This stuff is the greatest. It removes absolutely everything without breaking me out, drying me out, or irritating my skin. I don't think I've ever gotten my face this clean before-- it's amazing. The SA told me to use 4 pumps of it on my fave when I use it and that seems like a lot but then again she said it would seem like a lot. I highly recommend this product.

This product is just not for me. I have oily skin and acne prone skin so I probably should of stayed away but I had to try it (got a free bottle at the Nordies Trend show). I would not dare put it anywhere near my T Zone, maybe just a oily cleanser to take off my eye make up.

Removes mu thoroughly and rinses clean but its heavily scented and broke me out terribly (the main ingredient is mineral oil so if it breaks you out, avoid this). pretty mediocre for the price.

I really really wanted to like this product. I began using this product 4 years ago, but I stopped. It gave me the worst break-out of my life (not over exaggerating)! I rarely break out except once a month and it's usually a pimple here and a pimple there. After the 4-year break, I decided to give it another try. This is by far the greatest make-up remover that worked for me. It removes an entire face of make-up especially waterproof mascara and water resistant pencil liners. But apparently, my skin just doesn't like it. So things haven't changed, I broke out around my hairline and cheeks even worst than the first time.
Anyhow, I purchased the smallest bottle rather than the large one.
So in conclusion, I will not be using this product again. I really really wanted to like this too, but it's just too heavy for my skin. Now I have a lot of scars, so I need to find something that will minimize them without caking on my foundation. It's pretty obvious that I won't be purchasing this again. =(

I wanna love this product, but it just make my skin breakouts every time after using it!!!it does remove makeup really really well, even waterproof mascara, but the fact that it's too rich for my skin, and maybe others who has oily skin, albeit it is Light, and the SA assured me that this will not break me out, but *sigh Sigh*

$60 for 450mL. (discontinued)
$26.50 for 150mL. (discontinued)

When Shu Uemura's store opened up here in San Francisco in May 2005, this was the 1st item I had to get. I love cleansing oils. I thought this was the best. I was ...yikes, wrong...boo... I love Shu. I think I love his products because it is Japanese made and I expect quality. I don't really care how much something cost because all I really need is for someone to say it's good. I'll try it. It does not take much... I went all out and bought the large size, too! Dang...

Well, I tried it and I was disappointed. 'Why?" you might ask... Well, here goes. It felt heavy on and did not rinse very well. It did not remove all of my mineral make up. My waterproof eyeliner partially remained on my upper eyelids.

I know they have reformulated, but I'm weary to try. After all, most of it is mineral oil, right? Maybe, I'll ask for a sample before I invest again! I did like having this on my sink. It made me feel like I'm pampering myself to something "designer". I'm sick...

I like this cleanser. I agree with other reviewers that if you just wash this off by it self with water, it will make me break out. But I use kanebo clay wash with this and it is perfect. My skin feels very squeeky clean after. I have been using Liz Earl for a long time and I love the fact that its so easy to take makeup off in comparison. The other fomulas feel so heavy on my skin, I think this one is best for me. I love the rose scent and the light cosistency is great. Definitely buy this again.

Purchased this to help with my very minimal acne along with the Shu Uemura toner and moisturizer; however, I was very let down and my acne stayed put like rocks on my face! It removes makeup very well but that is the only thing I have found useful for this cleanser, and of course there are better, cheaper makeup removers out there. I hoped this lighter formula would help my oily, acne-prone skin but if you are looking for the solution to your problems, go consult a dermatologist or try products from an actual skin care line. Let's not forget Shu Uemura specializes in makeup.

OH MY GOD!!!! this is the worst worst worst cleanser ever!!! i used shiseido spf 50 sunscreen lotion n while applying this cleansing oil at night, this product just stays there no matter what i do. the more water i splash the more white mask-like it becomes. ABSOLUTE DISASTER!!! it literally became a waterproof white mask! i then removed everything using my shiseido cleanser. what a dissapointment, I really thought this product would be able to remove my foundation n sunscreen totally but instead it did just the opposite!

I have been using this product for over a year. I purchased the old version. I still have half bottle left. Well, it doesn't cause break out on me. I use other cleansing products after using the oil. It removes my makeup very easily. I think the best way to apply is after apply oil to dry skin and massage, use warm water several times to dissolve the oil.

Yes it's true. This removes make-up perfectly. Although I never have that sqeeky clean feeling after using this. I absolutely loooooove the way this oil feels on my face when massaging this into my skin. BUT I cannot use this every day as I think this is what causes me to break out. Like another reviewer, I also find this hard to remove.
Yes my face never feels dry after cleansing with this, but I assume that's because somehow it leaves a residue and if there is something my face doesn't agree with, it is residue of any sort. results: little bumps on my forehead and acne around my cheekbone. Not nice! I really really wanted this to work for me. I love the idea of treating oil with oil, but unfortunately this just doesn't work for MY skin. Too bad really.
Like a previous reviewer mentioned: cleansing oils are just not for everyone, so I guess you just have to take a risk and try. But if you know your skin hates residues, be aware, as I won't recommend using a cleansing oil. How big the hype may be for using oils, let's face it's better for your skin, I still prefer that fresh clean feeling, and that's not someting an oil can accomplish.....unfortunately.

