This Genius Pencil Is Our New Favorite Beauty Hack

If you know me, you know that I have all of the feelings when it comes to makeup wipes. I don't think they're effective at properly removing makeup, which can be pretty damaging to your skin if you don't follow up with a cleanser. Similarly, they aren't all that convenient, are they? The plastic packaging is not really desirable for travel, since the wipes can dry out. You can only imagine my overwhelming joy, then, when I was introduced to the Nudestix Clean-Up Pencil, the first (to our knowledge) makeup remover that's available in a pencil format. If you're not familiar with Nudestix, it's a cult brand that initially launched at SpaceNK, started by former beauty executive Jenny Frankel who had retired from the biz to be with her teenage daughters, and realized that everything she was taught all those years at giant corporations was all wrong, and younger generations approach beauty in a completely different way. Jenny made a triumphant return to beauty with Nudestix, an all-pencil line that she calls "Crayola meets Chanel." Her two teen daughters, Ally and Taylor, help provide inspiration and curate the color stories. They're not fans of bright colors, palettes, or anything too complicated. These young women prefer their beauty to be one thing above all: simple. Most of the line is straightforward: eyeshadows, concealers, liners, blushes, lip products. But, just this week, a line of "Skin Pencils" hit Sephora. The most fabulous of the bunch was the Clean-Up. It's everything you love about your favorite, non-dehydrating makeup-remover balm, but turned into a solid and presented in a handy, travel-friendly pencil format. While we've seen liquid pen formulas, which often have a felt tip — which, let's be honest, can cause even more of a mess due to drippage — this guy couldn't be easier. Jenny explains that active solvents work to dissolve oil-based makeup on the spot. Now, this doesn't completely replace makeup remover — it just spot-treats to quickly touch up any mistakes or makeup meltdowns, without having to redo your whole face. It's perfect for when your concealer or foundation creases on your nose or forehead, leaving you with those really cool splotches of product. It's also great for post-eyeshadow application, so you can ditch the Q-tip/remover situation and get right down to business. (This is especially key for grabbing the fall-out after a particularly tricky smoky eye.) Ally and Taylor use it for those raccoon-eyed mornings (no more mascara flakes). I used it to remove a really shoddy concealer application I did on an old acne scar — you know how they can peel and get flaky during the day, and makeup only makes it look worse? I just rub back and forth with the pencil, blot with my fingertips to dry, and then put on concealer.  Rarely do we get to see products that change the way we do our faces, but this one is beyond brilliant. It's like pressing "undo" on your makeup. I'll be keeping one at my desk, and one in every coat pocket I have — you never know when you're going to need your next touch-up, right? Nudestix Clean-Up Pencil, $24, available at Sephora.