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The Lazy Facial

4 routes to prettier, glowing skin in 60 seconds or less.

Skin
The Lazy Facial
It's Sunday morning. Actually, make that afternoon. You couldn't make it out of bed before 12 PM with the searing headache you have anyway. You stumble over to your kitchen, grab a massive glass of water, two Advil and leftover takeout out of your fridge before promptly making your way back over to your bed. Nursing a hangover and feeling generally unworthy, you shove a plastic forkful of food in your mouth only to be greeted by an Instagram feed of jerks who think running at the crack of dawn (okay, fine, more like nine in the morning) before downing a green juice and documenting the entire thing as acceptable behavior.

We'll take the trade-off of the above being a regular occurrence with the fact that Instagram also serves as a place of endless discovery for just about everything. Without it, we wouldn't have been put on to Leaf Greener, the #belfie, the hard truth that smoothies just look better in bowls or the Microderma Mitt. We'll explain: over a month ago, we were cruising through our feed (likely on a Sunday morning similar to the above) when we came across a shot posted by an e-commerce company. A white towel-textured mitt covered in brown and black—the telltale signs of make-up that's been massacred, also known as a wholly-satisfying experience. But then came the caption, applauding said mitt for lasting up to nine months (wait, what?), taking off every trace of makeup (including the son-of-a-bitch that is waterproof mascara) with just water. And while we rolled our eyes at first too, we inevitably fell victim to the social media-fueled purchase and let us tell you: the hype is real.

So in praise of the lazy facial (criteria: it takes off your make-up, vaguely exfoliates, makes you feel more accomplished for using it in place of a humble face wipe), we've compiled our favorite 1-2 swipe methods of cleansing. You know, for the next time you find yourself swiping through Instagram on an especially hungover Sunday...

 

THE MICRODERMA MITT


Okay, so $30 seems a little steep for what at first glance seems like a glorified makeup wipe, but we swear it's so much more. Saturate the mitt with warm water and rub all over your mug, flipping over once to get every last trace of make-up. Voila! Softer, smoother skin, with none of that post-cleansing dryness or tightness that other removers can sometimes bring.

The Konjac Cleansing Sponge


The Konjac is sort of the same deal. Wet your sponge with warm water, apply a blob of your favorite cleanser, massage all over your face and rinse for exfoliated, brighter skin. You can also find sponges formulated with charcoal, green, pink and red clay to customize for your skin type, too. Plus, it's gentle enough to use every day.

Eve Lom's Muslin Cloths


Luddites, this one's for you. Admittedly, the entire Eve Lom cleanser process can be a little overwhelming for everyday, no matter how magical the results are. Here's a crash course: applying their famous balm all over, you soak their Muslin Cloth in hot water. Sweeping it over your face while inhaling, the heat from the cloth begins to melt the balm, and thus, your makeup. Here's where things get complicated: you repeat that last part three times. And then fold the cloth into a square to work off the last little bits of your make-up. Then you wring out the muslin, soak it in cold water and apply the whole thing all over one last time to close up your pores. We mean, when it's 3 A.M. and you don't feel like angering the acne gods by sleeping with your make-up on, a baby wipe just does the trick. But for those times that you have five minutes to spare for an especially indulgent face washing? Eve's your girl.

The Foreo Luna


Love your Clarisonic but ready to try something new? We like the Foreo Luna, which has the same toothbrush-for-your-face concept, only it's made of super gentle silicone bristles. Loading up with your usual cleanser, take a minute to sweep the Luna across your face to rattle out dirt and debris and gently exfoliate.
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