$60 for 450mL. (discontinued)
$26.50 for 150mL. (discontinued)

Replaced with Shu Uemura High Performance Fresh Cleansing Oil

This was the answer to those who felt the Classic and Enriched formulas were too heavy. While I can understand the reasons for wanting a lighter formula, IMO you lose some of the effectiveness when you dilute an oil cleanser.

The Light formula had the highest percentage of light oils (water soluble mineral oil), about 90%. Of the 3 formulas (available at the time), it was the least effective at removing makeup, and I felt it left the heaviest residue.

Unless you have an extremely oily skin (and have tried the Enriched formula), this isn't the best of the formulas available. Fresh was an improvement (it smells lovely and has a light exfoliating property), but I still feel the Enriched version in superior. If something lighter is desired, go with the Classic.

continued >>

This made me break out almost instantly. Little white bumps surrounded by red allover my nose, forehead and worst of all my cheeks - I NEVER get pimples on my cheeks.
On the up side, it removed all my makeup. Not muchof an upside when compared to the downside, heh. Will definitely not repurchase. Also very expensive!
edit: on comparison with Mac's cleanse off oil, I think the shu oil is better for massaging in, but the mac doesn't cause acne for me so that's the winner.

I said I would rebuy, but I am on the fence. To be honest, I find no difference between this oil (and I have used this oil in most of its iterations, even though this review is for the light) and Laura Mercier's in terms of effectiveness. The Shu Uemura smells better and I like the pump better, but the Laura Mercier (which I have used in light and rich) is slightly cheaper and I buy so much from her line that I usually get some kind of discount or other goodie when buying it.
I have super dry skin and when I use cleansing oil in the summer I can get away with just putting eye cream on and dabbing moisturizer on my fine lines.
This gets all my makeup off, including mascara. If you are not a Laura fan or you are trying to strategically work your GWPs, this oil is worth the shot. Speaking of GWP, I love the little bottles Shu Uemura gives of this oil that you get as samples. I keep them and fill them up when I travel, the head of the sample bottle being just wide enough that you don't waste product. UPDATE: I just scored another free full size bottle, I think I am in LOVE! Now it is going to be ten times as hard to actually pay for this or just buy Laura...

I got this as a sample along with the depsea moisture recovery equiwater and decided to give it a shot after reading good reviews on it. I used it for about 8 days along with the equiwater. I liked how well it removed my makeup and how soft and dewy my skin felt after using it. Overall both products left my skin feeling well moisturized without being too oily throughout the day (which is rare for me). Unfortunately they also made me breakout and gave me this huge cystic acne on my forehead which hasn't happened in years. I won't be using it again anytime soon, but maybe when i'm older and my teenage acne clears up.

I have sensitive dry skin and this cleans my skin pretty well without that tight dry effect. I got this one because it was recommended for sensitive skin. It does remove eye-makeup (waterproof mascara) really well so I use it to wash my face and remove my makeup in one step on those days that I do wear makeup. I use toner on my T zone afterwards. I hate the strong scent though.

Great cleansing oil for me.
Thoroughly removes my eye makeup, mascara and foundation.
I have used the regular cleansing oil but I prefer using a lighter one and this one does the job for me.

I have tried many cleansing oils and this one is the most expensive and probably the worst. It’s thin and runny, like baby oil. And actually from the ingredients, it’s much like mineral oil based baby oil. It doesn’t clean well with my sunblock. After sufficient rubbing and rinsing, I can still see a lot sunblock smearing around with streaks. I also got huge red bumps and small whiteheads after using it (not breakouts, but worse. Took forever to disappear). I’ll never water my money on this again.

This cleanser is not at all what you'd expect. Its probably 99% mineral oil, so you'd think it would make oily skin worse, but nobody's skin is oilier than mine and it actually dries me out. You'd also probably think that being mostly oil it would clog pores, but oil-based cleansers actually attract the oil on your skin, so it gets rid of the oil, it doesn't add. But honestly, its not worth the money. Like I said, its mostly mineral oil, which you can buy at the drug store for way less and it doesn't do anything special to the skin. It is, however, a great makeup remover (as most oil-based cleansers are).

My skin type : super sensitive, combination, acne-pron
This product just did not work for me. Despite the word "light," it left a greasy film on my face after. It also did not remove my foundation completely. In fact, it left quite a bit of residue on my cutton when I wipe my fact w/ toner even after I've washed my face twice with this. By the way, I was using Chanel's lumiere liquid foundation at the time. It's worth noting that this did remove my eye makeup pretty well. Then again, this product is not marketed as simply an eye makeup remover. Anyway, I switched back to foaming cleanser right after this for a while b/c of my disbelief in cleansing oil in general. That is, until now... I started using la vitton's cleansing oil, and OMG, it works so much better than this. I still follow w/ a foaming cleanser. But really, there's probably no need for it. La vitton definitely does not leave a greasy film. If you like cleansing oil, but are afraid of greasy feelings afterward, try la vitton instead.