Neglected Treasure

have you ever had a brand new product sitting in your bathroom that you never got around to trying? maybe you weren't very interested in it, or it wasn't too thrilling of a product, or you just plain forgot about it, but this product sits sadly untouched for a very long time. then when you finally try it, you end up LOVING it and could just kick yourself for not trying it sooner?

it was about a year ago now that i was at Sephora, shopping around and attempting to use up a $50 giftcard when i found that everything i'd picked out came to about $47 (yay for Oregon's greatest feature-- NO SALES TAX!). i was determined to use every penny on that giftcard but the only thing i could find at the right price was the Sephora FACE Waterproof Eye Makeup Remover To Go, $3. i didn't really need eye makeup remover seeing as how i'd been a longtime user of Clinique's Take the Day Off but i decided to pick it up anyways and keep it in my purse for any desperate makeup-removal-related situations. since that day it's been rumbling around in the pocket of said purse until recently when i did a purse cleaning and decided to take that cute little blue bottle out of hiding and give it a shot. why not atleast try it out once, right?

since the beginning of my waterproof makeup wearing days, i've been pretty consistently faithful to Clinique's Take the Day Off Makeup Remover for Lids, Lashes, and Lips, $16.50. i was always reasonably satisfied with this formula; it took difficult makeup off without a ton of tugging and scrubbing and the greasiness left behind was washed away easily with whatever cleanser i was using at the time. there was one occasion when i tried a drugstore brand of makeup remover (i'm almost sure it was Neutrogena) and it was so horrible and ineffective it sent me running back to Clinique! maybe this is why i wasn't in any hurry to try the Sephora remover, i'm not sure, but i'm certainly glad that i did!


much like Clinique's makeup remover, Sephora FACE Waterproof Eye Makeup Remover is a 'two phase' formula, meaning it has oil and water in it that will separate in the bottle and will need to be shaken up thoroughly before use. i prefer these two-phase makeup removers to the single phase versions (usually labeled 'non-oily') because they seem to work much better and are gentler on the delicate skin around your eyes. the moment of truth for the Sephora FACE Waterproof Eye Makeup Remover came when i needed to remove not only waterproof mascara but also a good deal of MAC's Blacktrack Fluidline gel eyeliner. i squirted a small amount of the remover onto a cotton pad (far superior to a cotton ball for makeup removal, the balls just soak up the product), pressed it onto my eye to give it a moment to loosen things up, and swept away. it was amazing! the Sephora remover completely melted all of the hard-to-remove eye makeup in mere seconds. there was no tugging or scrubbing necessary, and with a few gentle sweeps everything was removed. although i've had a long run with Clinique's Take The Day Off, i'm happy to say it's being replaced by Sephora FACE Waterproof Eye Makeup Remover. Sephora's formula worked better and took less time to get the job done, and the best part? for the exact same amount of makeup remover (4.2 oz), Sephora's regular size version is $10, clocking in at $6.50 cheaper than Clinique's! who doesn't like to save a few precious pennies where they can?

and just a little tip: when buying cotton pads to use for makeup removal, toners or astringents, try to steer clear of the ones that are square-shaped and sectioned ('quilted'). i found these to be utterly useless because as soon as they're moistened, they start to tear apart at the little seams! the round ones, however, have no sections and work wonderfully. i usually buy my cotton pads at Walgreen's, so here is a picture of the type to avoid that are sold there. meow!