I work out in the field at least part of every weekday nowadays. This means I wear makeup five days a week, something I did not do during the pandemic.
I noticed recently that I am using way more cotton pads than I did during the pandemic. I use six each evening to remove my eye makeup. I did some sums and figured out that due to not wearing eye makeup during the pandemic, I saved the cost of 730 rolls of cotton pads. Boy, they sure add up!
I have recently switched to the Cien ones above, from Lidl. The pack is bigger than normal (140 pads as against the 100 I usually buy) and much cheaper. Plus the pads are textured – gentle on one side and more exfoliating on the other.
Having realised how many of these I use (I also use 4 a day to apply toner, though I did not include those in the calculations above), I am thinking of trying the reusable ones. Have any of my readers tried them? If so, what did you think?
I find Lidl is cheaper than any other supermarket (apart from Aldi) and they sell quality products (in the main) from brands you find nowhere else.
To remove eye makeup, I use Clinique liquid “take the day off” makeup remover and a 3 ply tissue- Kleenex ultra soft. I only need one tissue. I use 2 cotton pads per day for toner – 1 in the morning and 1 in the evening.
I have tried reusable ones; they worked. but :
the microfiber that they are made of gives the skin each time a peeling which is not so good in the long run (for your skin, not the pad). at least that is what a beautician told me. Also microfiber is bad for the environment. ok, so are cars and I still drive one. so one has to consider pros and cons.
Now I use a Babor Oil cleaning duo and muslin cloth to wipe away. but for eyes, yes, still the disposable pads but I only need 1 per eye each evening. m comment is probably not so helpful. but still I wanted to share.
I have them and love them. Washing is not hard if you have enough, I put them in a net bag (like bras) and wash them with the towels.
I’ve made my own reusable ones, simply by cutting up a soft cotton cloth (in my case, a very old tea towel) into squares.
I didn’t hem them, so they fray a little at first – but after a while, they just have soft, frayed edges.
(Since then, I have bought those zig-zag scissors, which I’m going to try next time)
It’s actually much nicer, because they’re slightly bigger! I want to make the next ones bigger still.
For washing them, I keep one of those mesh bags meant for bras in my bathroom, and collect them in there; the whole thing gets put in with the hot wash.
If I use the dryer (which I often don’t) I put the whole bag in there as well; if not, I just take out the squares and dry them one the rack.
I tried the LastRound from a company called LastObject and they worked really well. They felt more like a cotton pad than I feel the fabric ones do. However, I did find them incredibly fiddly to wash and I think you need to invest a lot to have enough to make the washing less of a chore – considering how many you use that’s going to be an enormous investment in money and time. I went back to cotton pads, but I only use three a day.
Gosh, that makes a lot! I only use two a day to remove eye makeup (I don’t use toner or anything else).
A friend of mine washes her pads. Have you try that? That way she can use them twice or even three times. Once she has applied her toner she put the pad flat on the palm of her hand and runs hot water on the pad. She presses hard on it and run water again. She repeats the operation three or four times until the pad is well rinced. They dry within a few fours and can be reused on the next day.
I only use one side of them which is probably incredibly wasteful.
It is not advised to use both sides anyway. But still, you use a lot!