Eye Makeup Removal

During my Spring vacation last week, I was spending time with my friend's family and their two teenage daughters. Knowing that I'm a Makeup Artist, they had many questions to ask. One night, we were talking about removing eye Makeup. I was appalled to see how hard they were rubbing their eye Makeup off. At a young age, the effects of such pulling and tugging may not be apparent. However, once you are a little older, it's definitely not advisable to add more wrinkles to the eye area by stretching the skin there unnecessarily.

My favourite eye makeup remover is Sweet Almond Oil. It's available in most health food stores or supermarkets, at very reasonable prices.

So here's how I would do it:

1) Wet a cotton pad. Squeeze out the water, so that it is damp but not dripping wet.

2) Pour a little Sweet Almond Oil on the cotton pad. Fold the cotton pad once, press gently to mix the oil and water. Open the cotton pad again.

3) Upper eyelid: Wipe the cotton pad with Sweet Almond Oil from the inner eye corner to the outer eye corner. Repeat if necessary. Rotate the cotton pad so that you don't keep wiping with a part that's already dirty.

4) Undereye: Press the outer eye corner with your ring finger (gently!), use the other hand to wipe from the outer eye corner to the inner eye corner.

5) Mascara on eye lashes: Wipe from the roots to the tips, then sideways a few times until all mascara is gone.

The water in the cotton pad helps to remove the water-soluble Makeup, while the Sweet Almond Oil removes the oil-soluble Makeup. This method works well even if you are wearing waterproof mascara, except that it might take a few more wipes.

Use the other side of the cotton pad when necessary. Just add more Sweet Almond Oil on that side.

The Sweet Almond Oil nourishes your eye lashes and the skin around your eyes!

Note: Sweet Almond Oil is good for bedtime Makeup removal. If you are planning to re-apply Makeup immediately after the removal, then you should use an oil-free Makeup remover.

Michelle Wong

Vancouver Bridal Makeup Artist

www.michellemakeup.com