Pick Your Preference: Makeup Removers

Taking off your makeup, spf, and/or the grime of the day every night is essential and the most important step at maintaining a healthy skincare routine. Sleeping in makeup or spf is a no-no; because overnight it will do more damage and overtime, your skin will only progress in showing your naughty habits. 

There are so many different ways you can remove your makeup completely before getting into the rest of your routine: balms, oils, gels, lotions, waters...SO MANY to choose, you have no excuses to be lazy and not take care of your skin properly. I wanted to talk about some of my favorites, with a few notable mentions (these are w/out photos because: I have run out of product and/or mindlessly forgot to snap a photo whilst posting this)

I'll start with the notable mentions first:

Clinique 'Take The Day Off Cleansing Balm': A favorite amongst all of us beauty bloggers & obsessives, this no-fragrance balm is absolutely a stand-out amongst other cleansing balms out there that do the same thing (still enjoy using my Emma Hardie one though from time to time). This gets off every last bit of makeup and is very gentle for the eye area. It's a very simple, plain formula but it does exactly what it saids on the tin with no fuss. And the price point doesn't break the bank, either.

Clarins 'Extra-Comfort Cleansing Cream': I quietly weep at my keyboard as I type this...because this product has been discontinued by the brand. Well, let me correct myself, the version I have, the one that comes in the big jar, has been discontinued, and since Clarins revamped the formulation by adding 'Anti-Pollution' in the title. I've read more disappointing reviews on the new one, which is why I will not go & try it once I run out of this one. I'm going to try and savior this one till the very last drop. Ok, onto why I love it so much.

It's a very thick cream, you scoop a bit from the jar, rub your hands together for a moment to warm it up to melt it, then gently press the product onto your face & lift, continue to do this about 4-6 times, & the cream lifts all the makeup & grime from the day right off the face; wipe off with a damp, hot cloth & it reveals soft, clean skin. It is such a wonderful product, its a shame Clarins thought the need to change it; whats that saying...why fix something if it ain't broke?

L'Oreal 'Clean Artiste Eye Makeup Remover': I'll start by saying that there are 2 versions of this eye-remover, one is oil-free (blue bottle) & one is not (green bottle pictured at the top of this post). Before purchase, I read reviews of both & the non-oil free version had the best reviews; the oil-free came in with so-so reviews, with people saying that the oil-free one was not best for sensitive eyes because it would irritate/sting the area. I can't personally say that it does because I haven't tried that one but, I'd rather be safe than sorry. The version I do have does not irritate my eyes at all though, it does leave behind a bit of an oily residue so, oily lids beware. 

I love this eye-makeup remover because no matter how heavy you you doll up your eyes, this doesn't leave a speck of eye makeup behind. I shake it up (dual-phase formula), pour some onto a cotton pad, gently press onto my eyes (closed of course) for a few seconds then swipe down. I do this a about 2-3 times max, just to make sure I got every last bit. For $6.99, & the constant deals & coupons going on at Ulta, I almost never pay for the full price of this product.

Now onto the ones I did manage to get photos of...

Vichy 'Calming Cleansing Micellar Solution': This is a great micellar water to remove lighter makeup (tinted moisturizers, bb creams, etc), & up to medium eye makeup. Super gentle & very hydrating, also the most affordable micellar water on this list at $17. It's been a past repurchase for me as well many times over. I also have an unpopular opinion but, I do think that this removes eye makeup better than everyone's beloved Bioderma. Speaking of Bioderma...

Bioderma 'Sensible Make-up Removing Micelle Solution': This has also been a past repurchase for a while. The bottle pictured I haven't opened yet because I wanted to give other micellar waters a shot (Vichy, Institute Esthederm) before returning to this beauty-cult staple. I'm not going to talk too much about this since you can find so many reviews, articles  & videos on it but, its now readily available for U.S. purchase at Beautylish. I'm tempted to try the Hydrabio H20 thats also newly available for purchase at Beautylish here ....tempting, very tempting.

