Makeup Removers

So I think I'm wearing too much makeup. I gave an "I'm home" nuzzle to one of my cats and turned her white fur beige! She was actually pretty patient with my attempts to clean her fur until I tried the pet shampoo and she got drenched in water. My husband opened the bathroom door to find me doubled over in laughter and a bedraggled, humiliated cat standing on my back. She eventually dried herself off but I felt pretty bad about it. At least she trusted me for the most part throughout the process. Believe it or not this segues really well into what I wanted to talk about today: makeup remover!

I've got two really good recommendations for makeup remover (sadly none for cats.)

Sonia Kashuk makes a really great eye makeup remover. It retails for about $10 and you can find it at Target. It's a bottle of liquid that you shake to mix the ingredients right before applying. It's very gentle and removes makeup very quickly with very little rubbing. It leaves behind an oily residue but you just rinse it off with water. I've found this stuff is really useful for correcting mistakes when my hand slips while applying eyeliner. It's a great product and a fair price given how long the product will last. It's not leaping bunny approved but is cruelty free and not sold in China.

I don't wear nail polish a whole lot (although I'd like to start wearing it more.) There's nothing more irritating than rubbing your nails in smelly chemicals that take forever to work. Nail polish remover is tricky because many of them contain gelatin which is a cruelty free no-no (gelatin is made of animal by-products.) I previously used a gelatin-free Sally Hansen type pump remover that smelled, well, like nail polish remover. When I went to re-purchase last year I couldn't find it at my drugstore so ended up purchasing CVS store brand eco-friendly remover. I don't know how eco-friendly it really was because the chemicals smelled worse than regular remover and gave me a serious headache. I forget where I first heard about Zoya remove +. Maybe a magazine review? Anyway, I found a small trial size bottle at Ulta and thought I'd give it a shot. So glad I did! First off, the smell is so much better. It's not overpowering at all. It works amazingly! Polish that's been set on my nails for days just wipes off like it's nothing. I seriously never thought a remover could do that. It's supposed to also condition your nails and prep for a base coat although I've never tried using it for that purpose. This year I'd like to try out some Zoya nail polish too. They have an insane number of colors available on their website. They are cruelty free as well of course.