Can a magic flannel take off all your make-up in one swipe?

LOOKING at my fully made-up face in the mirror and then down at the simple, fleecy cloth in my hand, I feel deeply sceptical. This pink microfibre cloth — called The Original MakeUp Eraser — is supposed to be able to remove all of your cosmetics with just a splash of warm water and a gentle scrub, no chemicals or cleansers at all.

But I have my doubts about whether it can replace my timeconsuming and expensive skincare routine. Despite being brought up on a no-nonsense regimen of soap and water, these days I rarely go anywhere without my fancy, premium-price facial cleanser and a generous supply of cotton pads.

Any attempt to speed up the process by using quick and easy face wipes results in dry skin or nasty breakouts.

So, can a quick wipe with a specially designed cloth do the job just as well? To put it to the test, I’ve spent the past 20 minutes creating the kind of heavy-duty, ultra-glamorous look that could make a Hollywood starlet seem bare-faced in comparison.

Applying primer, foundation, blush and highlighter, I topped it off with powder, before filling in my eyebrows and adding smoky eyeshadow and waterproof mascara, finishing with a heavyduty, high-gloss liquid lipstick.

I barely recognise myself — and feel convinced I’ve set the MakeUp Eraser up for failure as I drench it in warm water and swipe it across my face.

Incredibly, it appears to lap up the layers of colour from my skin with relative ease. Although my thick, black, waterproof mascara requires some vigorous rubbing, it eventually defeats that, too, leaving streaks of black smeared across its candy-pink fibres.

Job done — and the whole process took two to three minutes from start to finish.

Launched in the U.S. two years ago, MakeUp Eraser has now sold more than a million packs, winning fans worldwide — and I can see why. You can pick one up at Boots, Amazon or QVC, and it’s also in stock at trendy beauty emporium sephora.com.

So, how does it work? Well, the science is relatively simple. The cloth is made from knitted polyester fibre, each strand finer than human hair.

Because the fibres are so tiny, as you wipe thousands of them across your face, each one breaks the surface tension of the tiny particles of oils that bond makeup products to your skin.

This loosens them up, allowing for quick removal with a gentle rub and some warm water.

The MakeUp Eraser is suitable for all skin types, even the most sensitive and blemish-prone, and its makers — three generations of women from the same family — point out that it’s so gentle, it won’t irritate your skin. With more of us ditching harsh chemicals in favour of natural ingredients, it’s easy to see the product’s appeal. The reverse side of the cloth has longer fibres, made to gently exfoliate and cleanse the pores — so you might want to ditch your usual face scrub, too. Each cloth is machine washable up to 1,000 times, meaning it will last for years — and cost far less than any cleanser over that time period. So, will I be ditching my current cleansing regimen? As an ultimate test of the cloth’s effectiveness, I give my face a final once-over with cotton pads soaked in my expensive liquid cleanser, to see if it can lift off any more grime. Aside from the faintest smudge of black on one pad, they remain spotless. The delicate skin around my eyes does look a bit red after all the scrubbing, though, which, for me, was the only slight drawback. Overall, I’m a convert to the cloth. It not only works — if you still don’t believe it, read some of the rave online reviews — it’s also a handy way to save money. I won’t be topping up my makeup remover any time soon. BUy the MakeUp Eraser at amazon.co.uk for £13.98