Face wipes get a bit of a bad rep, because apparently they don't count as a full bedtime regime. Apparently they just move bacteria around your face, and don't actually clean you properly. Or something. Now, I'm no cosmetic scientist, but I do know that if you go out and end up crashing around your bathroom trying to use face wash at 2am after a ridiculous amount of wine, you're going to get some in your eye. And you're going to walk around blind, consequently knocking a clothes horse through your flatmate's bedroom door. Or worse, walk through a fourth floor window. And die.
Face Wipes are something everyone should keep in their work desk drawer (for 'oh I did this makeup on the bus and now look like the leading role in an 18th century French farce' moments) and their bedside table (for when you come in late and face wash is not an option, for the above reasons), but which ones should you go for? Are the 99p ones from Superdrug able to melt off your face-grouting in the time it takes for your to take your shoes off, lie down and fall asleep?
I put four of the nation's best-loved makeup wipes to the test, using incredibly thick, orange foundation so you could see better (I'm so nice) and some really hot eye makeup looks that I use to entrap men. For directions on how to achieve said eye makeup looks, tweet me - or something.
Price: £1 for two packs of 25
Wipes for eye makeup: 12
Wipes for foundation: 1 per section of face
Number of wipes you need to use for your face: 2 - 3
Summary: These smell lovely, and are surprisingly strong considering how flimsy they feel. But c'mon who cares about how flimsy a facewipe is. There are wars going on all over the world. Anyway, while there's not a lot of cleanser on each wipe, it does the job, but wasn't great in terms of heavy duty eye makeup. And yeah, I needed three to feel really clean and de-makeuped, but you get 50 for a quid so Primark are basically paying you to wash your face (they're not, but still).
**Price: **£12 for a pack of 30
Wipes for eye makeup: 4
Wipes for foundation: 1
Number of wipes you need to use for your face: 1
**Summary: **For £12 I half expected these wipes to manually apply my mascara for me, but they turned out to be just good facewipes. Like, they feel strong, are made of satin, and take your makeup off a lot more easily than the 99p-ers. One resounding issue is that they smell really strongly of 'Moringa and Borage Seed Oil' - I had no idea wtf either of these things are, or that they were even seeds, but now I can confidently say the smell made me want to throw up. But this is entirely subjective, and you might be a big fan. Either way, they worked just as well as you'd imagine really expensive face wipes to work - so well done Ole Henrikson.
Price: 99p for a pack of 25
Wipes for eye makeup: 14
Wipes for foundation: 1
Number of wipes you need to use for your face: 2
Summary: My wipe of choice (because there's a Superdrug near work), these smell really fresh and take your makeup off in a no-nonsense way. Like an aunt who rubs a tissue on your face and tells you to stop squirming. Does the job, no frills, nice amount of cleanser on each wipe, and works exceptionally well on garish eye shadow. Struggled a bit with heavy duty mascara, which is why two wipes might be needed for when you've gone out out and reapplied your makeup three times in a weird club toilet mirror because you forgot you'd already done it. Strong choice for your bedroom/desk, and highly recommended.
Price: £4.50
Wipes for eye makeup: 8
Wipes for foundation: 1
Number of wipes you need to use for your face: 1 to 2
Summary: These are the best ones by a long way. They smell as amazing as all Soap & Glory products - me and my ex boyfriend got together because, genuinely, he was like 'What's that delicious smell?' and it turned out it was me wearing Soap & Glory body butter and then we had sex. Plus the wipes feel really luxurious; loads of cleanser and really soft on the ole' face skin. Only problem is, I can't justify spending more than 99p when I know there are cheap ones that do the job. So I forced myself to buy some for my desk drawer at work for special occasions (i.e. those surprise meals, parties, and nights out I never go on) because the thought of wasting them on me being too drunk to remember the next day made me - and my bank balance - sad. All I'm saying is: if I was a facewipe, I hope I'd be these ones.
**In conclusion: **You don't have to spend shitloads of money on facewipes for them to do the job - Primark and Superdrug worked just fine, the mega-expensive one was really good but smelled weird, and you should definitely drop £4.50 on Soap & Glory's wipes because they're literally the best wipes I've ever known. And I didn't know I could get so emotional about wipes.
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Follow Stevie on Twitter: @5tevieM
This article originally appeared on The Debrief.