Successful smoky eyes are built from the bottom up with eye shadow primer, and layers and layers of blended shadow. It's tempting to start scrubbing away all that work with a washcloth and call it a day, but most washcloths are too rough on your eyes. To remove eye makeup gently, your fingers and a damp cotton round are the only things that should ever get near your eyes.

To break down your smoky eye, King recommends looking for dual-phase eye makeup removers that are made of oil and water. (You'll know them when you see them. They're the bottles of liquid you have to vigorously shake to blend.) The first phase, oil, cuts through eye shadow and primer, while the second phase, water, usually of the cucumber or chamomile variety, soothes skin. Try Lancome Bi-Facil Double-Action Eye Makeup Remover, $30, or Simple Dual Effect Eye Make-Up Remover, $6.99 Apply to a damp cotton round and hold over your closed lid for 10 seconds. Next, gently swipe from you're the inner corner outward.

If your eyes sting or you still find raccoon eye remnants the morning after, branch out from your usual beauty brands and give eye experts at the drugstore a go. Pick up pre-moistened Systane Lid Wipes, $13.49, which are specially formulated for sensitive eyelids and can be used to remove remover that may be irritating your eyes or leaving dull smudges.

You know you've found a winning lip gloss when you're wiping it off at the end of the night and bits of tissue stick to your lips. Just one problem: according to King, you should never use tissues on your face to remove makeup. "Paper is made of wood! Tissues are too harsh on the skin," says King. (But blotting excess oil with a tissue is still okay.)

If you've noticed dryer lips, flakiness and chapped skin, ditch the paper products and use your fingers to remove lip products. Lip glosses are hydrophobic (they hate water), so skip splashing your face over the sink and use dry fingertips to apply an oil-based product, like Burt's Bees Facial Cleansing Oil, $16, or Boscia Makeup-Breakup Cool Cleansing Oil, $30, to your glossy lips. Then, rub the product gently in a circular motion with your ring finger (the most gentle of fingers) for 30-60 seconds. "The idea is to remove product, not stretch your skin," says King.

We all want a long-lasting lipstick that stays all day� until we're standing over the bathroom sink at 2 a.m. with lipstick that refuses to budge. For hard-to-remove liquid lipstick, you need an oil-based cleanser that will cut through the plastics, wax and pigments clinging to the skin. The oil will also keep your lips from drying out. We like Sephora's Supreme Cleansing Oil, $15, and Make Twilight Lip Oil Remover, $10.

Use your fingertips to work the oil into your lips creases. With a cotton round, sweep from right to left, flip it over and sweep from left to right. For lipsticks that aren't meant to survive a nuclear holocaust, a few swipes in the same motion with an oil-infused remover wipe like Dermalogica Precleanse Wipes, $18, should do the trick.

No makeup remover on hand? No problem. Try this genius hack for removing liquid lipstick.

If you have trouble coloring inside the lines or managed to smear dark lipstick on your face during dinner, use an oil-free eye makeup remover like Maybelline Expert Eyes 100 Percent Oil-Free Makeup Remover, $4.65, and a cotton pad to quickly lift stains and smudges from skin. Oil-free formulas won't smear the rest of your lipstick.

There's no way around it -- to successfully remove makeup, you need to physically wash it off in the sink. Makeup remover wipes work well in a pinch, but they'll only get you halfway there. According to King, they should, at the most, be seen as the first step of a two-step nightly ritual (aka, the "double cleanse"). The first step in a double cleanse is a "pre cleanser" oil. "Many people shy away from using oil on their skin, but with the right product, it can make tremendous improvements," King says. Namely, it's the best ingredient to gently and thoroughly remove dirt, pollution, makeup and sunscreen that's been building up on your skin.

When picking a cleansing oil, steer clear of lanolin, mineral oil and heavy fragrances. Instead, look for products that contain olive oil, like DHC Deep Cleansing Oil, $28, and apricot kernel oil and kukui nut oil, like Urban Decay Melt Down Makeup Remover, $24, and Bobbi Brown Soothing Cleansing Oil, $44. Use the pads of your fingers to apply the oil over your entire face in circular motions. Let it sit for 30 seconds, then add warm water to emulsify -- the product should turn silky and easily whisk away.

If the thought of using oil to remove makeup freaks you out (here are 9 reasons why it shouldn't) dip a toe in with Clinique Take The Day Off Cleansing Balm, $29, a solid balm that transforms into an oil once emulsified with water.

For part two of your double cleanse, cleanse as usual with a cleanser that caters to your skin type, whether that's dryness, sensitivity, hyperpigmentation or acne. The second cleanse allows for a deeper cleaning and gets rid of any leftover dirt and makeup remover.

Speaking of using oil to remove makeup, you might already have what you need sitting in your kitchen. If you're into green beauty (or want to save a few bucks), you can use natural makeup removers like coconut oil or olive oil to swipe off stubborn makeup.

For eye makeup, gently apply a dime-size amount of oil over your eye area. (If your coconut oil is solid, rub it between your fingers first until it liquefies.) Let the oil sit for five to 10 seconds to allow it to dissolve your makeup. Then use a cotton pad, and gently massage the eyelids and lashes in downward strokes and into the bridge of your nose using circular motions. To remove the rest of your face makeup, simply take a quarter size amount of oil and rub between your hands. Gently rub oil into skin making circular motions. Once thoroughly applied, rinse your face with water (you might need a touch of soap to fully remove all the oil).

If you don't already have these oils in your cupboards, you can also pick up Kopari Coconut Oil Melt , $36, a 100 percent organic and unrefined coconut oil that melts away makeup and leaves skin impossibly soft, or S.W. Basics Makeup Remover, $14, which is made up of organic sweet almond oil, extra-virgin olive oil and jojoba oil.