Marley’s Monsters Reusable Cotton Rounds: 10 Years Strong

Marley’s Monsters Facial Rounds (which are actually square-shaped and measure about 3 inches on all sides) are made from two-ply cotton flannel, sewn together by an overlock stitch along the sides. They can be used in the same way a cotton ball or round would be used, and they’re machine-washable.

These pads are sold in packs of 10 or 20, and they come in fun, appealing color and pattern options, from Earthy Rainbow and Vintage Oranges to Midnight Mosaic and Monochrome. For minimalists, they also come in toned-down hues (like Bare or Greys) or simply black and white.

After nearly a decade of use, these pads still feel nice and gentle on my skin. Even their hemmed edges register as soft. Unlike single-use pads made from raw cotton, these pads don’t tear apart or lose their shape. And that is handy when I am doing something that requires a bit of precision, like lifting away a small mascara smear or cleaning up an errant line of eyeliner. (In those situations, I often use the pad’s straight edge.)

In addition to fixing eye-makeup mistakes and removing particularly stubborn mascaras or liners at the end of the day, I use these rounds most often to apply or wipe off various skin-care liquids, such as exfoliant, toner, or micellar water. (I don’t use them to take off a full face of makeup. For that, I turn to a cleansing balm and, believe it or not, one of Wirecutter’s kitchen-towel picks: the Utopia Towels Kitchen Bar Mops, which, I’ve found, make terrific face cloths.)

I’ll often use one of these pads more than once before tossing it in the laundry. For example, in the morning, I’ll use a fresh one to apply exfoliant to my cleansed face and then place the pad inside my medicine cabinet. At night, I’ll take it out and use the other side for my second exfoliant application of the day.

Perhaps the only issue I’ve experienced with these reusable rounds is that they’re not as fast-absorbing as raw cotton. When I first started using Marley’s Monsters, it took me a few tries to figure out how much liquid I could dispense onto a pad without the product dribbling right off the surface.

Now that I’ve gotten the hang of that, I probably dispense a little less product onto the pad each time — which, I like to think, is saving me even a bit more money.

Marley’s Monsters is a woman-owned business based in Eugene, Oregon, that also proffers plastic-free kitchen, bath, baby, and cleaning supplies. I first discovered this company about eight years ago, after I moved to suburban New Jersey and found a zero-waste refillery nearby. In addition to selling package-free refills of numerous bath products, household cleaners, and the like, the store also features more-sustainable alternatives to everyday essentials. (It’s the place where I purchased my first set of silicone Stashers and where I still go for my favorite, plastic-free dental floss.)

One of the drawbacks to shopping for things with environmental impact in mind, I find, is that it can cost more. The organic version of something usually has a higher price tag than its non-organic counterpart. Eco-friendlier products may be made by small businesses that need to charge more to stay afloat. Sustainable materials can be more expensive than cheap plastic.

But standing in the refillery one day, I did some quick math and realized I could buy a stash of Marley’s Monsters Facial Rounds to replace my single-use cotton pads and recoup my investment in roughly a year.

A 100-count pack of cotton pads costs about $2 or $3. At the time, I was using at least two cotton pads a day to apply my liquid exfoliant morning and night. Sometimes, I’d wipe my face with micellar water in the mornings instead of doing a full cleansing, and that necessitated another pad. Taking off stubborn cosmetic products on the days I decided to wear makeup meant I needed even more.

Assuming I purchased eight 100-count packs of cotton pads in a year to account for all of this, that’s $16 to $21 annually. Instead, I could buy Marley’s Monsters Facial Rounds for about a buck a round and keep laundering and reusing them. I do laundry once a week, so by stocking up on 20 facial rounds for $20, I was pretty much covered.

The skinflint in me enthusiastically approved the purchase. The skin-care fanatic in me has happily endorsed that decision ever since. And while I haven’t tried or tested other reusable pads to compare them, Marley’s Monsters have surpassed my expectations for how sustainable and enjoyable a reusable pad can be.

Perhaps the biggest concern I had when I first bought Marley’s Monsters pads was that they’d start to look shabby before long. That has not been the case. Mine haven’t pilled, stretched, or frayed (those stitched edges really don’t budge). The colors are arguably just as vibrant as they were on the day I brought these pads home. They’ve also maintained their absorbency.

Each pad is handmade and can differ in size, so it’s difficult to gauge whether or not my 8-year-old rounds have shrunk at all. However, I compared several of my old pads to a brand-new set and found that the old ones may be an eighth-inch to a quarter-inch smaller, on average, which is a difference I can easily live with. They’re still larger than a typical single-use cotton pad, with plenty of surface area available for whatever task I need them to do.

I clean them by tossing them into a mesh laundry bag and running them in the washing machine along with my other delicates. When I take them out of the washer, I lay them flat atop a clean towel to allow them to air-dry (although the brand says you can toss them in the dryer).

Removing cotton balls from my bathroom is probably one of the most painless, seamless eco-choices I’ve made. It also satisfied the penny pincher in me without making things more difficult for the me who loves nothing more than to give my complexion a good pampering.

For me, these little rounds are the whole package.

This article was edited by Megan Beauchamp and Hannah Rimm.