Cleansing Waters, for when you’re feeling extra lazy
I love my nightly facial care routine. I wash, sometimes mask/and or exfoliate, pat dry, tone, gently apply my night/eye/lip cream in an upwards motion and voila! Lately, however extra-long work days and the upheavals of raising kids have left me wondering “what if I just skip the face washing…just tonight?” I’ve thought it but never done it as a little voice in my head says, “don’t give in to the gateway drug of sleeping with your makeup on, you say it will just happen just once but before you know it you’re staring at pockmarks from the chronic inflammation and gangrene infections and deformities caused by neglect.” So, I schlep myself to the sink and wash begrudgingly hoping for a shortcut.
I think I’ve found it, Micellar Cleansing Waters. These Euro imports have been having quite a moment, littering the shelves of drugstores and specialty skincare stores with their refreshing names, translucent, pastel colors and marketing that conjures up visions of purity and freshness. So, without getting into the science behind the waters they basically contain microscopic agents that are attracted to dirt and oil and subsequently whisk them away with every swipe. They work, to a certain extent; heavy makeup anchored on with primer won’t really budge and I have yet to find a brand that doesn’t leave a strange, sticky residue that I have to chase off with water (taking off my water with water…hmmm?) I guess it’s a good middle ground; akin to eating conventionally grown produce, what’s worse, eating tons of pesticide sprayed veggies or not eating them at all? It kind of like that, it won’t replace good old fashioned manual cleansing but in a pinch…by all means.
