How to clean make up brushes

So for someone who doesn't have many brushes, I am horribly lazy at cleaning them. I think sometimes if they get dirty I just buy a new one think they were "dead". Oops. After reading a few blogs I realised how bad it is to leave brushes dirty - hello bad skin!

I thought I'd give it a shot. Here's what you need (very simple, no excuses!):

- Warm water

- Baby oil or I think you can use olive oil too

- Some antibacterial soap if you want to use that

- Brushes...

- Something to dry the brushes, like paper towels

Pretty easy huh?!

Put warm water into a container and add a few drops of baby oil

Put the brush in the container and stir it

If the brushes are really dirty like mine were, put some baby oil on your hand and mix the brushes into that

I wish you could even see in the photo how awfully orange my stippling brush was coming out hahaha.

Interchange between baby oil on hand stirring and jar stirring, whatever you like

Now here's the key bit! Checking if they're clean...

Damp the brush on the paper towel and see what colour it comes out

As you can see some of mine that looked relatively clean...really weren't!

Keep cleaning and when done put them on a fresh paper towel to dry, I'd probably recommend overnight.

Ta da!

I'd probably recommend cleaning foundation brushes as frequently as possible as they come in contact (well for me anyway) daily and otherwise you're just rubbing dirt on your face, yum.

Got any tips for cleaning brushes?

E.L.F. products review

So you may remember a few days ago I had a bit of an E.L.F. haul! Well I got delivered the products on Monday which was super exciting so I thought I'd let you guys know some first thoughts.

1) E.L.F. Duo Eyeshadow Cream in Butter Pecan, £1.05 with 30% discount

I was a little disappointed in the colour on the left hand side as I really didn't expect it to be so orangey! I like the colour on the right hand side though and the duo is great value for money as I purchased it for a £1. The fact that the eyeshadow is a cream means that it feels really nice on the eye, especially as I had used the E.L.F eye primer beforehand. I would say though that you need quite a lot of eye shadow to get the colour that you desire which is a little tedious, I guess they're not as pigmented as other eye shadows I've used. But still, great value for money - I just might choose a different colour next time!

2) E.L.F. Radiance Enhancer in Sunrise, £2.63 with my 30% off discount

This was a silly colour choice by me. It looks quite pinky/goldy on the website but it's really dark!

I have very pale skin so I wouldn't recommend it for people with pale skin like me! I like the product itself but I should have chosen the paler colour. This essentially works like you'd expect of a normal highlighter except I found it a bit drying compared to the other highlighters I've used - Benefit and Topshop's Skin Glow that are slightly more moisturising. For the price it's a good product that adds an extra glow to your face.

3) E.L.F. Corrective Concealer in Light, £2.63 with 30% off discount

This is probably the product I was most impressed with in my order (minus the eyebrow kit, review coming soon!). The packaging states that you use the neutral colours like normal concealer, the grey to eradicate red marks and the pink counteracts blue-ish tones.

It feels really strange putting green concealer on red marks but it does lighten them. You have to use quite a lot of concealer to get it to stay I found but once you've added your powder you're good to go. So I fully recommend the corrective concealer, definitely!

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Have you used any of these products? Do you want to?

ALSO: I'll be doing a giveaway for all you lovely people when I hit 50 followers. Please give me some ideas of what you'd want to get!

E.L.F. Haul

So I made my first purchase at E.L.F. yesterday! I was surprised to go onto their website and see that they had a 30% off discount code for the next thirteen hours if you made an order over £20.

So here's what I purchased for £19 including postage and packaging (all prices listed are with the 30% discount I received):

1) Bamboo Concealer Brush, £3.85

2) Eyelid Primer in Sheer, £1.05

3) Blending Eye Brush, £1.05

4) Zit Zapper, £1.05

5) Liquid Eyeliner in Black, £1.05

6) Due Eyeshadow Cream in Butter Pecan, £1.05

7) Eyebrow Kit in Light, £2.63

8) Corrective Concealer, £2.63

9) Radiance Enhancer in Sunrise, £2.63

Isn't it amazing value?

Would you like it if I did reviews on these products once I received them?

Have you tried any of these products?

Mini-beauty haul

Hi lovelies! These are a few things I've picked up recently:

1) Pink Grapefruit Body Butter from The Body Shop, Present

I love the smell of this! My boyfriend actually bought me this for our anniversary along with the shower gel, so proud of him for aiding my Body Shop obsession...! I have a lot of faith in these body butters so I'm sure this will be great. I'm currently using the mango one which I also recommend. It leaves your skin smelling gorgeous and soft (I promise I don't work for The Body Shop haha!).

2) Revlon Just Bitten Kissable Lip Balm Stain in Crush from Boots, £5.99 on offer

I panic-bought this colour and I find it a bit dark for me as I'm rather pale and blonde...I'm sure I will use it occasionally though and least it was on offer!

3) Revlon Just Bitten Kissable Lip Balm Stain in Lovesick from Boots, £5.99 on offer

After buying Crush and regretting it, I popped back into Boots and bought this! Now this colour is lovely. I wore on the anniversary night with my boyfriend:

I think it's a gorgeous colour, perfect for day-time and evening time wear!