Institut Esthederm 'Osmoclean Osmopure Face and Eyes Cleansing Water': The last micellar water on the list is another great one, especially for summer. It feels so cool, fresh, & hydrating on the skin and is just as spectacular as the others at removing traces of impurities & makeup, gentle on the eyes as well. This one is more higher up in price & harder to find in the U.S. but, I'll post a link here to where you can purchase.

Bobbi Brown 'Lathering Tube Soap': Kind of a weird name for a great product. I already posted about this remover here, so I will leave it at that & read at your will!

La Roche-Posay 'Physiological Cleansing Gel': This is a new cleanser I threw into my routine only for about a week now, but I thought it deserved a mention. I love the LPR brand through & through, it was the brand that got me into taking care of myself and my skin, properly. I owe La Roche-Posay a lot, so thats why you will see every few posts or so me mention them. Getting back to the product at hand...I have been using & loving this one product to remove all of makeup, including eyes. No cotton pads to waste with this one, just a damp, hot cloth & off it goes! Its so easy, gentle, & never wasteful. You get your bang for your buck with this one, & this will be saving me money on having to buy cotton pads every month. 

I did hear through the grapevine that La Roche-Posay is discontinuing this cleanser (please correct me if I'm wrong!), if thats the case, I'll need to stock up on this ASAP! Why do brands keep discontinuing the best products?! Arg, its so very frustrating!

What are your favorite makeup-removers? Let me know! 

Skincare Routine: Night

Sorry for the delay on this post, finally found the time to sit down & type this baby up.

Get your tea ready folks, this will be lengthy one…

Pre-Cleanse: Again, with the pre-cleansing. Like I said in the last post, for my pre-cleansing I stick to micellar waters because more times than not, they are gentle enough for all skin types, even sensitive. My choice of micellar waters change now & again, but for nighttime use I love using Bioderma at the end of the day because it removes EVERYTHING, & isn’t that the point? ;)

Cleanse: I have been loving cleansing balms. I was late to the game of balms, but its better late than never, right? Best switch I ever made to be honest. My favorite cleanser of all time (too bold?!) is the Emma Hardie Amazing Face Moringa Cleansing Balm. I can literally just go on about how much I love this cleanser but, I’ll save that for another day with another post (& also because I just ran out & am going to try something new…I will switch back to it in time…). 

At the moment I am using the Clinique Take The Day Off Cleansing Balm. I am still trying to get used to the non-lux feel of this particular one; & unlike the Emma Hardie one, there is no fragrance (which is great for a lot of sensitive skin types). I can’t give a good review of this particular one just yet, considering I just starting breaking this in less than a week ago but, fingers crossed this can be a cheaper & viable replacement of my beloved moringa one.

Toner: Again, I go back to using the Body Shop’s Vitamin E Hydrating Toner.

Treatment (if needed): If I need to put a halt on a breakout(s), my current treatment that I reach for is Dermalogica’s  Clear Start Breakout Clearing Overnight Treatment. Now, from my personal use of this product (it has been some months now), the title is misleading. For me, this doesn’t help clear my spots overnight but, it does help clear my spots in a few days time. I don’t get severe acne, more times than any it’s always hormonal, regardless this still does the trick. There is no burning or redness either, which I have experienced with almost all other acne treatments. And, it’s also quite affordable at $19, with a little going a long way so this will last those people who have the occasional breakout a very long time.

Eyecare: Like the morning, I use two different eye creams at night. One that you read in my morning skincare routine, the Boots Hydrating Eye Cream, I use the same way as I do in the morning, around the contours of my eye. For under eye treatment, I am currently using the Body Shop’s Vitamin E Eye Cream. It claims to help reduce the appearance of dark circles, fine lines, puffiness, etc. NOTE: I do not have heavy dark circles or puffiness so, I am unsure how this would work on those that do. For me, it shows with time but, I haven’t seen a complete disappearing act of the dark circles just yet. Though in the morning, my under eye area is so soft, hydrated, & smooth. The price point on this is pretty good as well; a plus is that there are usually great sales always happening either on The Body Shop’s website (& in-store) or Ulta’s website (& in-store) so always look out for those if you can.

