If you’re wondering what “422” is, I’m going to let you in on one of my cleansing beauty secrets.
Cleansing is the most important step of my skincare regime.
From removing my makeup to exfoliating, I spend a good eight minutes each night cleansing my face. I’ve found that this is the optimal amount of time it takes for me to cleanse my face fully - if I rush through cleansing, my face doesn’t feel clean enough and if I cleanse for too long, my skin feels too dry.
To me, my cleansing routine marks the end of my day and going through each step helps me unwind.
I’ve also heard countless times that going to sleep with your makeup on makes you age faster so no matter how tired I am, I’m sure to remove all traces of makeup before i go to bed.
I usually cleanse twice a day and use different products depending on my skin condition and the type of makeup I’m wearing.
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I love using foam cleansers but I hate how some of them strip too much moisture from my skin leaving my skin dry and tight. After trying many cleansers over the years, I’ve found some gentle foam cleansers that work great for my skin so I opt to use them in the mornings. I currently use either Cle de Peau Beaute’s Synactif soap, Philosophy’s 3-in-1 Purity or Shiseido’s The Skincare Extra Gentle Cleansing Foam.
In the evenings, my eight minute “422” facial cleansing routine comes in. It starts with four minutes of makeup removal, two minutes of using a foam cleanser and two minutes of exfoliating.
“4” - I start with removing the makeup around my eyes. I have short eyelashes so I dress them with many coats of mascara to make them look longer. Excluding a base coat, I typically apply a total four coats of mascara. So usually when I use any eye makeup remover, I’ll know if it works in an instant. Using cotton pads, I remove my daily eye makeup (waterproof eyeliner and four coats of mascara) with Garnier’s Clean Sensitive 2-in-1 Waterproof Eye Makeup Remover. On the rare occasion when I only have one or two coats of mascara, I’ll use Biefesta’s BrightUp Cleansing Lotion.
Next, I use cleansing oils to remove makeup on the skin. I love the feeling of massaging the cleansing oil on my skin, it’s very soothing. For days when I use only sunscreen, I use Bobbi Brown’s Cleansing Oil which provides light cleansing. For removing my daily BB cream, I use Shu Uemura’s Whitefficient cleansing oil which does the job and leaves my skin feeling brighter. For days when I have heavier makeup on (cue full on foundation and lots of eyeshadow), I use Shu Uemura’s Ultimate8 Sublime Cleansing Oil which removes all residue of makeup effortlessly.
“2” - Then I double cleanse with a foam cleanser. I start by lathering the foam up on my hands before massaging the foam on my face in circular motions. Normally I use Laneige’s Multi-Cleanser that has micro-beads which provide a very gentle scrub but when in need of a deeper cleanse, I use Ettusais’ foaming cleanser (Ettusais recommends that you do not leave this on your skin for more than 30 seconds).
I don’t use my Clarisonic brush daily, but when I do, I prefer to use it with Fresh’s Soy Face cleanser which is great for my sensitive skin.
I also recently discovered a new Japanese cleansing brush by Mizuho Brush. It’s called a Nose Cleaning Brush which is designed to gently cleanse the contours of the nose. So instead of over scrubbing the side of the nose, I use this instead. Made from natural pine squirrel hair, the brush efficiently cleans the side of the nose and the nose pores. It’s not available in Singapore, but you can get it online for about $38 from jshoppers.com.
“2” - Finally, I give my skin a good scrub once or twice a week by exfoliating with Dermalogica’s Daily Microfoliant or For Beloved One’s Melasleep Whitening Exfoliating Gel.
It may seem extensive, but with all the makeup I pile on and environmental factors (cue the sun and dust) my skin goes through each day, a good cleanse is a must (for me at least).
Found any new cleansing products you love lately? What’s your cleansing regime like? I’d love to hear about them. Share your cleansing regime with me in the comments below.