This post may not be directly related to Shanghai, but it is an amazing live savior that I learned IN Shanghai from none other than my friend Ana, again smile emoticon So when you are a girl here, it is inevitable fact that you will go out. A LOT. That means you will obviously make up a lot. And here is the priceless knowledge Ana shared with me about two years ago and I have been sticking to it ever since. It works wonders because my skin has never been better. Ana’s rule of thumb is: yes for eye make- up and lips, no for foundation. What you should do instead, both to make your skin naturally beautiful and save money on foundation and make up – remover – USE OLIVE OIL. Well, honestly I am also a huge fan, almost fanatic of coconut oil, but this one gets solid in winter and is not that convenient to use for removing make up. But here are a few legitimate reasons why olive oil is perfect: 1) It is a natural source of squalene – one of the most common lipids produced by human skin cells. I am not a scientist so I won’t give you all the details here,but the thing I remembered from my dermatologist back in Poland is – we should include squalene in our daily beauty regimen to keep it youthful an healthy. So when you remove make up it is both really efficient, removes it beautifully plus at the same time you are providing your skin with the best, natural care. 2) It removes make up very quickly and as I already said before – it is efficient so you really need just a few drops 3) You will save a lot of money – if you buy a bottle, it may last for at least half a year. When I introduced my blog, I mentioned that at the beginning my budget in Shanghai was extremely limited but I still wanted to take great care of myself. And we all know how much a good face moisturizer can cost – minimum 60, 70 RMB. Plus makeup remover may cost you around 50, 60 RMB – minimum. And the quality obviously won’t be the best. So Ana’s advice was one of the best I ever got If you pay around 170 RMB for a bottle of GOOD QUALITY, VIRGIN olive oil, you will be able to use it just for your skin for at least 6 months. It is the best quality make up remover AND you can also use it as a face and body moisturizer. Trust me – you will see effects within 3 months – both in your budget and on your skin.