Beauty is in the eye of the REMOVER!

I woke up this morning at 4:54am. What would cause such an early rise on a Saturday morning? Well after rubbing my left eye, I realized that I’d gone to bed without removing my makeup. And nothing feels quite as wonderful as rubbing twelve-hour old mascara into your eyeballs. Not to mention the effect it can have on your delicate eye skin. Not to mention the twelve eyelashes I probably lost in the process! And without those eyelashes I can’t bat my eyes at the cute neighbor in apt. 24. So! Removal of all makeup is crucial. Aside from protecting your sex appeal, makeup removal has many health benefits as well…especially at night.

Most of us may not even consider it, but your skin is the largest organ of your body. Apart from housing your internal organs, it protects the body, regulates body temperature and facilitates the sensation of touch. One of its most important functions takes place at night, while you sleep. Cell Regeneration or “turnover” is the process where fresh, new skin cells replace the old, dead skin. The purpose of regeneration is to replace your outer skin layer, the epidermis, which is turned over about every one to two months. Makeup that is left on over night can impede this process or worse, block pores, which can cause acne. It is especially important for the delicate skin around your eyes.

Your skin houses microscopic glands called, Sebaceous glands. Found nearly all over the body, these glands secrete oil and a waxy substance called Sebum, which is responsible for lubrication of the skin and hair. The delicate skin around your eye area is highly prone to dryness because it has very few Sebaceous Glands. Unlike the skin around other parts of your face and body, your delicate eye area is substantially thinner and doesn’t produce enough sebum to keep it moisturized at a healthy level. Along with pulling, rubbing and stretching, lack of Sebaceous glands is also attributed to fine lines and wrinkling around the eyes. So in short, for healthy skin and wrinkle-free eye skin, it is important to: get plenty of sleep, remove ALL makeup and keep your eye skin moisturized.



CONSENSUS
Of course to achieve perfect makeup removal, you need the perfect product. In my humble opinion, I happen to love Neutrogena’s Makeup Remover, cleansing towelettes. Pre-moistened, these beauties effectively dissolve ALL traces of dirt, oil and makeup. Even those pesky MAC, RuPaul-grade liquid liners that don’t want to budge. They leave your skin feeling clean with only a slightly faint, cleanser residue. Even though the package states that it’s unnecessary, a light rinse is recommended.

This product is also Alcohol Free, making it perfect for the sensitive eye area and contact lens wearers. But beware of supposedly “comparable” generic brands. Read the ingredients! I have found that most generic, CVS or grocery store brands that compare themselves to this product, contain Alcohol-Denat or SD Alcohol. Both are forms of Ethanol Alcohol, a denatured alcohol that is used in cosmetics. Not something I would advise using on your skin or eye area if possible. It won’t kill you buuuut I advise against it. We’ll revisit the family of Alcohols and their functions in cosmetics during future posts! Stay tuned!

One last note, a personal favorite about this product: if you happen to let the wipes dry out, I’ve found that you can re-moisten them with tap or any water of your choice. Provided they aren’t dry and a hundred million years old.

Brandywine...aged to perfection.

I am not a Rite Aid kind of girl. Maybe it’s the less than favorable, surly characters I tend to see more of in there? Or the line/cashier set up? That for some ungodly reason has each cashier positioned at a slant! SLANTED!! It baffles me…truly. Whatever the laundry list of complaints, I usually avoid the Rite Aide at all costs. For me, it’s late night CVS all the way.

However, this method of direction does not always prove to be accommodating. Say for instance when you run out of your vitally favorite, everyday use – Burt’s Bees Moisturizer! And because of some despicable humans, every retailer within a five-mile radius is completely OUT OF STOCK! Cheekbones are reaching new highs of critical dryness and suddenly you have no choice! No choice but to brave the slanted checkout line in search of relief. And this is why I recently found myself entering…a Rite Aid Zone.

Upon arrival the boy and I split up to divide and conquer as quickly as possible. Skimming through the aisles, I began to hear the soft symbol/bongo drum beginning of a song. Playing over the store speakers was Freedom 90, by George Michael. “At least there’s that,” I thought. And just as the piano started to call out, my sneakers whistled to an abrupt stop. There. In a lone aisle side caddy was the complete Wet n’Wild collection. A collection I thought had been forsaken! After not seeing it at Target or Wal-Mart for months, I had just assumed it didn’t exist anymore. But there it stood, somewhere deep in the San Fernando Valley, tall and proud in the back of a Rite Aid convenience store. 

My fingers glided through lipsticks past until settling on lip liners. “Thar she blooooooow,” I whispered aloud. Color Icon Lip Liner #666, or better known to some as, Brandywine. Now to fully appreciate the capacity and weight of the situation, I’d have to take you on a little trip. A trip down the halls of Santa Clara High School, back in the year good ol’ 1990-something. It was the era of Cindy Crawford and the birth of Supermodels. A heyday of big bangs, Bongo Jeans and Chola lip liner.

 After school we raided the aisles of Long’s Drug Store across the street. We stocked up on cool: Revlon lipsticks, Maybelline’s classic pink and green Great Lash Mascara, and of course Wet n’ Wild cosmetics. Some girls wore Revlon Super Lustrous Lipstick in Rum Raisin or Iced Mocha. EVERY girl wore Toast of New York. And Colorstay! At the time, any brand of Colorstay lipstick was the new phenomena. But no other product shared quite the same popularity as Wet n’Wild’s #666 Lip liner. Famous for its light brandy cast but ubiquitous for its unfortunate serial number, we all wore it. Alternative, Hip-hop, Grunge or Prep (as much as one could be in a uniform)—whomever the makeup bag belonged to—it was there.

So you can imagine my elation at its discovery. Like uncovering a split second time capsule belonging to a period that feels to over-the-shoulder to be so far behind. Waiting to checkout, I clutched the soft pencil in my hand. Thinking back, I saw myself with a lighter, firing up my Maybelline Expert Eyes eyeliner in brown. Ending a perfect line, the red pencil with gold writing, still warm in my hand. Chris Cornell crooning in the back round, something about it being, “ an all night thing.” I reached down for lip liner #666…and the rest is history.

I felt this was a good little tale for the beginning of this blog. I often discount certain little details that really end up being important signposts. Breadcrumbs from my past, assuring me that there is a master plan. I’m on my path and its constantly unfolding. Welcome to the journey.

CONSENSUS:

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Somehow I remember this lip liner as being somewhat more of a frosty purple? Maybe I’m just old now. It’s definitely a very Brandy-Winey color. A light enough hue to wear alone under lip balm (shown above) or under any red, blue-ish red or purple tones. It does have a slight golden shimmer to it, which is nice. The gold also makes it a choice color for a wide variety of skin tones. Personally I think it’s a fabulous color for white girls. Once sharpened and warmed up (over the back of your hand) it distributes evenly and has the glide of a soft crayon. Measuring out to a lengthy 6 inches, you’ll get a long ride out of this pencil. At .99 cents, you can’t beat the value.  Buy this bitch!