying makeup was left behind.

Can a face wash replace a makeup remover?

Sometimes. Reviewers of La Roche-Posay Toleriane Purifying Foaming Cleanser (12 of 12) and CeraVe Hydrating Foaming Oil Cleanser (24 of 28) said they didn't need a separate remover. But 13 of 19 reviewers of CeraVe Hydrating Facial Cleanser and 10 of 14 reviewers of La Roche-Posay Toleriane Hydrating Gentle Face Wash said makeup was left behind and they needed a separate one. The reviews don't say which makeup was involved, so we can't tell you how any of these handle waterproof or heavy makeup. The pages linked below cover wipes, oils and micellar water that are sold for removing makeup.

Related problems

Face wash Face wash that doesn't strip skin Top pick: Fresh Soy Hydrating Gentle Face Cleanser 294 buyer reports Micellar water Micellar water that removes makeup Top pick: Bioderma Sensibio H2O Micellar Water 232 buyer reports Cleansing oil Cleansing oil that removes makeup Top pick: DHC Deep Cleansing Oil 116 buyer reports Makeup remover wipes Makeup wipes that remove makeup Top pick: Olay Daily Facials Hydrating Cleansing Cloths 358 buyer reports

HiveTried earns a commission when you buy through the "See price & reviews on Amazon" buttons. It never changes the ranking: the order comes from buyer reports only, and a product gets an Amazon button only when buyers here say it works.