Cleaning Makeup Brushes

When it comes to makeup I find that in order for it to work you have to have the right tools, in this case it`s the expanding collection of makeup brushes. The down side to using brushes is that they become dirty very quickly with everything makeup wise and bacteria wise clinging to them, so although it`s a rather mundane task cleaning them is essential. I tend to give mine a rinse in makeup remover after every use, but I aim to give them a full clean at least every week just to make sure that I get rid of all the excess makeup that will have been left behind when I`ve used them.

 
 My routine for cleaning my brushes is rather straight forward and simple:

 

1.  I gather all the makeup brushes I have ready to begin cleaning them

2. I rinse the brushes in lukewarm water (keep the tap running to clean the brushes, otherwise you just end up cleaning brushes in dirty water, which defeats the object of cleaning them)

3. I rub soap into the brushes (I tend to use Dove because it`s the everyday soap I have in the house and it`s more of a delicate formula and it leaves the brushes feeling soft)

4. I rinse the brushes off under the water ensure that I`ve got all of them soap out of them

5. I squeeze out any excess water, before leaving them to dry

* when rinsing the brushes off I ensure that the water hasn't got to warm and I run the water down the brushes rather than up, this is because if the water is too hot and gets to the heads of the brushes it sometimes messes with the glue so the bristles start to fall out.

* Because of how long they take to dry after I wash them properly I tend to do it in an evening or after I use them to ensure that they will have time to dry out properly before I use them again.

Cleaning brushes for me is a rather important task as not only does it get rid of the makeup it gets rid of the bacteria that clinging to them. My skin is rather sensitive and tends to breakout in spots at the slightest reaction, so by staying on top of my hygiene with the brushes it tends to stop it happening as often as it would if I were to leave the brushes.

 

10 Tips For A Healthier Day

 

 

Life can sometimes be pretty busy, fast pace, and filled with so many unexpected surprises. This tends to make it rather difficult to be fully dedicated to the idea of being healthy, who really has the time to work out at the gym, cook perfectly balance meals throughout the day and do everything else in life. But it doesn't have to be that way, being healthy doesn't have to be a chore with all these fad  dieting tricks that are out there it all appears a little hectic. Here`s 10 everyday tricks/tips to help you on a healthier way with your physical health and appearance.


1. Water Is Your Best Friend: water holds many little health tricks that you wouldn't believe, its also essential for survival, but would you believe it people don't actually drink as much water as they should be. As well as the obvious water also keep not only your body but your skin hydrated and stops if from drying out so quickly. Drinking water though out the day can also help you stop overeating and binging on anything available.




2. Avoid Diet Drinks: regardless of what it says on the label they're not actually that good for you, some of the chemicals that go into diet drinks tend to cause bloating and they are just all-round not all that good for you .





3. Eat Breakfast: this is key to starting your day off healthier, they say breakfast is the most important meal of the day, and it is. It`s key that you eat something within the first hour of being awake in order to kick-start your metabolism for the day.


4. Plan Your Meals: when you've have a busy day and don't really have the time to prepare a proper meal you tend to just go for the quickest and cheapest option, these aren't always the healthiest. Planning or preparing meals before hand helps you to have more control over what you eat and stops you eating junk that has no benefits for you at all.


5. Move More: I'm not saying you have to throw yourself into some intense work out every day, but by simply adding more steps into your day, like parking a little further away from the shop or walking to wherever you want to go, the little things make a big difference.


6. Get Enough Sleep: It`s recommended that we should have a minimum of 8 hours of sleep a night, I know that this is not always possible because life gets in the way, but sleep is one of the most important factors in making you look and feel healthier .


7. Remove Makeup At Night: I am guilty of the whole falling asleep with makeup on, particularly after a long day, but it is important for your skin that you remove your makeup before you go to bed even if its just mascara. Research shows that sleeping with makeup on tends to age the skin a lot faster, leaving it looking dull, dry, and cracked.


8.Exfoliate: This is more for a healthier appearance rather than a healthier lifestyle, but exfoliating helps get rid of any dead skin and just opens up the pores more to breathe so to speak, its rather important in preventing breakouts and stopping skin for cracking.  


9. Moisturise: This one I cannot emphasise enough! moisturiser is key to healthier looking skin, particularly in winter as it gets colder skin becomes more prone to drying out and cracking, caking on the moisturiser at night allows the skin to soak it up and helps give it a healthier glow in the morning.



10.Relax: sometime we get so focused on the concepts of being healthier and taking care of ourselves that we forget the most important thing, just breathing. Relaxing is key to being healthier as stressing out about things too much can actually have the adverse effect and rather then helping use be healthier it can actually make use ill.

So those are just 10 little things that I try to do in my everyday life just to make myself a little bit healthier and create healthy habits, both for my physical health and my physical appearance. There are millions of things you can to be just a little bit healthier, let me know what some of yours are in the comments sections.

