Removing Party Makeup

A first step…

If you get home from a night out and you're still in the mood for doing a full skincare routine then I'd recommend starting off by removing your make up with a product designed specifically to de-gunk your skin. I've been loving Gatineau's Floracil Gentle Eye Makeup Remover*, it's super effective at removing even waterproof eye makeup but it's still really gentle. I apply some product to a cotton pad, sweep it across my face until all my makeup is removed and then splash my face with warm water before using a cream cleanser. 

A one step wonder…

If you get home and you're not up to a full skincare routine but you can still be bothered to remove your makeup and cleanse your skin, this is when I'd recommend a one step wonder - a product that offers you a thorough yet gentle cleanse in just one step. My two current favourites are Liz Earle's Cleanse and Polish and Skin & Tonic's Steam Clean. When I use either of them, I apply the product to dry skin, massage it for a couple of minutes and then I remove it with a muslin cloth soaked in hot water. They're both very effective cleansers, and they leave you with clean, smooth skin. 

A bedside saviour...

If all else fails, and you stumble into the house after your night out on the town too tired or inebriated to be bothered to do your full skincare routine, then this is when face wipes really come in handy. I've been keeping a pack of Yes to Carrots Gentle Cleansing Wipes on my bedside table for any makeup-removing emergencies. They're not miracle workers but they're good for removing the bulk of your makeup as they're very moist.

LookFantastic October Beauty Box

After months and months (almost years!) of avoiding beauty boxes (the BritishBeautyBlogger Beauty Boxes excluded, because they have been fabulous) I seem to have purchased no fewer than three this month… I posted about my experience with YouBeauty's Discovery Box a couple of days ago and I still have an all natural box from LoveLula yet to arrive. However, today I'm going to share the October LookFantastic beauty box with you. LookFantastic launched their beauty box in September (which was a stunner) and having missed out on it I decided to give the October box a try.

This box features a nice array of products from some very nice brands. I'm already a big fan of KMS California, Balance Me and Korres and I'm very excited to try out products from Gatineau and This Works for the first time. I'm not as excited about the L'Oreal Professional haircare items but I will at least try the conditioning mask to see if I should keep it or pass it along to a friend.

The contents of the box:

Balance Me Facial Expression Filler (15ml)

Gatineau Collagene Expert Ultimate Smoothing Cream (15ml)

L'Oreal Profesional Pro Keratin Shampoo (100ml)

L'Oreal Professional Pro Keratin Conditioning Masque (75ml)

This Works Sleep Plus Pillow Spray (5ml)

KMS California Free Shape Quick Blow Dry Spray (75ml)

Korres Citrus Shower Gel (50ml)

I think that for £15 (including delivery) the product selection is very good. I like that there is a variety of skincare, haircare and body care products and that I will use everything or nearly everything in the box. My only gripe is that there are no make-up items included. I love trying out new make-up and beauty boxes are a particularly good way to discover new brands and products that you might otherwise never try. All in all, I'm very happy and I've actually pre-ordered November's box without any idea of the contents. I bought October's box knowing what was inside it so I've made a bit of a gamble. However, so far all of LookFantastic's beauty boxes have sold out incredibly quickly which means that if you're interested in trying their November beauty box then you too might want to consider pre-ordering (link here). 

What do you think about LookFantastic's October Beauty Box?