Last week, those of you following me on Twitter might have come across this status update:
Just mistook nail polish remover for eye makeup remover. Hurts like a mofo! Don’t try this at home kids!
— Paris B (@paris_b) October 19, 2012
Yeah, I know. Ouch!
I’m not quite sure what happened, to be perfectly honest. I was tired, yes but not exceedingly so. It wasn’t terribly late, but I’d had some furniture delivered, and I had been clearing up my spaces. I was about to have my shower, when I realised I still had my makeup on from the day. (For the record, the Kanebo Lunasol Water Gel Foundation is seriously something. So impressed!)
So I reached for the first blue bottle I saw on the counter, picked it up, thought it smelled funny, wet a piece of cotton pad, laid the cotton pad against my eye … and promptly ran screaming for the bathroom. It BURNS!
Even as I ran cold water from the tap over my eyes, I could not help wondering why my regular Lip and Eye makeup remover would suddenly turn on me. I wondered if I had accidentally cut my eye lid.
It was only a few moments later that the strong, unmistakeable smell of nail polish remover cut through the fog in my brain. “I just put nail polish remover on my eye!!” You know when people say “/facepalm” but they just say it? I had a literal /facepalm moment right there.
There doesn’t seem to be any lasting damage, thankfully. I had closed my eyes to remove the eyeshadow and mascara, and had almost immediately rinsed it off my skin. I was almost afraid to open my right eye lest I had gone blind but fortunately, it all seems to be good.
I now keep my nail polish remover in a separate room. Not taking my chances again!
Oh and for the record, nail polish remover sucks at removing eye makeup 😉
What’s the worst/most painful makeup or skincare mistake that has ever happened to you?
On a scale of 1-10, this has had to be a 10 on the scale of pain, stupidity and now that I’d told you about it, acute embarrassment LOL!
Paris B
Ouch… Poor poor PB. >.<"
My mistake would be using toner as nail polish remover. Nothing happened of course, other than the sting of my toner on an eczema patch on my finger. Heh heh heh. It stings, but the patch got better! So yeah.
Hahaha glad something good came out of it! And let me guess – toner doesn’t remove nail polish right? LOL!
Ouch! I’m sorry that happened to you. I’m glad the mistake was not worse.
I’ve mixed up things like hair spray and eyeglass cleaner, both in spray bottles and in close proximity, and while not serious, this post is a good reminder to separate like items.
I’m going to move my nail polish remover tonight. I think I will put some rubber bands around it as a tactile reminder that this is something I need to pay attention to if/when I pick it up by mistake.
Thanks, Paris.
It does serve as a timely reminder, Kay 🙂 Do be careful. This is an experience I never want anyone to have and I’m thankful its not worse.
PB, how many fingers am I holding up?? 😛
1. I’ve mistaken my scrub and facial wash for shampoo before (it HAD to be on rushed mornings when I wasn’t intending to wash my hair – guess my brain was insisting I had to!)…and this has happened more than once!
2. Almost brushed my teeth with facial cleanser – was wondering why my toothpaste smelt like pink grapefruit, lucky I didn’t put it in my mouth!
3. Mistook a sample sachet of moisturiser for cleanser – in my defence, the contents were white and runny, and the text on the sachet was all in Japanese! 😛
I’m sure there’s more, but those would be the top three…
How did you fit 7 fingers on one hand, Bee! 😛 And scrub for shampoo! Nice clean scalp eh? But goodness, what a hassle rinsing out the bits >.<
Ouch, that must have been painful! I used a face makeup remover to take off eye makeup once. It irritated them a bit, but no serious harm was done.
Good to know nothing serious happened with yours Gio 🙂
OMG ToT I’m glad your eyes are okay. I’ve accidentally used those disinfecting contact lens solutions you’re supposed to leave for 6+ hours to rinse my contacts before putting it on instead. I freaked out because it burned so much. I was crying and trying to get the contact lens out of my eye at the same time. I was afraid I’d gone blind, too. Not fun at all. I definitely empathize with you.
I’m glad too, Peach thanks! 🙂 I can’t imagine the pain in your case, especially with a contact lens stuck to your eye. When I wore contacts, and I wanted them out in a hurry, I could never do it! Glad that nothing serious happened in your case too.
Oh god…that must have really hurt. Luckily no permanent damage was done. Phew!
I’ve once mistaken my conditioner for shampoo. Thought it was weird how the shampoo wouldn’t foam up. LOL. 😀
It did, but I’m thankful too that the pain went away. Eh you know what? There is this movement that advocates using conditioner BEFORE shampoo. Apparently it makes hair softer and shiner. I’m not sure how true it is. I tried it but it was just too weird to me.
lol. very funny. I remember applying L’oreal “after bed” on my face!! it is as you know a styling hair cream! my face felt awful!
Yikes! That must have been terrible! Hopefully you didn’t break out 🙂
oh my gosh!!! that must have been really terrible!! i don’t think i made such kind of goof ups ever but yup when i used liz earle cleanser for the first time, i didn’t really know how to use it 😀 i had never used a cleanser before that!!