Serum: Serums have been tricky with me; I can never tell if its actually helping or doing nothing to my skin, all I know is that I love Vichy’s Idéalia Life Serum. It’s supposed to improve skin pigmentation & give a more youthful appearance. Now, at 26 years old, I don’t know if I actually need to be looking more youthful than I already do, yet, in some way, over time (on my third bottle of this stuff) it has shown to improve my skin discolorations due to old acne scars. It has taken a lot longer than 8 days (another claim by Vichy) to see any kind of dramatic difference, so that claim also tends to be a bit misleading (personal opinion). Patience is a necessity when it comes to noticing a difference when using any kind of skincare product, & my patience is slowly starting to show and pay off, which makes me appreciate this product even more.

Oil: Oil is another new thing that I have let sneak into my skincare routine. With my combination skin, I never thought oil can help oil but, apparently it does just that. By the recommendation of another beauty blogger, Jess [who runs the amazing blog called Making It Up, check it out here], I decided to pick up & try my first oil by Clarins, with their Lotus Face Treatment Oil. Like the Clinique balm, I have not been using this for a long time so I can not say much about this yet; patience & time shall only tell. I love mixing this & my nighttime moisturizer together & have high hopes of letting more oils into my skincare routines in the future.

Moisturizer: I surprised myself at how much I actually really love this particular moisturizer but, than again, it is by my beloved Clarins. I use their Multi-Active Night Youth Recovery Cream for Normal to Combination Skin. This is yet another anti-aging product, though these have seemed to work best for my skin. It has medium consistency, & even when mixed with the oil, my face never looks or feels like an oily mess. It takes a few minutes to sink in, & when it does, my skin feels hydrated, comforted, & soft. When I wake up in the morning, my skin does look more radiant & awake like I got a good 8 hours of sleep in (even on those days where I don’t!). I am on my second pot of this baby, & this is a moisturizer that I will always have on hand.

I also exfoliate usually about twice a week, where I switch up products and/or the order that I use these products above in. I will make a separate post coming next with all that info.

Where to Purchase Products Mentioned In This Post...

• Bioderma Crealine Micellar Water , $35 (500ml) or $28 (250ml)
• Emma Hardie Moringa Cleansing Balm , $55 (100ml)
• Clinique Take The Day Off Cleansing Balm , $28.50
• The Body Shop's Vitamin E Hydrating Toner , $13
• Dermalogica Clear Start Breakout Clearing Overnight Treatment , $19
• The Body Shop's Vitamin E Eye Cream , $18
• Boots Beautiful Skin Rich Hydrating Eye Cream , $14.99 (currently on-sale at ULTA for $12.74)
• Vichy Idéalia Life Serum , $39
• Clarins Lotus Face Treatment Oil , $52
• Clarins Multi-Active Youth Recovery Cream , $62

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Skincare Routine: Morning

My morning skincare routine doesn’t vary quite often but, just the same I rotate out products once I use them up unless I see a significant difference, which in that case I would repurchase certain items here & there.

First things first…

Pre-Cleanse: I have been getting into the habit of pre-cleansing; which essentially is just a prep-cleanse before my actual cleanser. I am not saying that you NEED to pre-cleanse but, it helps along in the process of being able to help the skin get rid of dirt & impurities. My pre-cleanse cleanser (for nighttime as well) is & has been a micellar solution. For the morning, my pre-cleanse is Vichy’s 3-in-1 Micellar Cleansing Solution. From what I have seen, majority of micellar cleansers are great for sensitive skin types & have become a staple in the beauty world when it comes to the best kind of makeup-removers. I use this one by Vichy by soaking a cotton pad & gently swiping it across the face, which lifts up all dirt & impurities (your face does get dirty while you sleep!), which reveals a soft, clean complexion. I also find this particular one the best eye-makeup remover (better than Bioderma even, gasp!). After the prep is done, I get down to where the real action begins with my skincare.

