Drugstore Cowgirls

Day 26: Drugstore Greats!
by MUA's Cavewoman

For as long as I can remember, I'd never used any other eye makeup remover other than Almay Non-Oily Eyemakeup Remover Pads. They were superb. There was no reason to even look anywhere else. I'd be receiving those little gift with purchase bottles from Clinique or Lancome and I'd promptly toss them into the "makeupalley swap extras" box and never even tried them. Almay pads were the ne plus ultra. It is a rare and wonderful thing to find a product that works so well that you just don't even have any interest in trying anything else.

Until THAT DAY. The day when the product you've known and loved seems a bit different, something's off, something's wrong! What happened? Reformulation. A company takes over another company. Somebody somewhere along the line decides that in order to be productive today, he or she should mess with something they already have in the product line. And then that day comes when you re-purchase that beloved product and it's just not the same as it always was. That's what happened with Almay, and that had me searching for a suitable substitute. I wasn't happy.

At the drugstore there are plenty of little bottles of makeup remover and a few pad-type jars to choose from, but I wasn't finding anything that worked as well as the old Almay. Then I found these two products, and purchased them to give them a try. I was almost ready to give up and just hit the department store counters (which means spendy-time, usually.) I'm happy to report two excellent eye makeup removers that you can find at the drugstore (check out the weekly sales on blogdorf on Sundays!) that are great finds!

Wet N Wild is the notoriously cheap makeup line that actually has plenty of really nice products. For just a few bucks, you can fill up your makeup bag or vanity table and have some inexpensive fun. I was surprised to see the eyemakeup remover on the rack at my local drugstore, and I think it is because it must always be sold out! And no wonder. A few drops of this non-oily remover on a cotton pad, a few swipes per eye, and all my mascara disappeared without a trace or a smear. No eye stinging, either. It is perfect for removing gel liner and your basic everyday non-waterproof mascaras. The best thing is that it leaves absolutely no residue at all, so you can refresh and re-apply your eye makeup quickly if you have to. I love it!

Sometimes a girl just has to wear waterproof mascara. I'm long past the crying-over-he-done-me-wrong stage of my life, and I don't go to weepy movies, but there are occasions (a family wedding, or a special event at my church) when I just know the flood watergates will open and the tears will come spilling out. Waterproof mascaras are terrible to remove, especially if you don't have an oil-based or dual-phase remover. Soap and water won't cut it. And cleansing creams work, but wow, that's just asking for a goopy mess and possibly blurry vision for hours afterwards. When I spotted the L'Oreal Clean Artiste at the drugstore, I thought it would be good to have this on hand for those occasions when I do wear waterproof mascara.


It wasn't long before I got to put it to the test. I wore my weep-proof DiorShow Waterproof mascara for one of those occasions, and when I got home, I took out the Clean Artiste, gave it a good shake, and dispensed some drops onto a cotton pad. I started swiping away at the mascara. It took two or three pads to do the job, but sometimes waterproof mascara smears on the removal and it takes another pad for eye-area cleanup. But all traces of the mascara were gone, and no blurry eyes or irritation resulting from the removal process. It's not something I do very often, as I've said, but I am glad to have this little tool in my arsenal when I need it. It does leave residue on the skin, so after the removal I go over the entire area with the Wet N Wild on a cotton pad, and that removes everything that remains on the skin from the Clean Artiste.

These two little drugstore gems are nice, inexpensive alternatives to the old Almay pads. I don't know who decided they needed to be "new and improved" but those scratchy new pads feel like grocery bag material, and the new formula is irritating, too. I'm glad to have found new things that work well for me. And, the price is right. Even righter when they're on a weekly special!

Disclosure: These products were purchased by the reviewer
Credit: Cavewoman for Blogdorf Goodman
Melanie Parker/ Veronica Lake in I Married A Witch