Make Up Brushes: Deep Clean

I've been doing some intense Spring cleaning all morning! As in... the whole sha-bang... bleach, polish and all that fun stuff (not quite) and I decided to give all my make up brushes a good clean! For day-to-day cleaning it's fine to just use some kind of spot cleaner (I use one from Mac, it's about £10 and has been lasting ages) but every few weeks it's important to do a proper clean! This helps reduce spots on the face because it gets rid of all the bacteria clogged inside the brush (ew!) and it helps make up application by giving a better finish, and being easier to blend :) It is slightly time consuming, but the good thing is you don't always have to wash every single one, just the ones you use daily (having a bigger brush collection is useful here as you can be lazy and just rotate them.. oops haha)

 Here is how I go about giving mine a good cleanse!

10 steps...

1. You'll need some soap, (I just use a regular soap that's good at making skin soft and anti-bacterial... as it has the same benefits for brushes! but you can use a proper make up brush soap) some water, (I just use the sink) and a couple of towels.
   
2. Lay a towel (or 2/3/4... depending on how many brushes you're cleaning) at the edge of a desk or shelf. Fold it over half way so that the back bit is higher than the front.
   
   
   
   
3. Go to the sink and either make a little pool of water, or just leave the tap running and be naughty (wasting water). Squirt some soap directly onto the brush.
   
   
   
   
4. Swirl around your hand, rinse, and repeat until the brush looks clean. The aim of the game here, is to keep the brush facing downwards as much as possible! This is to stop water getting down into the brush which can interfere with the glue and leave you with lots of fall-out hairs.
   
   
   
   
5. Once clean, pat dry with a flannel, and give it a little squeeze with your finger and thumb to get rid of any excess soap.
   
   
   
6. Now, lay it down on the towel so that the brush is hanging over the edge... this stops it from drying with a flat edge and keeps its fluffy round shape in tact! Also, having the back elevated will again stop water from going down into the brush where the glue is (bit complicated hey! but it comes in handy in helping your brushes last A LOT longer)
   
   
   
7. Repeat with all the brushes you want to clean (yawn).
   
   
8. Once they're all done, lay them out to dry over-night or on a day that you won't be needing them as they can take a little while.
   
   
   
   
   
   I CAN'T BELIEVE THEY ALL FIT IN TWO LITTLE IKEA POTS HAHA (ALL FROM EITHER REAL TECHNIQUES, ZOEVA, BARE MINERALS, MAC OR EBAY) - I THINK SOME MAY HAVE TO BE DONATED TO MY MUMSY!
   
   
   
9. Done! Now they will feel all beautiful, clean and soft... enjoy it when you next use them!
   
   
   
10. One more quick step... you'll now need some bleach for the sink, probably a new soap and a cup of tea on the sofa haha (your back will probably start to ache after brush number 10)! 

I hope that little cleaning tutorial was useful to you :) I wouldn't panic if you don't ALWAYS keep on top of the process but every now and then I find it's really good for your skin, make up application and the brushes themselves to freshen them up a bit :) PS... all of the photos in this post were taken with my new camera (CANON POWERSHOT SX700 HS) :D

Girly Packing for a Summer Holiday!

After enduring yet more revision this morning (can't wait for it to all be done on Monday!) I looked down beside me at my half-packed suitcase and decided to have a break and create a little post on packing for holidays! Can you tell I'm over-excited to be going away to Murcia, Spain next week!? 

First of all, the reason I added the word 'girly' in the title is because this post if full of little things that I find just make you feel pretty, girly and special while you're away! Don't get me wrong, I've definitely had a few last minute 'bung-a-load-of-stuff-in-a-case' moments, but when I've got a special holiday coming up, I like to be organised and make the most of what little baggage allowance there is haha! So yeah, I guess some of these recommendations aren't essential at all, they're just things that I enjoy taking on holiday as a bit of luxury... I'm a girl... what can I say haha! To make things easier to read/follow I've split up some little tips into 3 main categories that I enjoy packing the most... I won't bother with the essentials as we all know the drill... sun cream, toothbrush, travel plug blah blah blah... on with the good stuff!

From the picture above, it's probably clear that poor Matthew, has about 1/8th of the suitcase haha! When packing make up for holiday, there are a few things that I stick to...

1. Pack your favourite foundation! You'll want one that you know you love wearing so that you feel nice at night time :) 
2. I never actually bother with make up during the day... just wear sun cream and sunglasses and you're good to go!
3. Pack some exciting eye shadows as holidays are the perfect time to experiment with some funky colours! Same rule with lipsticks :) - a few that I'm excited to try over there (I've actually been saving them until then... saddo! haha) are Mac's Melon Pigment, Mac's Costa Chic Lipstick and Rimmel Kate Moss Matte Lipstick in the shade 101!
4. Definitely bring a highlighter! They look so beautiful at night time on holiday with all the lights around... my favourite is Mac's Soft& Gentle... which I also like to pop over my collar bones as I just think it looks super pretty and feminine!
5. Use a primer! It will help make up stay on despite the hot weather
6. Pack a bronzer or two (or 3... or 4 haha) just in case you're like me and your face tans MUCH slower than the rest of your body! 

