Without being all melodramatic, I don’t think I could function at work without this cleanser. It’s kind of a cult secret amongst makeup artists, so I hope I’m not going to be excommunicated for talking about it outside the hallowed portals of professional makeup artistry, but this really is the ultimate makeup remover.
It’s gentle enough to be used on people with sensitive skin and eyes yet takes off pretty much all makeup in one wipe. On the last show season I was working on the Australian model Myf Shepherd (who is such a rapidly rising star that she walked 62 shows over the international Fashion Weeks), and by London her skin was already feeling the burn from constant makeup changes and the skin-insulting properties of baby wipes.
So I told her what I tell all the girls who are sick of ripping their faces off with whatever happens to be backstage, and that is to get herself a bottle of Crealine remover next time she was in Paris so she wouldn’t get caught short again.
It comes in a clear bottle and looks like water, so you simply saturate a cotton pad, and one wipe later, your makeup is off. It removes eye makeup in one swipe, it doesn’t sting and it can be used on skin as well, leaving it feeling soft and hydrated, not taut and dry (even in winter).
The drawback? It’s French (so like lots of good stuff), you need to get it from French pharmacies and even then not all of them have it. I’ve spent many a trip to Paris figuring out which pharmacies do and which ones don’t. But it does last ages and it’s not expensive – about 15 Euros per bottle. I always have about 3 or 4 in stock so I know I will never run out (which is probably a little paranoid but you never know when there will be an apocalyptic makeup war that will wipe out all forms of skincare and color cosmetics, so I’m stockpiling NOW).
Although it’s fine for most waterproof makeup, one thing I would say is that if you wear a lot of extremely hardcore waterproof liners (like MAC Liquidlast), you need an oil makeup remover as well. Crealine will do the job eventually but you will be there for a while – however if you’re a Liquidlast lover you know you need something pretty potent to get it off as once on, that sucker does not move!
On a side note: not that you would do this because it would be really stupid, but don’t leave a bottle next to your bed after a night of heavy cocktail consumption, and right next to it a bottle of Evian (which it bears a more than passing resemblance to in the dark). Because if you were to wake up with a raging thirst in the middle of night, Crealine TASTES REALLY REALLY BAD. Don’t for the love of God go drinking it.
Don’t ask me how I know that.
Rosamund Pike
Toni Collette
It was hard to choose which brand to look at first in an in-depth way because there are so many great ones, but I have chosen Illamasqua a)because it’s new, and b) because it’s ace.
The foundations and powders I have yet to try but what I do love about them is that the foundation comes in 21 shades from purest white to almost black, and I do love a line that recognizes that not everybody is the colour of a melted Barbie doll and has something for everyone.
This is a favourite of mine and a fairly newfangled addition to the eyeliner pantheon. My favourite by a long shot is 
How perfect is this little one-stop-shop nugget of shimmery grey goodness? It really is everything you need for the perfect smoky eye – it has a deep charcoal/black which is perfect for lining the eye, a gunmetal grey with just the right amount of shimmer, a soft silver (and it’s elegant silver, not nasty silver which can be too blue), and iridescent white for highlighting if that’s your thing.
