The Skincare Edit: The art of the cleanse

5 minute read

You’re up late, you’re exhausted from work, from the pandemic, from life. That little bit of makeup you put on this morning to perk yourself up now needs to be removed. But you’re tired. The effort of it just feels too much. We’ve all been there.

You think about removing your makeup one last time, and decide not to do it. You brush your teeth and go straight to bed. You weren’t wearing that much makeup anyway, you think. Hours pass, and morning arrives. You wake up. Your skin feels dry, maybe a little tight. Regret begins to set in. You walk into the bathroom and see yourself in the mirror. Your skin looks dull. There are mascara smudges under your eyes, and you see the beginnings of a spot on your forehead. Urgh.

If only you had the energy the night before. If only you weren’t so tired. If only it didn’t feel like such an effort. Why is your evening routine always such an effort, you think.

What if I told you it didn’t have to be? What if I told you about a not-so-secret approach that will ensure you do it every single day, and not only that – you’ll enjoy every minute of it (and your skin will love you for it)? Read on, dear reader, read on.

So, let’s look at this story again, but this time from a completely different angle. And let’s start a little earlier. Let’s rewind the clock.

You finish up some work early evening and decide to make a cup of tea. You’re tired, it’s been a long day, but you still have some energy. You look at your watch; it’s 6pm. You’re wearing SPF and makeup that needs to be removed. There’s a gorgeous cleanser in your bathroom that makes your skin feel amazing and incredibly clean and prepped for your serums and moisturizer. You think, why not? 6pm isn’t too early? You decide to do it now.

You splash a little water on your face to dampen the skin. You squeeze a little bit of cleanser out of the tube into your hand, press your palms together and then lift them to your face. You massage your skin this way and that. The cheekbones, jaw, and upwards, the sides of the nose, across your chin, your forehead, your eyes and eyebrows. A minute passes. Maybe two. You’re enjoying this.

You reach for your cleansing cloth and run it under lukewarm water. You squeeze it a little and then lift your face to the mirror. You take the cloth to the side of your face and gently remove your cleanser and everything that comes with it. Then it’s the other side, then your forehead, your chin, and neck. You reach for the cleanser again, squeeze a little bit more out. Now that your SPF and makeup is gone, it’s time to clean your skin. You repeat the process. God, this feels good, you think. You reach for the face cloth again, you run it under lukewarm water, and this time you lift the other clean side to your face.

You look at your face in the mirror. It’s glowing; it’s clean, comfortable, feels great, and best of all, it’s 6pm.

You’re done with the cleanse; your serums and moisturizer can be whacked on after this in record time. You’re ready for bed, hours ahead of schedule. You can’t believe it. You will fall into slumber in a few hours and wake up the next day with clean, glowy, hydrated skin. You will feel no regret. You will see no mascara smudges. You will look in the mirror and mentally high five yourself. You have got this.

The next day, you do it again. But this time, at 5pm. Because why the hell not. You’re in control. It’s your skin and your time - you might even listen to a podcast while you do it.

In conclusion, dear reader, no rule states you must remove your makeup, cleanse your skin, and follow your regular skincare routine - at night. Do it as soon as you get home, as soon as you finish work, do it early in the evening, do it when you have energy. You’ll feel amazing afterwards, you’ll enjoy your time before bed, and best of all, your skin will look great.

And now, I’m off to cleanse my skin. And guess what? It’s 4pm.

Simone Gannon, April 2021