cleanse makeup vs. clean makeup

[Sweetpumpkin]

I wrote a sentence, 'Cleansing makeup is more important than putting it on'. A native speaker read it and changed 'cleansing makeup is~' to 'cleaning makeup off is~'. I asked why, and he said it's just awkward. I used 'cleanse', because there are cosmetic products like cleansing cream, cleansing oil, cleansing tissues, etc. I looked up some dictionaries, but I don't know why 'cleansing makeup(or to cleanse makeup)' is not possible. Would you tell me why 'clean off' is used in that sentence instead of cleanse?

Thank you in advance!

[Mister Micawber]

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You are not cleansing the makeup-- you are cleansing your face of the makeup. So you could write:

Cleansing one's face of makeup is more important than putting it on.

What the native speaker gave you is a more colloquial version: cleansing one's face of makeup = cleaning makeup off.
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Native English teacher at Mister Micawber's

[Lost_Soul]

Hi, MM

Can we say cleaning one's face of makeup together with cleansing one's face of makeup?
If we can, then I take it that cleanse is more formal than clean, isn't it?

Thank you in advance.

[Mister Micawber]

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Yes, I think you're right. 'Cleansing' mostly appears on bottles of product.
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Native English teacher at Mister Micawber's

[Sweetpumpkin]

Thank you! Your answers were really good and helpful.

[NinaZara]

Hi sweety,

You can also say "Taking off your make-up is more important than putting it on".

In fact, the cornerstone of beautiful healthy skin is a strict and correct cleansing regiment.

Nina

[Sweetpumpkin]

Thank you for good expression, Nina! As you said, I try to take off my make-up for healty skin as soon as I get home from work!

[Mister Micawber]

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...but 'regimen', not 'regiment'!
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Native English teacher at Mister Micawber's

[NinaZara]

Yes, sir!

Funny, I was so confident when I wrote that. Thanks!