Dear Answer Angel Ellen: I am so fed up with carefully removing my eye makeup at night and waking up with raccoon eyes — dark, leftover mascara smudges beneath my eyes that are almost impossible to remove.

I have tried many brands of eye makeup remover, as well as makeup remover wipes. None work.

Must I quit wearing mascara? I’m thinking that’s my only alternative.

— Maddie N.

Dear Maddie: Quitting mascara? You must really be desperate!

I know how you feel. For years I’ve had to decide whether an event was mascara-worthy because of the effort it took to get it off my under-eyes. My latest remover is pretty good. Not 100% but still better than any other I’ve tried.

It’s L’Oréal clean artiste designed for “waterproof and long wearing” mascara. I bought it at Walgreens for $6.99. It says on the bottle that it is suitable for sensitive eyes and “safe for contact lens wearers.” In the small print it tells you to shake well before using “to blend the two phases,” whatever they are. But it isn’t greasy and that’s a huge plus. It still took some rubbing with a few Q-tips to remove the final remnants of mascara from underneath my eyes. But that’s better than all the other eye makeup removers I’ve tried — most of them more expensive than this.

Dear Answer Angel Ellen: You’re probably getting questions about this since Melania showed up in an impossible-to-ignore hat at her husband’s inauguration. Are hats back?

— Annie D.

Dear Annie: I don’t think Melania’s hat is going to have much of an effect on women’s hat sales. But it’s worth noting that the president’s daughter, Ivanka, was also wearing a hat at the inauguration, albeit not nearly as big and bold.

If you love hats, you go girl. I think hats are great and not just the practical kind that you wear in the cold. British women never stopped wearing noteworthy hats, and I think they look terrific.

Angelic readers

More reader recommendations for where to find crisp — not soft— sheets:

For starters, a reminder that if you’re looking for crisp sheets — not soft or silky — you want percale (not sateen), low thread count and preferably white (no dye).

Marianne W. recommends Feather & Stitch 100% cotton percale 300-thread count, which are “cooling and crisp and have lasted a long time.” Patricia S. and Jeff F. buy American Blossom Linens (americanblossomlinens.com). From Gail B.: “Try Brooklinen sheets (brooklinen.com). Their 100% cotton percale sheets actually have a soft ‘crackle’ when you put them on the bed.” Rhonda L. also buys Brooklinen Classic Percale Core sheets.

Jane C., Kristen F. and Lee recommend the Company Store all-cotton percale sheets. (From Ellen: I like them very much but find the price painful.) Karen T. buys Macy’s Hotel Collection Italian Percale (macys.com, queen set, $380). From Linda J.: Try hardtofindsheets.com. Barbara A.: Purity Sheets from Kohl’s (kohls.com).

Reader rants

Vicki M. writes: “I cannot tolerate the smell of most dry shampoo sprays. Even the ‘unscented’ versions I purchased still had a lingering scent. I hate to keep wasting money on a product that I don’t use every day.”

From Cathy E.: “Am I the only one who cannot stand the latest look in blue jeans? They’re either cropped short, shapeless, or ripped and have holes at the knees. Even the ones that don’t have any tears are cropped with frayed hems. They don’t seem to flatter any body type and I am having a difficult time trying to find any jeans that look good any more.”

Send your questions and rants — on style, shopping, fashion, makeup and beauty — to answerangelellen@gmail.com.