Prima di dormire, devo struccarmi bene.

Literally, prima di dormire means before sleeping or before going to sleep.

Italian often uses:

prima di + infinitive

to mean before doing something.

So:

• prima di mangiare = before eating
• prima di uscire = before going out
• prima di dormire = before sleeping

The di links prima to the infinitive verb.

Because after prima di, Italian uses the infinitive form of the verb, not a conjugated form.

So you say:

• prima di dormire
• prima di studiare
• prima di partire

Not:

• prima di dormo
• prima di studio

This is similar to English before sleeping / before going to sleep, where English also does not use a fully conjugated main clause after before in this structure.

Devo means I must, I have to, or I need to.

It is the first person singular of dovere.

Present tense of dovere:

• io devo = I must
• tu devi = you must
• lui/lei deve = he/she must
• noi dobbiamo = we must
• voi dovete = you all must
• loro devono = they must

So devo struccarmi bene means I have to remove my makeup well.

Struccarmi means to remove my makeup.

It comes from the verb struccarsi, which means to take off one’s makeup.

You can break it down like this:

• struccare = to remove makeup from someone / to take makeup off
• mi = myself / me
• struccarmi = to remove my makeup

So in this sentence, the speaker is saying that they need to take their makeup off.

Because after a modal verb like dovere, Italian often uses the infinitive, and reflexive pronouns can attach directly to that infinitive.

So both of these are correct:

• Devo struccarmi
• Mi devo struccare

They mean the same thing: I have to remove my makeup.

With infinitives, attaching the pronoun to the end is extremely common:

• voglio alzarmi = I want to get up
• posso sedermi = I can sit down
• devo lavarmi = I have to wash myself

Yes. Mi devo struccare bene is also correct.

Both are grammatical:

• devo struccarmi bene
• mi devo struccare bene

In everyday Italian, attaching the pronoun to the infinitive after a modal verb is very common, so devo struccarmi bene sounds very natural.

Very often, yes, when you mean to remove your own makeup.

Examples:

• Mi strucco = I remove my makeup
• Devo struccarmi = I have to remove my makeup

But there is also the non-reflexive struccare, which is used when someone removes makeup from someone else:

• La truccatrice strucca l’attrice. = The makeup artist removes the actress’s makeup.

So:

• struccarsi = to take off one’s own makeup
• struccare qualcuno = to remove someone else’s makeup

They are opposites.

• truccarsi = to put makeup on
• struccarsi = to take makeup off

Examples:

• Mi trucco ogni mattina. = I put on makeup every morning.
• Mi strucco ogni sera. = I take my makeup off every evening.

The prefix s- here gives the idea of undoing or removing.

Bene means well.

Here it means the speaker should remove their makeup thoroughly / properly.

So struccarmi bene is not just take off my makeup, but more like:

• remove it well
• remove it properly
• make sure all of it comes off

This is a very natural use of bene in Italian.

In Italian, adverbs like bene often come after the verb or verb phrase.

So:

• mangiare bene = to eat well
• parlare bene = to speak well
• struccarmi bene = to remove my makeup well

That word order is normal and natural in Italian.

Yes. In this sentence, prima di dormire is commonly understood as before going to sleep / before bed.

Literally it is before sleeping, but in natural English the best translation is often:

• Before going to bed
• Before I go to sleep

Context decides the most natural interpretation.

Because Italian usually drops subject pronouns when the verb already makes the subject clear.

Here, devo already tells you the subject is I.

So:

• devo = I must
• devi = you must
• deve = he/she must

That is why io is not necessary.

You could say io devo struccarmi bene if you want emphasis, but normally it is omitted.

Because prima di dormire is an introductory time expression at the beginning of the sentence.

So the comma helps separate:

• Prima di dormire = before sleeping
• devo struccarmi bene = I have to remove my makeup well

In Italian, this comma is natural and common, though punctuation can sometimes vary depending on style.

Yes, absolutely.

• Prima di dormire = before sleeping / before going to sleep
• Prima di andare a dormire = before going to sleep

The second version is a bit more explicit, but both are natural.

Very often, Italian prefers the shorter prima di dormire when the meaning is clear.

Grammatically, no. The sentence itself does not mark the speaker as female or male.

Devo struccarmi bene simply means I have to remove my makeup well. Anyone could say it.

Italian past participles or adjectives sometimes show gender, but nothing in this sentence does. The only clue would come from real-world context, not grammar.