The cosmetics world is plentiful with makeup removers. Every cosmetics company produces at least a few. Cold cream, eye makeup removers, makeup wipes... The list goes on. However, the big question is whether or not they work... And sometimes they don't. ... Even after some heavy duty scrubbing.
If you've never heard of a cleansing oil, let me just take this chance to tell you how great they are. My current product of choice is Shu Uemura's High Performance Balancing Cleansing Oil Fresh, better known as "the pink one".
Unfortunately, while cleansing oils are a staple of Asian cosmetics, they're pretty hard to find from companies here in the States (although, they are starting to pick up a little). And while there are other brands that offer a cleansing oil (like Lancôme, MAC, and Boscia), Shu Uemura's cleansing oils are the only ones that I know of that cater to different skin types.
Also, if you haven't noticed yet, cleansing oils are not cheap (they start at $20). Luckily, for those of us who are on the lookout for more economical options, Lumene offers a decent cleansing oil for around $10. However, like most of the other brands, it just offers the one formula.
When I first encountered cleansing oils at my local department store, I was hesitant to use them. I have oily, acne-prone skin, so I avoided anything with the word "oil" in it like the plague. I soon came to find that cleansing oils were different. They weren't something that I needed to shy away from. In fact, for someone who wears heavy duty makeup (when I do wear makeup), it was actually a godsend.
Let me tell you a little bit about how cleansing oils work. As we oily-skin gals already know, oil will melt and break down makeup. Because of this reason, most makeup removers are oil-based. Cleansing oils, however, go a step beyond normal makeup removers. Cleansing oils are formulated to react with water, which allows them to double as a facial cleanser. The oil emulsifies when water is added, like a detergent (depending on the formula, some oils may even foam or lather), which allows it to be rinsed clean off your face with no oily residue left behind.
That said, meet Ms. Makeup:
I applied MAC Studio Finish Concealer in NC30, Revlon ColorStay Eyeliner in Black, CoverGirl LashBlast Waterproof Mascara in Very Black, CoverGirl Eye Enhancers 4-kit Eyeshadows in Tropical Fusion (turquoise shade), Stila Convertible Color (on the "cheeks") in Petunia, Revlon ColorStay Lipliner in Red, and Shu Uemura Unlimited Lipstick in Red 190. Basically, I chose products that I thought were some of the most difficult to remove completely. To finish it off, I set everything with a little bit of powder, so that any remaining moisture from the makeup wouldn't assist in its own removal.
I decided to remove half of Ms. Makeup's face with some Neutrogena Oil-Free Eye Makeup Remover (probably one of the better drugstore eye makeup removers).
As you can see, it did a pretty good job... But that's not to say that it didn't require some effort. It took me a good several scrubs to get every last bit off, especially the waterproof mascara. If it were my eyelids that I was doing this on instead of the back of my hand, I'm sure my skin would be nice and raw at this point. And, on top of that, I'd have to put it through another step of washing to get rid of the oily residue left behind (even though the makeup remover claims to be "oil-free").
For the remainder of Ms. Makeup's face, I applied some of my Shu Uemura cleansing oil.
For a full face, Shu Uemura recommends 3-4 squirts. However, I find about 2 squirts to be sufficient and more economical (FYI, though, you will need enough to be able to break down and rinse away the makeup thoroughly).
Remember, you have to apply cleansing oil to dry skin. Since the oil emulsifies with water, using it on a wet face will pretty much make it ineffective.
When you work the oil into your face, you don't need to scrub hard. Gently massage the oil into your face, concentrating especially on the hard-to-remove bits (like the waterproof mascara). Once you've worked the oil in sufficiently, add a little bit of water and continue to massage.
Once water is added, the oil will emulsify. As you can see, this particular formula just becomes a little creamy (as I mentioned before, some will actually lather up like a soap). Work it through again until you get all the oil, and then rinse.
And voilà! You're done.
The best thing about cleansing oils is that, unlike other makeup removers, you can get rid of your makeup and have a nice, clean face, all in one step. And, unlike other facial cleansers, cleansing oils don't leave your skin feeling tight and dry. As such, once you rinse off the oil, there is no need for any additional cleansing. You can just move onto the rest of your skin care routine. Congratulations! You just saved yourself some extra time (and your skin from being horribly irritated from all the wiping and extra washing).
And so concludes my first "Makeup Tip Week" series. It really was a challenge for me to be able to finish out the week, and I'm glad I decided to take it on. I don't know how useful these tips were for most of you reading this. I can only hope that at least one of the posts was able to help someone out there. And, really, that's all that I can ask for.
Hope you all had a good week! I know I did. :-)
Enjoy your weekend!
OTHER TIPS
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