I did a
post like this quite a while ago and since then I’ve thought of a few more
beauty tools and extras I couldn’t be without that I thought I’d share!
Bourjois Paris Pencil Sharpener
I love
this sharpener so much I have two! It’s got a double hole so can sharpen thick
and thin pencils and I use one for eyeliner and brow products and the other for
my lip liners! It’s a
steal at £3.49 too and holds the shavings until you can get to a bin!
This
is a life saver for products in metal tubing like my Grown Alchemist
moisturisers! It really helps to get all the product out and I love it for
little sachets too as there’s not a lot of product in most of them anyway so
anything to help make sure you get the last drop out is a winner in my book!
Plus it’s more fun to use this than your hands! I got this years ago so I’m
not sure if it’s the exact one I’ve linked but it’s very similar.
Mint Skin Applicator Brush*
I love
this! It’s not ground breaking but I had never even thought to apply my face
masks with a brush before I was sent this before Christmas! It gives such a smooth,
even application and means I don’t get any mask under my nails – annoying when
you use clay masks a lot and have long nails! See my full review of this brush here!
The
last two products I have to show are a few I have seen big brands do for
ridiculously high prices so I wanted to point these out that I got from good
old eBay.
Most
of the time I just use my hands to wash my brushes but I love this for my eye
brushes. It makes it so easy to give them a deep clean and so quickly too! See
my post from earlier this week about how I wash my makeup brushes here!
I’ve
had this for so long and use it regularly to clean out my hair brushes from
product build up and hair! The little spindles work so well so pull out crap
(for want of a better word!) from the bristles of my hair brush and I think
it’s such a handy little tool to have!
Let me
know if you’ve tried any of these products or what beauty tool you couldn’t be
without!
*denotes
a PR sample that was sent to me. All opinions are my own.
Danielle xx
If you want to keep up to date with my posts, don’t forget to follow me
on
I think I might be in the minority of people when I say I find washing
my brushes an enjoyable activity! I think it’s quite therapeutic seeing all the
bronzer, blusher and eyeshadow fall down the plughole and I sometimes even
shout into my mum to see if she wants me to wash hers while I’m at it (she only
has about three so I’m not as good as I sound!).
Today I thought I’d go through how I wash my brushes and the products I
use for a deep clean as well as a spot clean! I do aim to give my brushes a
deep clean every week but it doesn’t always work out like that though I try not
to go past two weeks as nothing beats the feel of a fresh, clean brush plus you
know, hygiene!
This is hands down my favourite brush cleaner! My makeup brushes get
such a good clean with this, I run them under the tap then pour a little of
this into my hand and swirl the brush around before rinsing. If I’ve got a very
dirty brush or a bigger one like a powder brush, I will repeat this until the
water runs clear!
The soap itself is very lightweight and takes no time to clean the
brushes, I love the scent too, it’s really mild but smells so fresh. It’s very
liquidy so can build up a little around the cap but it’s nothing major. My
first bottle was slightly larger and lasted me around 2 years and you can see
what I thought of it here! I can’t see myself using anything else for a deep
clean!
I picked this up last year as I’d heard a lot about spot cleaning and
also because I needed to hit the threshold for a GWP spend on Cult Beauty
(priorities!). This has come in handy though for giving my eye brushes a quick
clean and sterilising them when I don’t have time for a deep clean. I
especially love this for my base shadow and blending brushes as they tend to
build up with product quite quickly.
To use, I spray directly onto my brush from about 15cm away while
holding the brush over a face towel. I’ll then wipe the brush on the face towel
until the excess eyeshadow is off – it won’t look completely clean but it
prevents the spread of germs so would be perfect for a makeup artist working on
different faces each day and its also suitable for both natural and synthetic
bristles.
Like I
said, most of the time I just use my hands to wash my brushes but I love my
fake brush egg for my eye brushes. I got this years ago on eBay and it makes it
so easy to quickly clean a few brushes at a time. I pour a little Dr. Bronner’s
soap onto the tip of the brush egg then while the tap is running I swirl my eye
brushes into the grooves on the brush egg then rinse! Hey presto, clean
brushes!
I will
then lay my brushes flat onto a towel down on the desk in my room – this is
recommended as any water getting into the ferrule could weaken the glue that
holds the handle and brush head together!
What are your favourite products to clean your makeup brushes with?
Danielle xx
If you want to keep up to date with my posts, don’t forget to follow me
on
Probably
not the first time you’ve heard it this month but I can’t believe its March! This
year is absolutely flying and I have a few products to share today that as you
can tell by the title, I’m loving!
I won
this last year in a Cult Beauty Instagram competition (lovely feeling!) and it
sat in my collection for a few months while I tried to get some other cleansers
finished. Then I thought life is too short, open all the cleansers and I’m so glad
I did as it’s become one of my favourites! It’s a black oily balm made with
Hungarian moor mud and thermal waters that works to draw out impurities and I
use it as my second cleanse to remove the last traces of my makeup. I find it
very gentle on my skin and a tiny bit goes a long way with this balm! I use the
little scoop to get a bit of product out then warm it up between my fingers and
massage into my face. I’ll then use a damp face cloth to remove and overall I’m
left with smooth, clean, hydrated skin! At £48, this isn’t cheap but I will definitely
be making a repurchase when I finish this – I alternate this with my Emma Hardie
Moringa cleansing balm and both have lasted ages so are well worth the money
for that and how they perform on my skin!
