After a hard night of partying, when you're just about ready to crawl into bed, the last thing you feel like doing if taking your make-up off.

But skipping your nightly beauty routine is damaging - your skin will end up paying for it, as will your eyes.

  Take time to cleanse properly, and make a good job of it by following these guidelines:

1. Make sure you use high quality cotton wool pads, which you should moisten slightly before putting a little makeup remover on them: if you use too much cleanser, you're likely to end up with red and irritated eyes.
2. Hold the cotton pad against the closed lid for about thirty seconds, allowing the remover to gently dissolve away the remains of eye shadow and mascara.
3. Don't rub your eyes. Use gentle movements – always towards the outer edge of the eye – above and below the lashes.
4. If you use waterproof mascara, you must use a cleansing product designed to deal with this type of cosmetic: traditional cleansers just won't cope. In general, long-lasting and waterproof make up will need more cleansing effort.