Of course, the most important skincare to take on holiday is sun cream!! No matter what skin type you have, too many UV rays are never a good thing... sunburn, skin cancer and premature aging being why! So sun cream is an obvious essential, I usually go with SPF 30, sometimes SPF 15 on the last few days but I have "blonde skin" (fair, easily burnt) so to avoid sunburn I actually stay in the shade a lot of the time - I'm not all that fussed about getting a tan as my tan is never particularly dark anyway... prefer to fake it ;) haha... but if you tan beautifully, you're very lucky!! Anyway, apart from the obvious suncream/aftersun these are a few things I like to use while I'm away to keep my skin happy, healthy and soft :) (happy skin? yup that's a thing!)

1. Not sure about anyone else but sometimes using the same thick sun cream that I use on my body, on my face, gives me a few pesky spots! So this year I've decided to try using the Khiel's Ultra Light Daily UV Defense on my face... hopefully this will work well... I'll keep you updated!
2. More to deal with any breakouts caused by the sun are the Origins Blemish Treatment Pads which I imagine are going to feel lovely and refreshing after being hot all day! Also from Origins, I'm taking their Super Spot Remover which is a fairly recent edition to my bathroom cabinet... but it's so great at getting rid of annoying spots! Plus, it's only tiny :D
3. I like to take a face mask on holiday too, as whilst I'm there I always relax in the evenings getting ready... no rushing (ahhh, the beauty of a nice break!) so putting a face mask on is really nice :)
4. I guess the last product is kind of a make up-skincare hybrid... a good primer! This Khiel's one is an absolute HERO PRODUCT! It's not actually launched in Khiel's stores yet but it's available at Space NK :)

I love using this little thing from Cath Kidston (£19 in the sale) to pack up all my skincare/toiletries/hair bobbles/falsies/jewellery and all that jazz! It folds up small in the case and it's just a neat way of packing everything so that nothing spills everywhere! Plus, it involves much less unpacking when you get there = tidy hotel room!

I must say this is probably the hardest bit of packing for me. Make up, skincare... pretty much done in a flash as I always know roughly what I want to take... but clothes are never my favourite thing to have to organize. I will quickly add that I'm no fashionista at all! I would say I have developed my own kind of style, I like quite plain things when it comes to the style of clothing but I enjoy wearing different colours/patterns :) Anyway... this is the general little guide that I have in my head when I'm packing some clothes for a holiday somewhere hot!

1. I like to hang everything up that I'm taking with me (new and old) on the front of my wardrobe so I can see it all together... it also cheers me up throughout long revision sessions knowing that it's not long till holidays! haha
2. Always take a "wow" dress (or outfit of some kind) that you feel really nice in - doesn't have to be anything fancy at all... mine is probably the little black dress in the picture above. Just something that you really like and will probably save for the last night :)
3. Pack some 'throw on' stuff for the day time (I wear these kind of dresses that you can just chuck on in the morning pretty much every day on holiday)
4. Try things on before you go - I'm never really a shorts kinda girl... but after trying some on, I was pretty pleased with them!

5. Pack some nice underwear (new/old) as after all... not much makes you feel better than matching underwear haha! 

 

     6. Find the right style of swimwear that you feel good in! Now I for one know, that bikini shopping is a bit of a nightmare- I never enjoy it! But I've found that my favourite style is a triangle top- gives nice shape and feels secure if you get my drift haha! And for the bottoms, I like to wear ones that tie at the side to both reduce the whole 'muffin-top' scenario and it's supposed to elongate the legs (not sure whether it really does, but I like this style anyway) :) Once you find a style you like, you can be boring like me and just stick to the same one or branch out and have a selection!

    7. If you're a different size on the top to the bottom (most girls I know are) go for mix and match ones so you can get different sizes in each! Most shops do this now, my favourites being ASOS, Urban Outfitters and Topshop.

    8. Most importantly of all, pack clothes that you love wearing!

I think that's about it for my little summer packing guide! I was going to add in a few extra packing tips but for someone who notoriously packs FAR TOO MUCH, I thought it best to leave that bit up to you! haha... I hope this was useful or a nice light evening read :) I guess to sum up this post, I should add a little quote that I found floating around the internet (somewhere on Facebook) as I think it's one of the most important messages to bear in mind! All this kind of superficial stuff that makes us girls feel good about ourselves, really needn't be something to be even remotely ashamed off... after all...

Happy holidays to anyone that's going away! :D

GlamGlow: Review

A midst lots of revision there's nothing better than a little pick-me-up... and this was mine! I'd heard about this face mask for a while, ever since I'd seen it in an in-flight magazine on the plane last year until recently after a good recommendation (thanks lil :D) I decided to pick one up and try it! It's called GlamGlow and it's a mud mask which comes in either a small pot, or a large one. It has various celebrity followers from the likes of Jay Z, Beyonce, Miley Cyrus, Usher, Kristen Stewart and Jennifer Anniston (more listed on their website) so it's definitely something that I have been really looking forward to trying out! 

