Beauty on the Cheap! Best Makeup Remover and Moisturizer!

I don't consider myself to be cheap when it comes to cosmetics.  I love makeup.  L.O.V.E. it!

However, I don't like to pay a lot of money for something that either doesn't work, or doesn't work better than a product that costs less.  To that end, I have been trying out a lot of facial cleansers.  I have used Vaseline to remove my eye makeup, but I was wishing for something that would moisturize the area and not just clean the makeup off. 

I have been having issues with my skin's texture.  To be quite blunt, it has felt like lizard skin lately.  And not lizards skin that you are stroking with the grain so it feels all silky and cool to the touch; I mean the other way, the against-the-grain way that makes the poor lizard flinch.  (Surely I'm not the only girl who was a bit of a tomboy?)

Anyway, scrubbing my face with my trusty baby brush was helping quite a bit, but not as well as I would like.  I had also become disenchanted with my usual moisturizer, as it wasn't doing a good job of keeping my skin smooth.

I have used almond oil extensively for showers and bathing, and it dawned on me that, as it works very well as a body cleanser and moisturizer, perhaps it would work on my face, too.

Let me tell you, boy howdy does this ever work wonders!  After cleansing my face, using either the baby brush method (or using a buff pad if my hand lands on it first), I rinse my face well.  As a final step in the shower, I wet a washcloth and gently wipe my face to make sure all the soap is off.  Let me just point out, every time I do this, the washcloth comes back clean.

After the shower, I get a handful of cotton balls (or you can use a washcloth) and my almond oil.  I pour some oil into the bottle's lid, and then dip the cotton ball into the oil in the lid just a little (it doesn't take much).  Then I start wiping one small section of my face at a time.  It is AMAZING how much more makeup comes off of my face!  Seriously, I have no idea how any makeup could have survived the baby-brush method, but there is still dirt and makeup all over my face.  It is baffling.

Once the cotton ball is used up, or that part of the face is not releasing any more makeup, I move to the next section.  You are going to end up with a slight film of oil on your face, but that's ok.  The oil will continue to break up the makeup left on your skin and in your pores.  I keep wiping my face until it seems like all the makeup is off.  I wipe over my eyelids, and under my eyes.  I let the oil sit there for another minute or two, and I wet a clean washcloth with warm water.  Then I wipe down my face with the clean washcloth, just to get the excess oil off.  Amazingly, there is still a bit of makeup that shows up on the washcloth!

Seriously, it is nuts how much effort it would really take to get all this stuff off my face.

Anyway, after using this method for just a few days, my skin is back to being baby smooth.  It's amazing, it's cheap, and there is nothing in the product other than almond oil.  Score!