Haha lucky that you haven’t done something as silly as this, Swati! 😀
I somehow always mixed up hair conditioner with shampoo especially when both the packaging colours look identical. So you can imagine, early morning when I wake up with my sleepy eyes closed, I wet my hair and my hand would reach out for the conditioner first. Then later i would think how come there isnt much foam no matter how I lather in circular motion.. and sh#@!!
Oh dear, that would be terribly frustrating (and expensive!) I did however read somewhere about people using conditioner before shampoo. Apparently they say it makes their hair softer and shinier – did you experience that?
I mistook my body lotion for my cream cleanser, my eyes howled at the mistake.
It’s not makeup or skincare related, but my oddest moment was when I mistakenly put both contact lenses in one eye, and it took me quite a while of wondering and panicking why my vision was still blurry after putting on my contact lenses.
Such a profoundly bimbo moment that I finally decided to opt for Lasik after a decade or so of being such a chicken about it.
LOL! Sorry, but I had to laugh at what prompted your Lasik 😀 When I was wearing contacts, I once put one side in the wrong way and wondered why my vision was wonky, and why it was so uncomfortable >.< Thank God for modern technology and Lasik!
That happened to my friend! We searched high and low,on the floor,here and there,and finally she realized that she had both in one eye. Funny,but very tired moment XD
I do this mistake the most (yes, I did this a few times!): Put on my facial cleanser on my toothbrush and it usually happens early in the morning :p hahaa
LOL! Sounds like there’s quite a few who do that! 😀 Hopefully you didn’t end up brushing your teeth 😉
ouch. that’s very very hurtful!
It was, so its a good reminder to be careful! 😉
Eeeep! I’m glad your eye is okay – nail polish remover is powerful stuff, if not particularly good at removing eye makeup.
=P I don’t remember having any. and I hope I wouldn’t! =P
waaa… i’m glad you are ok. Cross my fingers i have not much mishaps with makeup yet. The worst was poking my pupil with my eyeliner in the rushed mornings. Immediately tear and my eye turns red for a few good hours.
I have a few of these, but my favourite one was curling my lashes (I was a newbie 13-year-old, so come on…) or rather, attempting to AFTER I applied mascara. I nearly clamped my lashes off, ow!
My least favourite (which has been impacting me ever since) was using one of those nose pore strips. I was thirteen and had just started to get pimples and tried using one just once because my Mother was using them. Well. At the time, the skin on my nose was completely smooth and my pores were basically perfect: I just had a clogged pore/breakout or two and they were always easily solvable, but I thought the strip would be a quick, easy solution. After using it, overnight I developed a blackhead problem. It was like my pores were stretched and just instantly clogged up. I used toner and cold water afterwards but somehow my pores just STAYED open and I then had a nose covered in blackheads! It was scary-terrible and even now my nose still isn’t the same, and I have had larger pores ever since. So sad. I really don’t recommend those on young teenage skin. I know this doesn’t happen to everyone but its my biggest skin care regret, ever.
It was a day,I was being particular about my eyes make up. It took me more than 2 hours,blame it to the butterfly in my tummy,to get ready (to meet long-distance bf). I keep on adjusting the eyeliner’s thickness before applied the mascara heavily for that dollish look. Thanks to absent-mindedness at the moment,I almost forgot to tightlining,so I did it without let the mascara dried first. My phone ringing, and I ACCIDENTALLY poked my eyes with the brush and ACCIDENTALLY rubbed it like a crazy woman.
Looked at the mirror,and yes,I look like one. Imagine the wet mascara and the eyeliner and the bloodshot and the ruined make up, and when Im answering the phone,my bf just 10 minutes to reach.
And I took a bottle of hand sanitizer and put it on a cotton pad,thinking it was my make up remover. He thought I was cried and I told him that I just woke up -shhhh,don’t tell him 😛
OMG, That is insane!!!!!!!!!!!, But I have something that will make all of ya’ll cringe and cry out, “Thank God she realised at the last minute!!” I was swatching nail polish on my fingers and I was wiping them off using my Corine De Farme Remover( Awesome remover, removes everything in just 1 wipe, and its moisturising too) And I had a water bottle on the other end of the table, And every now and then, I will take a swig at it. AND guess what, I grabbed the nail polish remover instead, (its in a huge 200ml clear glass bottle, similar to my drinking bottle) and nearly too a swig, Had it on my lips and all, however the smell aroused my suspicion, and I glanced down, and lo behold!, its polish remover!!!!! I sat still for a full 5 minute, looking at that doozy bottle……………………
I don’t know if this qualifies? I used my dog’s shampoo, surprisingly (maybe not) a lot of people noticed I smelled like my dog. It’s scented “fresh.” The type of smell people associate with water sans the generic masculine odor.
My grandmother drank nail polish remover, she mistook it for mouthwash, she had issues with her saliva glands the rest of her life:(
be careful x
Hmm…Not sure if this can be considered as mistake. Tried applying toothpaste as zit-zapper, my face burnt and left a dark scar. Yikes!!