Why Foundation Ends Up on Your Lenses in the Morning and Cleansing Oil at Night
Eight in the morning.
Makeup is done.
Now the lenses.
A trace of foundation is still on your fingertip.
It transfers to the lens.
In the eye, it is cloudy.
"What is wrong with my lenses today?"
Eleven at night.
You take off your face with cleansing oil and reach for the lenses, but the oil gets into your eyes and stings.
The lens is slippery and will not come out.
"What is wrong with my lenses today?"
The lenses did nothing wrong.
Both scenes were made by order.
Makeup and Lenses Meet at Only Two Moments
The moment you put the lens in.
The moment you take it out.
If your hands and the skin around your eyes are clean at those two moments, cosmetics almost never reach the lens.
So there is one rule.
Lenses go in before makeup, and come out before makeup comes off.
Morning: Why Lenses Come First
When you insert a lens, your hands should be freshly washed with soap.
Do makeup first and your fingers carry foundation, cream and powder.
Washing does not remove all of it.
Touch a lens with those fingers and it gets an oily film.
Insert the lens first and your hands are at their cleanest.
Then do your makeup, and the only way cosmetics reach the lens is airborne powder.
Night: Why Lenses Come Out First
Cleansers dissolve oil.
They also stick to lenses.
If oil or balm gets in your eye, the lens soaks it up.
A monthly lens carries it into tomorrow.
Take the lens out first and cleansing has nothing to do with it.
Close your eyes, cleanse, rinse, done.
Eyeliner: Drawing on the Waterline Dries Your Tears
There is a technique of lining the inner rim behind the lashes.
Eyes look sharper.
But that rim is where the oil glands of the eyelid open.
They produce the oil layer that keeps tears from evaporating.
Liner blocks those openings, the oil layer thins, tears evaporate faster, and the lens dries.
And waterline liner dissolves into the tears with every blink and migrates onto the lens.
Liner goes outside the lash line only.
Mascara: Fibres and Waterproof
"Fibre" mascaras that lengthen lashes contain tiny fibres.
When dry, they shed into the eye.
Under a lens, that is a day-long foreign-body feeling.
Waterproof mascara needs oil to remove, and that oil brings us back to the lens problem.
Lens wearers do better with regular, fibre-free mascara.
And replace mascara three months after opening.
Bacteria grow inside the tube.
Glitter and Powder Shadow
Glitter particles that get into the eye lodge between lens and cornea and scratch.
Powder shadow sheds while you apply it.
Cream shadow suits lens wearers better.
If you use powder, close your eyes to apply, tap off the excess, then open.
Brushes Over Fingers
Applying shadow with fingers leaves colour on them, and those fingers touch the eye area.
Brushes and applicators keep hands clean.
Wash tools once a week with mild soap and dry them completely.
Sprays: Eyes Closed
Hairspray, setting spray, perfume.
Sprayed in the air, fine droplets settle on the lens and form a film.
Cloudy.
Close your eyes, spray, wait a few seconds, open.
Or spray before the lenses go in.
Do Not Share
Mascara, eyeliner, shadow applicators.
Share them with a friend and you share eye bacteria too.
Lens wearers have more sensitive eye surfaces and pick up infections more easily.
Skip store testers on the eyes for the same reason.
When a Lens Goes Cloudy Mid-Makeup
The culprit is usually an oily film.
Do not rub.
One preservative-free drop, blink.
Still cloudy? Remove the lens and rinse with solution.
Dailies: swap for a fresh one.
The Lens Wearer's Daily Order
Morning:
- Wash hands
- Insert lenses
- Skincare (light around the eyes)
- Base makeup
- Eye makeup — liner outside the lash line, cream shadow, regular mascara
- Sprays with eyes closed
Evening:
- Wash hands
- Remove lenses — discard dailies, clean and case reusables
- Remove eye makeup
- Cleanse face
- Skincare
Signs to Take the Lenses Out
- Eyes stay red
- Light feels too bright
- More discharge than usual
- Blinking does not clear the blur
If cosmetics are the cause, a few days off fixes it.
If not, it may be an infection: see a doctor.
"What Is Wrong Today" Was an Order Problem
Lenses and makeup can coexist.
They clash at exactly two moments.
Putting in, taking out.
Lenses in first, lenses out first.
Add "no waterline liner, no fibre mascara" and "what is wrong today" goes away.
References
- American Academy of Ophthalmology, Eye Makeup Safety
- US Food and Drug Administration, Eye Cosmetic Safety
- American Optometric Association, Contact Lenses
- US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Healthy Contact Lens Wear and Care
This article provides general information. If redness, pain or discharge persists after eye makeup, stop wearing the lenses and consult a professional.