Cleanser: I like using milk cleansers in the morning & in general; milk cleansers never dry out my face (unlike gel & foam). I find them to be relatively gentle as well, while leaving my skin clean, soft, and hydrated most importantly. This cleanser will vary every once in a while, unless I absolutely LOVE the cleanser I am using, such is the case with the Clarins Gentle Cleansing Milk w/Alpine Herbs, for Normal or Dry Skin. I put a little bit in the palm of my hand and put a little water into it, and massage it over my face, eyes, and neck, than proceed to take it off with a dampen a muslin cloth (flannel or wash cloth). For me, this is very gentle on my sensitive eyes (it may not be for the extremely sensitive though) and very calming on my skin in general.  I have come to have a bit of a love affair with Clarins over the last few months (a wonderful one at that!).

Toner: Toner’s and I have this love/hate relationship, so I don’t usually use them every single day but if I do, I spray it on rather than wiping it all across my face (I will get into that with my nighttime routine). The one that I love to spirtz on is by The Body Shop from their Vitamin E line. This is a great shot of hydration in the morning, absolutely love it. It has a very light scent that’s calming as it is pleasant. This line will pop up again within my routines.

Eyecare: I like to use two different products for eyecare in the morning. Firstly is Clarins Eye Contour Gel, which refreshes and cools my sensitive, tired under-eye area in the morning; it awakens those babies up! I personally love using eye gels in the morning because I find them to be more beneficial but, thats just a point of preference rather than any kind of skincare rule. The only thing that I don’t like about this particular eye gel is the packaging. The little tube just seems to sometimes have a mind of its own and the product comes out without me having to lightly squeeze the tube…which in turn starts to waste the product…which in turn makes me sad. I have the same problem with another Clarins product because its in the same kind of tube, grr. 

Getting over that…

The second eyecare that I use is by Boots, the Beautiful Skin Rich Hydrating Eye Cream for my     eye contour & right under my brow bone; areas where dryness occurs. This is great in hydrating and moisturizing that area perfectly; no other extra benefits with this one, does what it saids on the tube & the price point is pretty spectacular as well.

Serum: For serum, I go back to the Body Shop’s Vitamin E line with their moisture serum. I always need that extra boost of moisture to combat the dryness that my combination skin has. This serum is so light and soothing when applied to the skin & you just need a little bit for all day hydration. 

Moisturizer: I switch off between two moisturizers, depending on the kind of day. For more of an everyday (school, work, errands, etc) I like to use the Clarins Multi-Active Day Early Wrinkle Correction Cream. Now, I don't necessarily  need to worry about wrinkles just yet, regardless, this is still a great day moisturizer suitable for all skin types. No oily residue, no neglect of moisture, just a perfect pot of everything in one. When I know I will be away from home all day, I switch it with the Embryolisse Lait-Crème Concentré. I also use this as a makeup primer, and the makeup stays in place ALL.DAY.LONG. Probably the best 2-in-1 because you get the hydration from the creme as well as your makeup looking fabulous all day long. LOVE this multi-tasker!!

Next post…Nighttime Skincare!

That post will be even longer so make sure you grab a cup of tea beforehand…


Where To Purchase Products Mentioned In This Post...

• Vichy's Pureté 3-in-1 Cleansing Solution , $17
• Clarins Gentle Cleansing Milk w/Alpine Herbs , $31
• The Body Shop Vitamin E Hydrating Toner , $13
• Clarins Eye Contour Gel , $36
• Boots No7 Beautiful Skin Rich Hydrating Eye Cream, $14.99 (currently on sale at Ulta!)
• The Body Shop Vitamin E Moisture Serum , $21
• Clarins Multi-Active Day Early Wrinkle Correction Cream , $59
• Embryolisse Lait-Crème Concentré , $16 (1oz) & $28 (2.54 oz)

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