Jewelry page 39

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Clockwise: products from Dr. Dennis Gross, Neutrogena, Nathan and LOral.

Perhaps it’s time to revisit the wipe. No, not the moist, lemony towelette you use to degrease your fingers after gnawing on hot wings. That’s the old wipe. The new wipe is bigger, softer and engineered to do the work of nearly any bottled beauty product.

These upscale wipes are infused with sunscreen, self-tanner, hair serum, deodorant. They remove nail polish, dirt, maybe even wrinkles. And they are becoming ubiquitous as brands scramble to satisfy consumer demand.

“A year ago they weren’t as mainstream and available for multiple purposes,” said Tracy Ogden, a spokeswoman for Amazon.com’s Health and Personal Care, and Beauty divisions, where a search for beauty wipes turns up about 800 results. “Now customers can buy wipes for anything.”

Are these towelettes a minimalist’s dream, or expensive Wet Naps? Your intrepid reporter tested an all-wipe beauty routine to find out.

Given the season, I had to try sunscreen. Keeping a few wipes in my tote bag might prevent burns during alfresco brunches and impromptu strolls. And packing for vacations would be much simpler: no more playing chemist in the bathroom, siphoning lotion into teeny travel bottles that inevitably begin leaking somewhere over the Atlantic Ocean.

“This is a game changer,” my brother declared from a beach chair as he rubbed an arm with a Doctor T’s Supergoop! SPF 30+ Sunscreen Swipe. Goodbye, messy lotions that turn his olive skin Kabuki white. I liked Dr. Dennis Gross Skincare’s Powerful Sun Protection SPF 30 towelettes because they felt damper. After all, another advantage that sunscreen wipes have over lotion is that they’re refreshing. One member of our sunbathing party even used a Shady Wipes Daily Sun Protection wipe with SPF 30 to whisk away sweat as we departed the beach. (The brand makes “after-sun” wipes, but they emit an earthy scent you’d expect to emanate from a Catskills hillside, not your body.)

If you prefer, you can get your tan from a wipe instead of the sun. But first, some advice on use: I found that unfolding the wipe, slowly dragging it up your leg (think “paint the fence” from “The Karate Kid”) and then going over it again in a circular motion (“wax on, wax off”) works best. Also: squeeze a dollop of body lotion on your hands first to prevent tanning your fingertips. The best brand will depend on your skin color. I’m fair, and Sonia Kashuk’s Sunless Tan Body towelettes in golden for Target gave my legs a pretty glow without turning them the color of Tang. There are four wipes in a pack (for $9.99), and I used one for each leg. (That adds up, Ms. Kashuk: please put more in the box.) L’Oreal’s Sublime Bronze Self-Tanning Towelettes for Body in medium dried darker. Being pale, I anticipated a “catanstrophe.” Yet after a shower the color was lovely: slightly browner than the Kashuk and, at $7.99 for six wipes at Drugstore.com and Amazon, cheaper, too.

Facial wipes, intended to remove makeup, have also become common, offered by brands like Philosophy, MAC, the Body Shop and Ole Henriksen. Be cautious if you have sensitive skin, though. Even wipes claiming to be gentle stung my eyes. And my nose. Towelettes meant to smell of fruit often smell like candy or dessert liqueur. One night I emerged from the bathroom smelling like SweeTarts. Another night I climbed into bed smelling like a Creamsicle. A third evening, I was indistinguishable from limoncello.

Comodynes Make-Up Remover for all skin types was an exception. Made in Barcelona, it smells fresh and didn’t irritate my skin. Inspired, I also tried Comodynes Easy Peeling New Face Effect wipes, to exfoliate. Never mind whether that accomplished anything. Tiny rough bumps all over the wipe felt invigorating, like a massage. The company also makes wipes to apply self-tanner. Other wipes that didn’t chafe my skin include Neutrogena’s Night Calming Makeup Remover Cleansing Towelettes and Biore’s Makeup Removing Towelettes (which ought to be larger).

Body wipes also tend to smell strange and can be reminiscent of the ones used on babies. Yet I was pleasantly surprised by the futuristic-sounding Nathan Human Propulsion Laboratories Power Shower Refreshing Wipes. The package says the wipes are for people — and gym equipment. I was unenthused about cleaning myself with a product also meant for a StairMaster, but I can’t argue with the results.

One Saturday, I slicked on a Ms. & Mrs. Deodorant Towelette, a refill for the brand’s diminutive emergency kits. I’m giving the wipe a passing grade considering it was 88 degrees and no one recoiled from me. Was it as effective as a roll-on, stick or spray? No. In a pinch, though, it beats the alternative. The Ms. & Mrs. brand makes other wipes, all of which come in shiny silver packets so you won’t mistake them for the no-frills wipes of yesteryear (though you might mistake them for condoms). I also tried the brand’s nail polish remover. A thick wipe slightly bigger than a stick of gum easily erased several coats of polish, making it ideal for tropical getaways and on-the-go touch-ups.

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