Thursday, November 1, 2012

DIY Makeup Remover: Only One Ingredient!!!

Ok, I know you're dying to hear what I used as a natural, non-toxic makeup remover, but I need to give you the story that led up to the discovery, so that you can understand just why I'm so excited about it!  Bear with me.

It'll be worth it, I promise!

My original plan for Halloween was to dress up as a steampunk robot.  I mean, how cool is that?!  A friend of mine gave me the idea, and I got to work.

Unfortunately, I ran into a few small problems... like not knowing the first thing about how to use spray paint.

Note to self: Several layers of spray paint,
rather than one  mega-layer.  Hmmm...


After a while I got the hang of it, but I spent so much time trying to figure that out while hitting appliance shops for broken equipment that I could use, that I ended up not having enough time to complete the costume.

Naturally, I ran to the basement and pulled the first old costume that I could find out of a box.  

It was a long black dress with silver webbing designs throughout.  I brought it upstairs so that my daughter could see it, and asked,

"What kind of costume can I make using this?"

She thought about it for a few seconds, then came up with an answer that satisfied her.

"Webgirl."

Hmmm...

I had to think about that for a while.  Finally, though, I came up with a makeup idea.

dark black shading around the eyes, with spider webbing coursing up to the top left and right sides of my forehead.


Is it just me, or do I look rather... ummm... 

Like an axe murderer who dipped her hands in black paint, then rubbed her eyes?

Anyway, the makeup stayed on very well for the entire evening.

A little too well.  Soap and water didn't work, 

black makeup remaining in patches around my eyes.  Especially at the eyebrows.
Forget that first photo... THIS should have been my costume!
Absolutely terrifying!!!


and I really, really wanted to get that stuff off.  The problem?  I don't wear makeup, so 

I don't own makeup remover!!!

Oh, dear.

After a temporary panic I finally had the presence of mind to look for an answer to this dilemma.  I hit Google and started my search.

You find a lot of crazy stuff on Google.  

Indeed, one makeup removal recipe had no less than eight ingredients.  Eight!!!  Of course, that recipe had way too many unnatural ingredients, and I didn't feel it was worth my panic-stricken time.

But then I found the description for a post from ModernMom.  Stefanie Kushner was my hero last night.  She wrote two words that made my pulse rate drop back to normal, and caused me to heave a huge sigh of relief.  What were those two words?


Normally, I'm not a big fan of olive oil for skin products.  It has a tendency to clog pores, and it shines.  Since I don't want to shimmer like a fairy (no matter how much I love those little sprites), I avoid it like the plague.

But I was desperate.  

I had been attempting to wash that makeup mess off of my face for almost thirty minutes, and hadn't gotten rid of it all.  Part of the problem is that since I rarely touch makeup, I'm bad at removing it.  The other problem, though, is that most of the makeup I use is stage makeup.  That stuff is made to last...  and last... and... you get the point.

Ugh.

I grabbed my olive oil and a soft washcloth, and crossed my fingers.  The result?

Face totally devoid of even a hint of makeup

Less than 2 minutes later, it was gone.  Sure, my face was a little shiny, but the makeup was completely removed, and all it took was an itty bitty bit of olive oil.  Talk about a makeup remover worth knowing about!!!

One ingredient.  All natural.  Green.

Life doesn't get much more simple than this! So, for those of you that do use makeup frequently, always keep olive oil in your kitchen cupboard.  You never know when it'll have to double as a makeup remover! 

2 comments:

  1. What has happened to you not happens all the time. The reason may be the incompatibility of your skin type with your beauty products or the poor and rusted quality of your removers.

    makeup remover and cleanser

    ReplyDelete
  2. No, David... I think the problem has to do with the fact that I don't *own* any. Olive oil, on the other hand, is a great solution to this!

    ReplyDelete