Facial Care and Makeup, Part I

I have a hobby, people. I’m into makeup and facial care like there is no tomorrow. So I decided to share my knowledge of different products with my readers. For every pricier product, I will suggest a cheaper (or free) alternative because some of these products can be quite expensive.

1. Make-up removal is a very important thing to do. Please, people, never go to bed with your makeup on. It’s a horrible, horrible mistake. You can be sopping drunk or falling over with exhaustion but you should never forget to remove the makeup before sleeping, OK?

My favorite makeup cleanser is Bioderma Crealine H2o Ultra-mild Non-rinse Face and Eyes Cleanser. Mind you, it isn’t any Bioderma, it’s this specific one. A 500 ml bottle costs $27, which isn’t cheap. But it’s a very good, mild and, most importantly, effective. I tried many of those cleansers that come in the form of napkins, but they look like such a waste. And the napkins dry out soon, too.

When I don’t have money to buy the pricey Bioderma Crealine, I prefer not to buy any product at all. One can remove makeup with water, very easily and water is always good for one’s skin.

2. Facial masks are great. They offer one an excuse to relax in the bathroom and have a much needed break in a busy day. (I’m really not into this “How can I be expected to have time for myself” kind of vapid martyrdom, so please keep it out of the comment thread.) I have tried an endless number of masks and have discovered that the best mask ever is Clinique’s Turnaround 15-Minute Facial. A 2 ounce can costs $29, which is quite a lot. The good news is that you only need a small portion to create a mask, so the can lasts for quite a while.

Still, this is too expensive and many people can’t afford this mask. For such people, there is an alternative: Montagne Jeunesse masks. They are very good, there is a good variety of masks, and they only cost $1.99 each. Alternatively, one could make one’s own masks from different foodstuffs. My favorite is a sour-cream mask that only requires some  good (not fat-free, of course) sour cream to be applied to the face and kept on for 20 minutes.

Sometimes, however, even that is more than a person can afford. The important thing to remember, though, is that the central thing about facial masks is not what’s in them. They matter because they are applied while one is lying in a bath, in semi-darkness, and enjoys thoughts about one’s spectacular beauty. So as long as you can spend 20 minutes lying down, thinking happy thoughts and not rushing anywhere, you don’t really need to have anything on your face.

3. I have dry skin, so a moisturizer is crucial for me. I tried I can’t even tell you how many, including the insanely expensive La Mer (which I didn’t buy and would never consider buying because I’m not insane.)

The very very best moisturizing cream I could ever find was Olay Regenerist Micro-Sculpting Cream.  Everything they say about it in the commercial is absolutely true. It doesn’t last me very long because I use it at least twice a day, especially in winter. And it’s cheaper than almost everything else on the moisturizer market. What a wonderful product!

If you can’t afford it, you can still do many good things to moisturize. Don’t dry off your face after you wash it and let it dry on its own. (But don’t go outside in cold weather with a wet face, of course.) Never spend any time in direct sunlight without sunscreen. Wash your face with an ice cube at least three times a week. (This is a very good thing for everybody to try. If you do it in the morning, it also wakes you right up and gives you a beautiful natural blush. Highly recommended.)

A discussion of products that allow even the most clumsy people to create a beautiful smoky eye at home is coming in part two of this post.