How to remove party makeup gently, without rubbing

December is the month of drinks, dinners and parties. For many people that means a bit more makeup than usual: extra mascara, eyeliner, glitter on the eyelids or a lipstick that lasts all night. Fun to put on, but at the end of a long evening you just want it off quickly. That is often when you start rubbing. In this blog I explain how to remove party makeup gently, so your skin stays calm.

Why rubbing is not a good idea

The skin around your eyes is thin and delicate. If you rub hard with a cotton pad or a wipe, you pull at that skin every time. Your eyes can then feel irritated, and your lashes take a beating too. Long-lasting and waterproof makeup is made to stay put, so water and soap alone often do little. Rubbing harder is not the answer. Something that dissolves the makeup is.

Oil dissolves makeup

Makeup, and especially waterproof mascara and long-lasting lipstick, contains waxes and oils. An oil dissolves them easily. That is why an oil-based makeup remover works so well: you let the oil do the work, and then you only need to wipe or rinse gently.

Step by step: removing party makeup

1. Start with your eyes. Put a small amount of our Organic Make Up Remover on your fingertips and gently massage it over your eyelids and lashes.
2. Give waterproof makeup a moment. Hold the remover on the area for a few seconds, so it can dissolve the makeup.
3. Wipe it away gently with a damp cloth or a cotton pad. Pat and wipe, don't scrub.
4. Then do your lips and the rest of your face in the same way.
5. Cleanse your skin. After the makeup remover, use a mild cleanser to remove the last traces of makeup, dirt and oil. Rinse with lukewarm water and pat your face dry.
6. Finish with your evening care, such as a night cream.

Cleansing in two steps like this is also called double cleansing. On our page about double cleansing you can read more about it.

Glitter, mascara and lipstick

• Glitter. Don't try to scrape it off. Let the remover soak in first and wipe the glitter away gently with a damp cloth, in one direction, away from your eyes.
• Mascara. Hold a cotton pad with a little remover on your closed eye for a few seconds, then wipe gently downwards.
• Long-lasting lipstick. Massage a little remover onto your lips, wait a moment and wipe it off with a damp cloth.

What is in our Organic Make Up Remover

Our Organic Make Up Remover is a soft cleansing oil. It dissolves eye makeup and SPF, also waterproof makeup, without you having to rub. The skin around your eyes feels clean and cared for afterwards, not dry. You can even use it if you wear contact lenses.

It consists entirely of oils and plant extracts, without water. The first two ingredients are sweet almond oil and jojoba oil, which gently dissolve makeup and leave the skin soft. It also contains extracts of lavender and chamomile, among others.

Our Organic Purifying Cleanser is the second step. It removes face makeup, dirt and excess oil, but it is not meant for eye makeup. That is why I always start with the makeup remover.

And then the skin around your eyes

After a late night, the skin around your eyes can use a little extra care. Gently tap a very small amount of eye cream around your eyes with your ring finger, without pulling. You can read how to do that in my blog on eye cream.

In short

• Don't rub party makeup off: dissolve it.
• Oil dissolves mascara, eyeliner and long-lasting lipstick easily.
• Give waterproof makeup a few seconds before you wipe it away.
• Then cleanse your skin with a mild cleanser and rinse with lukewarm water.
• Finish with your evening care and a little eye cream.

Not sure what your skin needs? Our skin specialist gives free skin and product advice through the chat on our website.

Love,
Barbara Baars
Skin Specialist