For a makeup lover, such as myself, makeup remover is a must-have essential part of my evening…and let’s face it, sometimes my morning…routine. I have never been in love with one particular makeup remover and usually found myself cycling through whatever was on sale when I needed to stock up. I just never found that any of them removed my makeup without tons of rubbing and reapplying.
In my quest for a natural cruelty-free makeup remover option, I started with coconut oil. This was great at removing even the toughest stay-all-day makeup, but I didn’t like the way it left the oily residue on my skin…even after a good cleanse. I especially didn’t like the residue if I was using it to fix an oops eyeliner moment…so I turned to my trusty book The Compassionate Chick’s Guide to DIY Beauty: 125 recipes for Vegan, Gluten-Free, Cruelty-Free Makeup, Skin and Hair Care Products by Sunny Subramanian. I absolutely love this book as a starting guide to DIY makeup and skincare.
Sunny’s easy DIY makeup remover is just two ingredients: Aloe Vera Gel and Jojoba Oil. Her recipe calls for 1 cup Aloe Vera Gel and 1/2 cup of Jojoba oil. I have tweaked it some to make it a bit thicker. I typically use 1 1/4 cups aloe vera gel and 1/4 jojoba oil…since I am not too crazy about oily residues as mentioned above. I store the remover in glass jars and keep one in the bathroom, one in my makeup room, and one in my gym bag. To apply, I dip a cotton ball, or q-tip depending on the purpose of the removal, and swipe over my face and eyes. I do find that a few go-rounds takes the bulk of the makeup off. No rubbing, no fuss. I like it because it is super gentle and I know, and can pronounce, all of the ingredients that are in the remover.
mascara & bourbon 