Wallet-Friendly Wednesdays: Pond's Cold Cream Cleanser

How old were you when you started using makeup? I was four years old. Yes, you read that right! My mom very brilliantly involved her young rambunctious daughter in theater, and my first show was The King and I, in which I played the Youngest Royal Child. This involved a lot of being carried around onstage, wearing cool kimonos and silk pajama sets, and a ton of makeup. My mom and I actually had to go to a class to learn how to make me look Siamese -- and we were given two pages worth of instructions on makeup application!

My mom might have reconsidered her decision to put me in theater after looking at that ridiculously long list. I, of course, found this to be fabulous. What could be better than a four-year-old being made up every night to prance around in front of tons of people and stay up way past her bedtime?

My point, fellow beauty chicks, is this. Getting all that makeup off would have proven to be quite difficult without the amazing invention that is Pond's Cold Cream Cleanser. Pancake makeup, base, foundation, jet-black eyeliner ... you name it, I was wearing it. But at the end of the evening, it came off with a snap thanks to this miraculous little tub.

As a result, I've sworn by the stuff for years. The thick, fluffy white cream is seriously soothing as it hits the skin -- the whipped texture and cooling effect leaves my skin feeling fresh and clean even when I've sported pounds of makeup. The slight medicinal-esque aroma is like none other -- I can't say I find it to be fabulous, but there is something quite calming about it. And the fact that the cream is hypoallergenic only makes me love it more ... my face never breaks out from it, and I just feel happy smoothing it on at night.

Pond's Cold Cream Cleanser retails for $4.50 at drugstore.com.