Top 10 Drugstore Makeup Products

Having recently taken a look at the products that I have in my everyday makeup collection I have only just realised how embarrassingly outdated it all actually is, as a student I can’t necessarily afford to go out and splurge on high end make-up, so I decided to test out some cheaper alternative products that wouldn't break the bank.

 

Rimmel Lasting Finish 25hour Foundation with comfort serum
This is one of my ultimate go to foundations for the long days where I don't really have the time to keep going back and topping off my makeup. As a student I need a foundation which is robust enough to handle the long hours, without the heavy price tag, which is what I got with this product. the coverage of this foundation is pretty good, I bought it in the shade of Ivory which was a good match for my skin tone, the formula of the foundation made it rather easy to work with and it blended really well; it was also really good at helping to conceal redness and even out discolouration's without leaving the heavy cakey feeling. The overall finish with the foundation is good, although it does take a moment to set as at first it tends to leave a sticky to touch feeling which is easily resolved in a few moments or by adding a translucent powder set on top.
 

Rimmel BB cream

This is a little beauty that I recently started using and just simply love, as a commuting student time is very limited in the morning and I don't have much time to spend on messing with foundations, this bb cream grants me a solid lightweight coverage that helps to conceal all of the little blemishes and the dark circles I have at half the time. However, it does not cover them as good as I would like so I have to add concealer but for a cheaper alternative to other products it is value for money as you get a decent product without breaking the bank.

Pro-Base Argan Plush Concealer

The reason for picking this concealer to include in my top ten was because it works in several different ways which make it a really good value for money makeup product. With the concealer stick I find that its heavy duty enough to handle the task of covering blemishes like spots and dark circles under the eyes without creasing, as well as handling the task of evening out redness and over discolorations.
 

Rimmel Stay Matte Pressed Powder

This is my go to powder whenever I'm wearing my bb cream or want a more natural finish to my foundation, as once it’s on its more transparent then most pressed powders. I love the silky smooth finish it leaves without the weight of actually having a regular powder top finish, it helps to even out the shine and oily finish that most liked foundations tend to leave behind. It also helps with the idea of locking in the liquid foundation, as there is nothing worse than when you touch your face after applying foundation and being left with it covering your hands, this foundation helps to conceal it ever so slightly so it doesn't run off as much when touched. The only real issue that I have found while using this product is that every few hours depending on your skin you may have to top it up, but other than that I absolutely love it.
 

Collection Eyes Uncovered Palette

I have this palette in nude, however you can buy it in other variations, such as nude bronze and nude grey. I have been rather impressed with this little gem, as I find that it is heavy duty enough to last the day and show a good coverage, but still has the bendability to be able to play around with it and create the perfect smoky eye look.
 



Rimmel London Wonder'Full Wake Me Up Mascara

Rimmel have been a brand that have constantly been adding things to their mascara, the wake me up contains cucumber and various vitamins that are supposed to help give a fuller more awake look, and it does just that. The shape and design of the brush helps to give an even, thick coat as well as managing to get some of the finer lashes giving an overall fuller finish to the lashes.

Barry M Make Me Blush Cream
Barry M is not normally the brand that I go to for makeup, I tend to stick with it for the nail polish, however recently I decided to give it a shot after seeing the cute little packaging that the blush stick came in. Also the variation in shades that they had available at the time was also one of the reasons that I opted for it as it was fairly easy for me to find a shade that I like. Although when its first applied it seems to be a bit of a bright unnatural kind of pink depending on which one you use (I used peach melba) its rather easy to blend out and work with; it also tends to stick and last for 6-8 hours.

 

Rimmel London Natural Bronzer 

Finding a bronzer to make a natural look can be rather difficult when it comes to buying drugstore makeup products, as a lot of them tend to have an unnatural shimmer to them which if you’re not careful when your applying you end up look like a 5 year olds Barbie doll. However, this make appears to be a good buy for its price, as it blends rather easily into the skin making it better to work with as you can build it up to match your skin tone. The fact that the shimmer particle present in the bronzer are finer means that it's easier to create more of a natural sheen rather than an over the top shimmer. 

Barry M Lip Liner 

Being more of a lipstick over lip gloss kind of person lip liner is my saving grace, one of my particular favourites that I have found in terms of cheaper drugstore makeup has to be the Barry M line, as I said this is not normally my go to makeup brand but I decided to test it out and was so glad that I did. I particularly like the fact that it's available in a number of shades so it's easier to find one to suit a variety of different lipsticks, the formula of the lip liner means that it's very good at preventing the lipstick from bleeding and feathering so it lasts longer through the day. 

L’Oréal Paris Colour Riche Exclusive Nudes
This is my go to collection for every occasion, I simply love these lipsticks I have a number of both the nude and the red collection in various shades. These lipsticks are super lightweight and offer a smooth finish when you were them they are heavy duty enough to give a solid lasting look without the cakey feeling when wearing it. I also find that the red collection offers some must haves for any autumn makeup collection.




So those are my top 10 drugstore makeup products, hopefully this helped you guys with some ideas about how to update your makeup collection without the big expense. If you have tried these products before, how did you find them? leave a comment and let me know what you guys think.