Greetings and good morning, girls. How did you sleep? Following yesterday’s makeup look, I wanted to touch on makeup removal, particularly Soap & Glory’s Off Your Face Cleansing Cloths ($7 for a pack of 25).

To find out how these oversized, velvet-soft wipes fare against long-wearing and waterproof makeup like MAC Fluidline, Stila Lash Visor Mascara and Urban Decay Heavy Metal Glitter liner, I put ‘em to the test.

What about the waterline?

Most makeup wipes can handle regular-wear products, but many struggle when it comes to removing waterproof. That, and some take too much effort (read: rubbing) to use along my delicate waterline.

Soap & Glory says they created Off Your Face Cleansing Cloths to help women multitask, with the wipes cleansing, toning, removing makeup and exfoliating in one fell swoop.

How’d they do?

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Does The Greatest Scrub of All ($13) live up to its name? That’s hard to say, but one thing’s for sure: It looks *way* cute.

Doesn’t the pink/blue/gray packaging have a girly feel to it, like it’s a product that obviously doesn’t take itself too seriously? And, hello, the claim on the front of the tube? — “exfoliating grains that pop when you press them”?

Explosions get me every time…

A scrub for everyone

An exfoliating facial scrub marketed for all skin types, it contains salicylic acid (aka BHA) to slough away dead skin cells, control oil, clear clogged pores and fight pimples, and, as an added Tabs-approved bonus, Soap & Glory claims it was people tested (as opposed to animal tested, meow!).

I really like washing my face with it in the mornings, when the minty, kinda floral scent feels invigorating — much better than a wake-up call and without the annoying ring.

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To streamline my travel beauty routine and the airport screening process, I try to avoid packing products that 1) are liquids and 2) require a bunch of steps to use.

That’s why, for my trip last week, I grabbed a pack of Clean and Clear Makeup Dissolving Facial Cleansing Wipes ($6 for a pack of 25).

They’re pre-moistened and come in a re-sealable bag that fits snugly into my carry-on luggage (a suitcase small enough for an overhead bin).

These beauties do double duty, making them ideal for travel. They remove most kinds of makeup (gloss, foundation, powder, blush and eyeshadow with ease) and cleanse skin at the same time. Even better, you don’t have to rinse.

After late nights playing Kitty Glitter, I liked returning to my room and removing my makeup in a flash.

They feel soft against my skin, have a light soapy scent that smells fresh and clean, and I don’t detect a residue or sticky film (I use them on my face and neck) after using one.

But when pitted against waterproof makeup, they kinda disappoint.

It took a lot of gentle rubbling to thoroughly remove long-wearing products like MAC Fluidline, Stila Lash Visor Waterproof Mascara and Urban Decay Heavy Metal Glitter Eyeliner.

It’s not a dealbreaker for me, but it does keep them from earning flying colors.

Being just $6 per pack, feeling great on my skin and smelling so nice, I think they’re a great bargain, but I do wish they worked a little better on waterproof stuff… Makeup and Beauty Blog Rating: B

Casual Fridays

Tabs is taking advantage of the new MBB Casual Friday work attire policy. What do ya think of his new outfit?

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Girldom Rule #3,654: Within any given group, there’s always at least one girl with an obscenely large bottle of hand sanitizer in her purse.

Homies, I’m one of those girls (bit of a freakshow when it comes to germs).

And if we were chatting over coffee, I’d be baptizing you in Burt’s Bees Aloe & Witch Hazel Hand Sanitizer ($5).

I blame it on the countless hours I’ve spent people watching. The fingers picking noses and cleaning ears, teeth and, OMIGOD, butts! — I done seen it all.

Purell used to be my standby, but Burt’s stole me away. I think the liquid spray absorbs faster than Purell’s gel does, and it doesn’t leave a film.

My nose feels Burt’s also beats Purell in the scent department. It smells like fresh cut lemons to Purell’s overpowering vodka.

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The Basin White store in Las Vegas, Nevada

All work and no play makes moi a cranky beauty addict, but the Las Vegas Basin White store, a beauty brand I’d never even heard of before, saved me from myself.

The company has just two stores for now (Vegas and Orlando, Florida). The Vegas one, located among the Grande Canal Shoppes at The Venetian Hotel, is brand spankin’ new. If you’d like to learn more about the company, the line’s also available online.

I guess it’s fitting that after their Downtown Disney store in Orlando, Basin White chose the Disney-like Grande Canal indoor mall for their second location.

Gondolas packed with tourists weave through Venetian-inspired canals as shoppers cross footbridges and live opera singers provide the background music for ambiance. Yeah … it’s Vegas cheesy, but still pretty fun.

The store itself stopped me in my tracks. It’s gorgeous and smells wonderful. There are other brands out there like Basin White, with similar rows of colorful glycerin soaps, tubs with gigantic bath bombs and various scents, but this one stood out to me for a bunch of reasons.

Like Lush but with subtler scents

Their products look Lush-y — similar shampoo bars and solid moisturizers — but I think the shopping experience at Basin White beats Lush hands down, as a lot of Lush’s products pack too much fragrance for my sensitive schnozz. Sometimes it’s just too much.

Basin White’s products smell lighter and generally less synthetic to me. Granted, scent’s a very personal thing, but I absolutely love Basin White’s approach to fragrance.

Time to play, aka the shopping experience

The store feels like a spa. The open layout, lighting and black/white tiled floor reminded me of a Pottery Barn-inspired bathroom.

Like any good beauty store should, Basin White makes samples of everything available to smell, touch and test. The highly interactive staff isn’t pushy either, and they encourage product playtime, waiting at the ready by testing sinks with paper towels and smiling faces.

Quality ingredients

Josh Jacks, one of the sales associates at the Vegas store, gave me the background on Basin White while showing me around.

With only two physical locations, the line’s still pretty exclusive, but I expect that to change. Their products are made without synthetic fillers, parabens, alcohol or mineral oil and contain high-quality ingredients like shea butter, beeswax and sunflower oil.

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