I got the smaller size (15g) and it was super-pricey for a face mask (£25) but as long as it's semi-affordable, the price never really puts me off when it comes to skincare... what can I say, I'm a girl in search of soft, healthy skin haha! Anyway, I thought I'd write a quick review as to how I got on when I tried it...

Application : To apply, you only need to take a small amount and put a thin layer all over the face. Inside, there's lots of little leafy-bits (oh-so technical there Laura!) which can put some people off but I actually quite like them being in there as it makes the face mask feel really fresh, natural and healthy for the skin (almost like Lush's Catastrophe Cosmetic Fresh Face Mask)

Whilst it's on : It dries super-quick as it's only a 10-minute mask and I absolutely loved how tingly my skin felt! This is something I've found happens with most mud masks but this one feels the best out of all that I've tried! 

NICE BITS IN MY HAIR THERE EH! (OOPSY)

Taking it off : When taking it off, it says on the back of the box to rub in circular motions to exfoliate the skin and this was probably my favourite part! With most exfoliating products that I've tried with beads in them, the beads are quite big and there's not many of them so it ends up feeling quite scratchy... but not with this! The beads are so small and there are LOADS of them, it's almost like using sand! That might sound a bit gross but it honestly does the best job of exfoliating the skin leaving it lovely and soft! 

Also, I'd definitely advise to stand over the sink as the little bits and pieces in the mask tend to drop all over the place!

Afterwards : In terms of results, which is of course what everyone wants from a face mask, this is definitely the best one I've tried! I have to say I didn't see the best of the results immediately- I noticed my skin was lovely and soft but it wasn't until the next morning that I really thought, WOW! When I was using the face mask I had a few pesky spots around my jawline and it really helped to clear those up (overnight!) as well as making my skin so much more even! I usually get a few red areas around my nose or above my eyebrows, but this left my skin totally even which I was so pleased with!

So... anything bad? 

I think this face mask is genuinely fantastic, it's so good for a little treat before special occasions or on holiday! But, the ONLY thing that I find a little disappointing is of course the price tag... not only because it's quite expensive, but because each small pot only gives about 4 uses :( For this reason it might be beneficial to go for the large pot which you can get via Amazon as it works out better value for money.

 It says on the box that the mask should be used twice a week which would equate to £50 per month, so i'll probably stick to using it as just a one-off for when my skin needs a boost! Apart from that though, such a winner product and for me, it actually does live up to the hype surrounding it! Yay for GlamGlow! And Yay for Olivia for recommending it to me haha!

If anyone has any more face mask recommendations feel free to comment with them! Hope everyone is getting through the exam period ok... not long to go now until summer! :D

3-Step Cheekbones!

  JUST FOUNDATION ----------> BRONZER-------------------> BLUSHER-------------------> HIGHLIGHTER - DONE!

For a while now, I've been using this quick 3-step routine on my cheeks, pretty much every time I put my make up on and I thought I'd make a little post explaining why I like it! :) I guess you could say this is contouring- however, I'm no expert... and contouring can work absolute wonders so I think this is probably just a very basic type of face contouring! The main object of 'contouring' is something I think is pretty clever - from what I understand, it's a way of playing with light and shade to enhance features on the face. If you think about it, putting darker eye shadow through the crease of your eye helps to give the eyes more depth and make them stand out... so I guess contouring cheekbones follows pretty much the same principles :) By defining cheekbones/jawlines, I think it makes the face look a bit slimmer, with a lot more dimension rather than a wash of plain colour (foundation) ... So this post will take the form of a quick tutorial showing each of the three steps :) 

The photo above shows the basic idea of what I do to enhance my almost-non-existent-cheekbones :) Not everybody does it like this so I'm sure there are tones more better ways but this is just what works for me and I find it super quick which is good for early mornings haha :D

Start with just foundation (and the rest of your daily face make up)...

1. Add bronzer (I used Mac's Matte Bronze) to just underneath the cheekbone using a powder brush - I usually just find the line between the top of my ear and the corner of my mouth and follow this about half away down towards the mouth, but not all the way... 

2. Add blusher (I used Mac Dolly Mix) ...

3. Add a little bit of highlighter to the tops of the cheekbone (over the top of the blusher) to attract light to this area making it appear that the cheekbone is much more prominent :) I used Mac's soft& gentle powder highlighter, but be careful not to use too much because in daylight it can look a little tin-man-esque! 

Done! A little bit of shape to the cheekbones and face :) After taking these photos I realised the camera seems to have picked up quite an orange-y tone to the bronzer but don't worry... it isn't in real life (I hope haha) 

I always find that this kind of make up shows up much better on photographs than in daylight, especially with a good old pout-pose! Bring on the selfies! haha :D