Clinique Take the Day Off Cleansing Balm Discontinued: Here's what to use instead.

The iconic Clinique cleansing balm has been discontinued in Canada for reasons unknown to me. It's shocking because it's actually the #1 cleansing balm in North America. (And apparently people are not a fan of the new charcoal version.)

But fret not my balmless friend, Stark has got you covered.

Stark's Aurora Cleansing Balm has been a best-seller since 2011. Aurora is made right here in Canada using all natural ingredients, making it a fantastic dupe for the original Clinique Take The Day Off.

In fact, I'd argue that Aurora is far better. :) (And so would my customers, but we'll get to that in a second.)

Stark's Aurora Balm vs. Clinique's Take the Day Off

• Stark is hand crafted in Canada by the company founder (me, Jess!), whereas Clinique is a large, quite soulless corporation owned by the Estee Lauder Company. Maybe that isn't so important to some people but who wants to support billionaires in this economy!?
  
  
• Clinique's Cleansing Balm Ingredients list is just... sad.   Is your favourite part the Ethylhexyl Palmitate, Carthamus Tinctorius (Safflower) Seed Oil, Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride, Sorbeth-30 Tetraoleate, Polyethylene, Peg-5 Glyceryl Triisostearate, or the Water\Aqua\Eau, Tocopherol and Phenoxyethanol? 
  
  That's the actual ingredient list. The entire thing. You'd pay money for that? Really? I'm shaking my head because this balm costs the EL company all of 60 cents to create! The "nicest" ingredient is Safflower oil which has got to be the cheapest of the natural oils out there. They really went all out. Shows how well they think of their customers.
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• Now compare Clinique's Ingredients to Aurora's Ingredient list:
  Cucurbita Pepo Seed Oil, Garcinia indica (Kokum) Butter, Theobroma cacao (organic cocoa) butter, Mangifera indica (Mango) seed butter, Astrocaryum Tucuma Seed Butter, Glycine soja (non-GMO) butter, Camellia sinensis (organic green tea) seed oil, Hippophae Rhamnoides (Supercritical CO2 Seabuckthorn) Fruit Oil, Cetyl Alcohol,  Daucus Carota (Carrot) Root Extract, Bisabolol, Cetearyl Olivate (and) Sorbitan Olivate, Tocopherol (non-GMO vit. E), lecithin, pure essential oils.
  
  I mean, that's pure poetry. Even without really digging in to the specifics, I think you know that these are ingredients you actually want on your face.
  
  
• Apparently Take the Day Off doesn't smell very nice. "Rancid Crisco" is what one user said. Yum? I mean to each their own and all that,  but since 2011 Stark customers have been going crazy over the blood orange and Palo Santo scent of Aurora. It's not too strong or cloying, but it is mouth-watering and you may want to eat it. (I also have another version of Aurora called Boreal for those who prefer a woodsier scent.)
  
  
• Both are makeup melting balms. I mean, you've got one job, balm. (Except...)
  
  
• Stark products are multi-purpose. Clinique's Balm is 100% a rinse-off product whereas Aurora can be left on the skin, so after using it as a cleanser, you can apply it again and use it as a leave-on moisturizer! Value!
  
  
• They are both allegedly gentle on the eyes.  I cannot speak for Clinique's product (since I am in Canada), but it is a claim they make although the reviews seem mixed.
  I know from personal experience that  most rinse-off cleansing balms with Ethylhexyl Palmitate on the market make my (very) sensitive eyes go all blurry and weird for a good 10 minutes after use, which is not ok.
   
  I can literally put Aurora in my chronically (and clinically) dry, sensitive eyes, and they are totally fine and my customers report the same. 
  
  

• Aurora can remove waterproof eyeliner, hair dye and even latex paint. I know because I've tried! Apparently some of the Clinique users coudn't even get the balm itself (or its smell) off their skin with soap and water, which totally defeats the purpose. Aurora rinses clean.

• Aurora has been used by professional makeup artists on the sets of Netflix shows and indie moves. I'm sure Clinique's balm has been in similar places, but they're also not a tiny company run by one woman, so who cares? That's not note-worthy. 

• Aurora is more expensive. But not by much, and for good reason.... you saw the ingredients list, right? Stark doesn't need to pay shareholders so we really get to put our money where it counts; the ingredients.

Real Customer Reviews Tell the Story

Don't just take my word for it. Aurora customers have been loyal since 2011, and many have tried to find alternatives but keep coming back. Here's what they're saying:

"I've been using the Aurora cleansing balm since it was called the grapefruit cleansing balm (since like 2013). I don't think my skin could survive without it at this point. Don't just buy it, stock up. As someone with dry, extremely sensitive skin, using this product changed the game for me." - Alyson P.

"Amazing, all-around product for EVERYONE! I LOVE this cleansing balm! Is my acne completely gone? No. But I also don't know if it ever will be completely gone but this has reduced it so much more than anything else. If I try to use something else, I break out like crazy. As soon as I use this again, my skin calms down." - Jacquelyn C.

Meanwhile, Clinique's Take the Day Off reviews are... well, let's just say they're more mixed. Common complaints include the rancid smell, difficulty removing the product itself, and eye irritation. Not exactly the glowing endorsements you'd expect from a "#1 cleansing balm."

And when I asked on Instagram if anybody has tried both balms and how do they compare, here's what some folks said :

Cost

Yes, Aurora costs more than (some) mass-market alternatives. But when you break down the cost per use, consider the multi-functionality, and factor in the quality of ingredients, it's actually incredible value.

Aurora lasts months with daily use. It replaces multiple products in your routine. It's made with ingredients that actually benefit your skin rather than just getting the job done with the cheapest possible formula. When you purchase Aurora, you are supporting one specific family in Canada (Mine! And we're good people.) You are literally helping me pay to keep a roof on our heads (we need to re-shingle next year so let's gooo), braces for my kid ($8k and we don't have insurance yikes), groceries in my fridge and all the red peppers my little dog could want (and red peppers are expensive now!). You're not making one of the RICHEST families on the planet even richer. The Lauders do not care when you spend $100 with them, whereas that makes my whole day (and during those slow summer days, sometimes it makes my whole week). In this economy? We vote with our dollars. There's always a choice between supporting the 1%, or making the 99% just a little bit better.

Most importantly, Aurora works. You are not compromising on quality or function. And it works without irritating your skin, clogging your pores, or leaving you smelling like "rancid Crisco." Thank god! But I'd never have standards that low. Ever.

The Bottom Line

Clinique's Take the Day Off was discontinued in Canada for a reason. Companies don't discontinue their "#1 products" unless something's wrong. Maybe it was the complaints about the smell, the skin irritation, or the difficulty removing it. Who knows? I don't care enough to really dig around and find out why they did it. It was probably a financial decision since Canada is a small market compared to others, and Clinique simply does NOT care about Canadians. Whereas I. AM. CANADIAN. ;)

What I do know is that Aurora has been consistently improving skin and removing makeup for over a decade. It's made with love, crafted with the best ingredients I can source, and formulated to actually make your skin better with each use.

Your skin deserves better than safflower oil and synthetic fillers. It deserves the nourishing botanicals, the luxurious texture, and the multi-purpose functionality that Aurora provides.

Ready to upgrade your cleansing routine? Try Aurora and experience what thousands (well, maybe hundreds) of customers already know: often the best products come from the smallest companies.

P.S. - If you're not completely satisfied, I personally handle customer service. Try getting that level of care from a billion-dollar corporation.