Another
little Cult Beauty gem – I got this in a GWP towards the end of last year and
having never tried a manual cleanser before I didn’t use it straight away as I
was worried it would break me out. Curiosity got the better of me and I tried
it out one morning and haven’t looked back since! Its battery operated, non-chargeable,
waterproof and as you can see from the close up has two cleansing zones – an ultra-fine
one for normal areas and a thicker one for more congested areas. I tend to use the ultra-fine
zone all over my face then concentrate the thicker touch zone on my nose and
chin area. It uses T sonic pulsations to enhance the efficiency of your
cleanser and I have completely fallen in love with this little device and can’t
imagine my morning cleanse without it now! At £29, it’s good for 100 uses and it’s
recommended you use it for a minute each cleanse. It’s hygienic, gentle and
gives a non-irritating exfoliation and I’ve include a photo of my favourite
morning cleansers to use it with! I will definitely be buying a full size
chargeable one when the battery runs out!
I reviewed this just after Christmas but it’s nearly finished and I just had to mention it
again as I’m very fickle with conditioner and apart from the OUAI one I haven’t
found one I want to repurchase since this! I always brush my hair before I wash
it and pat it dry with a towel instead of rubbing it to try and minimise how
many tats I will inevitably be left with but I always have to spend so much
time brushing my hair out because the tangles just come out of nowhere! That
was until I tried this! It’s so gentle and I know every time I brush my hair
after using it I won’t get any giant knots caught in my brush because they are
just not there! It has a really inoffensive scent and is just a dream to use, I can’t
wait to pick up a bigger size!
I got
this in a set with the Aloe Herbs and Rosewater facial spray for Christmas and
while I love it too, I wanted to talk about the Drying Lotion because it’s been
amazing recently on any breakouts I’ve been having! It’s made with a blend of calamine
and salicylic acid and where I usually find spot treatments dry the spot and
skin around it out (all great until it’s a flaky mess with makeup over the next
day) this works on my skin to dry out the spot, all while being soothing and
not drying on the skin around it. It works really well to settle down my
breakouts and they don’t last for as long, hooray! The instructions say don’t
shake solution and use a cotton ear bud to reach the pink sediment at the
bottom then dab onto any spots and it has quite a medicated smell which I love!
I was sent three of these before Christmas and this one in particular is my current
hand bag essential! I go through hand cream so quickly but Nivea is by far my favourite
as I love how soft it makes my hands feel. The scent and how quickly it absorbs
as well as the fact I don’t feel the need to reapply 20 times a day are also plus
points! This is the 75ml so will last ages but doesn’t take up a huge amount of
room in my bag! Love!
That’s
five products I’m currently loving! Let me know if you have tried any of these
before and what you thought of them!
*denotes
a PR sample that was sent to me. All opinions are my own.
Danielle xx
If you want to keep up to date with my posts, don’t forget to follow me
on
It’s been ages since I did one of these so I thought I’d try to get
back into it starting now! Lipstick is one of my favourite makeup items and I
love changing what I’ve got on each day although some of my lipsticks are more
similar to each other than I sometimes think they are!
Monday
I went with Urban Decay Vice Comfort Matte lipstick in Backtalk today and this has to be one of the most
comfortable matte formulations I’ve tried and I suppose the clue is in the
name! It’s a beautiful mauve shade that isn’t drying at all and wears off
evenly, I love it!
Tuesday
I wasn’t working today so went with something a little more daring than
my usual nude pinks with this Too Faced Melted lipstick in Fig! I absolutely love the shade; it’s so rich and vibrant!
This isn’t a lipstick I would wear to work though because I find myself
checking my lips/teeth in the mirror quite a lot with this as it doesn’t
completely dry down and has a tendency to move about a little! I got my mini in
a set last Christmas and I don’t wear it nearly enough! It’s worth the extra
effort though as it feels good on my lips and wears off slowly leaving a
gorgeous stain behind.
l-r: Urban Decay Backtalk, Too Faced Melted Fig
Wednesday
I picked up this NARS Audacious lipstick in Anita last year and it’s another one I don’t reach for enough. I
was a bit unsure of the colour when I first saw it in the flesh after buying as
it seems to lean a little warm on me but I’ve grown to really like it (especially
when I’ve got tan on). Again, it’s a comfortable creamy formula that lasts a
good few hours on my lips before it starts to feel a little drier – but a bit
of clear balm extends it a while longer!
Thursday
After falling in love with the K.I.S.S.I.N.G formula of Bitch Perfect,
I picked up Charlotte Tilbury Hot Lips in Liv it Up. Like NARS Anita, the
colour wasn’t quite what I was expecting – it’s very pink! This might be something
to do with my lips though and not the actual colour of the lipsticks! Anyway,
once I got over the pinkness, this is a beautiful lipstick and the
K.I.S.S.I.N.G formula is probably my favourite lipstick formula ever! It’s so long-lasting
and hydrating and I love it!
Friday
Just before Christmas, MAC had 20% off so while I was getting my mum a
foundation I treated myself to my second MAC lipstick in Brave, a satin formula. Again, and I didn’t mean this post to
be about initial disappointment in lipstick but I was shocked at how pink this
turns up on my lips! It settles down after a while though and a little more
mauve shows through which I prefer but overall although it’s comfortable, it’s
not the longest lasting and overall I don’t get the hype for MAC lipsticks! This
also looks quite similar in the swatch to Liv it Up but I find Liv it Up shinier and brighter overall!
l-r: NARS Audacious Anita, Charlotte Tilbury Liv It Up, MAC Brave
So that’s
another working week in lipstick! Let me know if you have tried any of these
shades or what you’d recommend for a mauve lipstick lover like me!
See my
last working week in lipstick posts here and here!
Danielle xx
If you want to keep up do date with my posts, don’t forget to follow me
on
