Oops, I did it again. Even though I know better—and even though I’ve endured the aftermath the next morning in the mirror too many times before—I still fell asleep in my makeup, again, last night.
I knew I’d regret it, but the choice between getting up to cleanse at the sink or staying in bed (and sometimes the couch) is too overwhelming. At the end of a long day, my body longs to lie down rather than stand at the sink ritually going through my skin-care routine, and flossing and brushing my teeth, and using Latisse and using Minoxidil, and putting body lotion on, and putting a foot exfoliant cream on. Damn I have a long routine!
So I tell myself, “I’ll just lie down for a few minutes and finish the end of CSI or Glee.” Yeah, right. Who do I think I’m fooling? I know the odds are 10 to 1 that I will ever get up to do what my boyfriend affectionately calls “exit procedures.” But I stay lying down, nonetheless, knowing there will be hell to pay in the morning.
Foundation, blush, mascara, eyeliner, and lipstick look like hell the next morning when you’ve slept in it all night. The smeary, flaky mess you see looking back at you in the mirror is a disaster. Speckles of black mascara in and around your eyes, the streak of lipstick across your chin, and dark rings of shadow are a sight to behold. It looks like something out of a bad movie about the drug underworld.
But how bad it looks is only half of the disaster. Swollen, red, irritated eyes with veins bulging are coupled with crusted tears at the corners to create an itchy, sore, and uncomfortable mess. And, if that wasn’t bad enough, your skin is about to punish you for your negligence.
One of the problems with sleeping in foundation, pressed or loose powder (whether they’re labeled mineral or not), and blush (cream or powder) is that they all keep skin cells from sloughing off your face as they should. The combination of makeup and built-up dead skin cells ground into skin immediately clogs pores. For those prone to breakouts, it will trigger a new crop of pimples or blackheads that will appear first thing in the morning or will creep up on you by the end of the day. For those with dry or sun-damaged skin, it will just make your skin look dull and ashy. Yuck.
Though you shouldn’t have done it (and, as evidenced above, I’m just as guilty as many of you), here’s what you can do to minimize the repercussions of falling asleep in your makeup:
- Wash your face twice, and use a soft washcloth to be sure to manually (but gently) exfoliate your skin.
- You must absolutely use an eye makeup remover that has no chance of further irritating your eyes, and get every last trace and fleck of makeup off and out of your eyes. Paula’s Choice Gentle Touch Makeup Remover fits that description.
- Use lubricating eye drops (not Visine-like products) to soothe your eyes (this really helps!). The Refresh brand is excellent!
- Go over your face with a well formulated toner to add antioxidants to your skin and remove last traces of makeup from your face, particularly around the hairline.
- If breakouts or blackheads are a concern, it is essential that you apply one of Paula’s Choice BHA exfoliants (I prefer my Exfoliating 2% BHA Liquid, but you can always check Beautypedia.com for our list of best BHA products from other lines).
- If you can grab a minute, lie down with your head elevated and place an ice pack over your eyes (it will feel great and reduce puffiness and swelling).
- Apply a lightweight moisturizer such as a serum or a gel on your face and, if needed, a more emollient moisturizer around your eyes.
- If you can wear a lighter makeup than you did the day before you fell asleep with your makeup on, that would help a lot.
It goes without saying, but I’ll say it anyway: Do not fall asleep in your makeup again tonight. Taking brilliant care of your skin at night will always reap far better rewards than those five extra minutes you get by lying down before you get your makeup off. I know, better said than done, but my job is to say it. Now if I could only practice what I preach!
