Olive oil as a makeup remover

I first saw this on Ricebunny's website. And after that, I saw DHC's range of olive oil products. That convinced me to give it a try. Extra virgin olive oil can't be bad for you!

What you need:

• Extra virgin olive oil
• Piece of damp cotton pad
• Small container

I always have extra virgin olive oil at home for cooking, so I poured a little of that oil on a piece of cotton wool and pressed it on my waterproof mascara laden eyelashes. After about 30 seconds, I wiped it across my eye lids gently, and pieces of cotton pad came off. The olive oil got into my eye and vision became cloudy and stung for a while. I could actually see a little bit of olive oil on my eye ball. Not good! After blinking my eyes profusely and dabbing at it with a towel, it got better. It did seem to remove all traces of mascara, but the eye area was red and sore due to the wiping.

After failed attempt 1, I decided to try again the next day. Because I was a cheapo and didn't want to spend another $30 on Fancl's cleansing oil which only lasts for 3 months. This time round, I skipped the cotton wool and just applied olive oil directly onto my eye lids. I used it as I would use the Fancl cleansing oil and just massaged gently, making sure that my eyes are tightly shut to avoid the previous day's disaster. Use enough oil so that it doesn't get too dry and you don't end up pulling the delicate skin around the eye area. Don't use too much either because it will definitely get into the eyes and sting like mad. Just use it bit by bit, adding more when needed. After gently massaging the eyelids with olive oil, wet a piece of cotton pad (squeeze out excess water) and wipe across the eye lids a few times, till all traces of eye make up is removed. Much better than using dry cotton pads.

Finally, just rinse off and continue with your regular face cleanser. Tadah! Your eye makeup should be completely removed. No signs of milia seeds or breakouts after 3 weeks of using the extra virgin olive oil as a water proof eye makeup remover. Of course, everyone's skin reacts differently, so be sure to do a test first. I only use it for my eye area because I use very light makeup on the rest of my face and my BOD cleansing milk works just fine for non waterproof makeup.

Now, for ease of use, I bought a small clear container with a flip top from MUJI to store my olive oil. Remember to store just a little at a time, and take note of the expiry date. I find that it works better than Fancl's cleansing oil. Its up to you to decide!