Your Skin... The Day After!

So last night you had to work extra late (on your blog maybe...), had to go to that cocktail party or received a last minute invite to go see a movie. Whatever the reason you ended up getting home super late and were way to tired to do anything other than get undressed and go to bed and...

You did so without removing your makeup!



The next morning, you want to smash the alarm clock against the wall when it starts to buzz at 5:30 a.m. Painfully waking from a deep coma, you get up and thank God you know your way around in the dark. You don't want to open your eyes. At that very moment you figure that you're a sleepwalker in pain, that's what you are. You finally get to the bathroom, turn on the light and once your eyes are accustomed to it you look into the mirror... The reflection is blurry at first, but once it clears up, you take a step back! Who is that?

You almost look like you had a few rounds in the ring with Lucian Bute! Not good, just not good!

Two black eyes from the mascara and eye liner, puffy to boot. Skin, looks blotchy and dehydrated. There's some left over makeup on there, the rest of your foundation and blush are still on the pillow...

Now you are fully awake and have to get into action... Fast!

Although you would love to, wearing one of those on your head is not an option!

First, cleanse your skin. Remember you have to be quick about it so forget cleansing milks or oils. Go for a rinse-off foam or gel.

Don't be cheap with the eye makeup remover, if you don't put enough on your cotton pad or you'll end up rubbing and your eyes are already puffy, remember?

Ok so now face is clean! To the fridge for your Thera Pearl or the freezer for that bag of frozen peas you've been keeping for emergencies like this. See my previous article about Puffy Eyes. Slather your face with a moisturizing mask or any thick cream you have.

Get your coffee, go to either the living room or your bed and lie down a good 5 minutes putting the Thera Pearl mask or frozen peas on your eyes. Don't worry about cream getting on whatever you've chosen to put on your eyes. It'll be easy to wipe off.

Here are a few great options for skin in serious need of help

They can go from Vaseline, yes good old petroleum jelly which is my friend Laura's favorite. It gets the top layers of skin and plumps it up. From this very basic and inexpensive option or you could go for Sisley's Express Flower Gel Masque, an outstanding treatment but will lighten your wallet of about $140.00. How much you want to spend is totally personal but you will see it's not necessary to go overboard.

New on the market, I haven't tried it myself, Lise Watier's Beauty in a Flash Kit ($42.00). Beauty Reflections has written a review of it. It's quite tempting and may very well be useful for the holiday season. The Kit is for both eyes and face.

Clarins Beauty Flash Balm ($50.00). This staple can be used as a moisturizer when you apply a thin layer. For the purpose to rehydration, a thicker layer left on the skin for about 10 minutes will help smooth out signs of fatigue.

Caudalie Moisturizing Cream Mask ($40.00). Deliciously creamy and refreshing. Some find the fragrance relaxing but for me it's a total pick me up.

Avène Soothing Moisture Mask. This one is a best seller. Just look at the reviews from Beauté-test further down. This mask can safely be used around the eyes. Soothing it provides optimum hydration and has the classic Avène fragrance. If I'm not mistaking I believe this one is $29.00. When I purchased it there was a 30% off special, reason why I'm uncertain.

Nuxe Masque Frais ($29.99). This one was truly my favorite. Super refreshing, soothing and moisturizing it was the perfect beauty flash. Sadly recently Nuxe has been reformulating some of it's products and I believe this one has been modified. This is the reason why I say, was a favorite. As of last week it still had it's reviews on Beauté-test, but they where taken off . At this point I can't compare the ingredients to be sure since it appears that Nuxe's website is under construction. I can't access any information at this time. If it is a new formula I can only hope it's as beautiful as before. If you see it at the drugstore, even if it's reduced, jump on it. Masque Frais means Fresh Mask. It is fresh and perfect for a morning emergency treatment. It's new incarnation is called Crème Fraîche® Mask.

If you don't want to purchase a mask per say, any heavy cream can be used. I have done this with my regular Nuxe Crème Fraîche a few times as well as with a sample of Avène's Rich Compensating Cream. I've even used Avène's Cold Cream once with good results. 

Your 10 minutes is up...

Go take your shower as usual and at the end of it, gently remove the facial mask or cream that hasn't absorbed into your skin with a damp washcloth. Done!

Out of the shower proceed as usual and for the eye area you'll want to use a cooling gel to help reduce the puffiness even more.

All dressed, makeup done, you take a final look in the mirror before leaving and feel that you "almost" look human again. Let's hope your day won't be too brutal...

How to avoid this type of emergency in the future?

Simply keep a pack of cleansing wipes on your night stand. I personally don't like to use these every night but when I'm too tired they are perfect. There are lots of options available. Sadly, I don't have any specific recommendations at this time since the ones I've tried so far where not that great. The next ones on my list are Korres Milk Proteins Cleansing & Make Up Removing Wipes.

The following night, don't forget the change that pillowcase. :D


Reviews:

Sisley Express Flower Gel Mask
MakeupAlley: 3.9 / 5 lippies for 79 reviews.
Beauté-test: 4 / 5 stars for 108 reviews.

Clarins Beauty Flash Balm
MakeupAlley: 3.8 / 5 lippies for 318 reviews.
Beauté-test: 4 / 5 for 355 reviews.

Caudalie Masque-Crème
MakeupAlley: 4.1 / 5 lippies for 15 reviews.
Beauté-test: 4 / 5 stars for 26 reviews.

Avène Soothing Moisture Mask
MakeupAlley: 3.9 / 5 lippies for 101 reviews.
Beauté-test: 4.2 / 5 stars for 1323 reviews.