How I Remove My Makeup: Nighttime Skincare Routine

By Carrie Berschman @CarrieBerschman
After a long day hard day in class, the office, or wherever your day took you, sometimes the best feeling after returning home (besides putting your feet up), is taking off your makeup you have had on all day and allowing your skin to breathe. Maybe you love the feeling of being done up all day, but if you are like me, you enjoy removing all the products and allowing your natural beauty to show for a couple hours before bed. 
When it comes time to take off my makeup, I usually follow this routine:

First, I like to wet my face with some warm water. I sometimes will get a washcloth soaked in hot water and begin to take off the top layer of products on my face.
Secondly, I think it's really important to break up your makeup and remove what remains on your face with a cleanser. I have been loving the Proactiv Renewal Cleanser (Step 1). This face wash has just the right amount of exfoliates in it to get my face feeling squeaky clean.
This is about the amount that I like to use. A little goes a long way in my opinion. Also, because it is very exfoliating, you want to make sure you don't use too much OR scrub too hard, so you don't damage your skin!

After I have towel dried my face, I probably still have some remaining eye makeup and mascara around my eyes, causing me to look like a raccoon. ;) To clean that up, I like to use the Almay eye makeup remover pads (oil-free work best). They are the perfect size and shape to remove product from that area.
Then, I like to finish with a toner or astringent to get any additional product and impurities off my face. Lately, I have been using the Clean & Clear Deep Cleaning Toner. I put the liquid onto a cotton pad and apply it all over my face and neck. (While toners like this DO contain alcohol, which can be drying, I like it because I have oily skin.)

If I am feeling SUPER lazy, and don't want to go through that routine before bed, sometimes I will just take a Say Yes to Grapefruit exfoliating makeup wipe to remove the majority of my makeup, and still feel comfortable enough to go to sleep. While this is how I typically remove my makeup before bed, this IS NOT exclusively my entire skincare routine. A few months back, I purchased some skincare products from Michael Todd True Organics (get 20% off your purchase with the code "save20"), and have found myself using those products in the morning and in the shower. Look for a detailed post on that soon! :)How do you remove your make up? Do you have any 'secret weapons' you'd like to share? Also, what are your thoughts on organic skincare?XO, Carrie