4) Bourjois Delice de Poudre Bronzing Powder from Boots, £6.99

Yes this is the one that smells of chocolate! I love the scent and think it's a really good powder for the money. I knew as soon as Anna from Vivianna Does Make Up recommended it in her Top 5 Bronzers video (which you can view over here) that I had to get it. I find that it adds a nice bronze colour, blends well and doesn't leave you looking orange at all - fab.

5) Pink Grapefruit Shower Gel from The Body Shop, Present

I haven't used this yet but I have to say it smells gorgeous. I got given the Moringa Shower Gel a year or so ago and am struggling through it, I just really hate the scent?! But I'm definitely excited about this one.

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Have you used any of these products?

What have you been buying recently?

E.L.F. Wishlist

Why have I also never heard of E.L.F. before?! Crazy. I was browsing their website this morning and just can't believe how good value their products are. For anyone who hasn't heard of them - E.L.F. stands for Eyes Lips Face and they are an American beauty company.

So here's a few things that I have my eye on:

1) Radiance Enhancer, £3.50. I love the name of this product haha, it is essentially just a highlighter though. I'm a massive fan of highlighters so this would be a great add in to my current make up as it's something you can use sparingly everyday and not worry about using it up because it's expensive! This is available in Spotlight, Sunrise and Golden.

2) Corrective Concealer, £3.75. This is a set that includes four different concealer colours. Many people think that skin coloured concealer is the best but oh no! I know it will seem a little strange putting different colours on your face but here's their guide. Green: neutralises red blemishes on your skin. Yellow and Pink: counteract dark under eye circles and dark blemishes. Blue: minimises yellow coloured imperfections. 

3) Concealer Brush, £1.50. I'm after a concealer brush and you can't say no to that price.

4) Nail Polish in Mint Cream, £2.50. I love pastel colours (have you realised yet?!) and for the price it looks fab.

5) Lip Stain in Nude Nectar, £2.50. I'm really into lip stains at the moment, but I do worry that they dry out my lips. This one includes Vitamin E to counteract them and is another bargain. 

What do you think?

Have you used any of these products or E.L.F. in general?

First FOTD post!

Hey lovelies! Got to admit doing my first ever FOTD post makes me a little nervous but oh well!

I tend to go for quite a natural look! Especially in this heat, gosh!

Here's what's on my face:

Benefit That Gal Primer

Rimmel Wake Me Up Foundation 100 Ivory

Bourjois Healthy Balance Unifying Powder 52 Vanilla

Bobbi Brown Corrector

Bourjois Healthy Mix Concealer in 51 Light Radiance

Body Shop Blush in Fard A Joues

Bourjois (again!) Bronzing Powder in 51

Topshop Skin Glow in Light

Vaseline in Rose

Revlon Colourburst Lip Butter in Peach

Hope you like it!

ALSO I am absolutely gutted as my Revlon Just Bitten Lipstain and Balm has already dried up?! I've only had it for like a month and have kept it sealed :( Gutted! I'll be keeping to other lip stains from now.

I hope everyone's been enjoying the heat wave! I was seeing my year and a half niece today...

Isn't she adorable??

I got my make up done at Urban Decay!

Hi guys! :)
So browsing House of Fraser today looking for an evening dress to wear I had a look at the Urban Decay stand as I can never resist it. And the lovely assistant Ellie asked if I wanted to see what the Naked 2 palette looks on my eyes.

I had this done about 2 and a half hours ago but here's a few photos and then I'll list the products below! :)

OK so here's the products that she used...

I might have missed a few things as there were quite a few!

Before she did my eye make up I was already wearing my usual foundation which is Borjois Healthy Mix Foundation in 51 Light Vanilla

Eyeshadow primer potion, £14.50, £13.05 on the House of Fraser's website

Naked 2 Palette, £36.00

Big Fatty Mascara, £15.00

All Nighter Long-Lasting Makeup Setting Spray, £19.00

24/7 Glide-On Shadow Pencil, was £14 now £12.60 on House of Fraser's website

Urban Decay 24/7 Concealer Pencil, was £12.00 now £10.60 on HOF website

Urban Decay Baked Bronzer in Bake, was £20.00 now £18.00 on HOF website

Afterglow Glide-On Cheek Tint was £18.00 now £16.20 on HOF website

Lip Junkie Lip Closs was £13.00 now £11.70 on HOF website

I think my favourite products were obviously the palette as the colours are amazing. But I also really like the setting spray as it seems to really work - I often get problems with my make up fading away after a few hours due to my combination skin. I also love the mascara as my eyelashes have never looked so long and it's a pretty good price at £15.00. I'm currently using a sample of Benefit BADgal Lash Mascara that I got free with a copy of Glamour and I so prefer the Urban Decay one!

What other Urban Decay products do you like?

Do you like the make up?

What I have my eye on...

OK so for those that don't know me, I do have a job but unfortunately that doesn't mean I can buy everything that I want.
And finishing second year results in a lot of online window shopping...
These are a few things that I am enjoying at the moment.

Etsy
I love Etsy and recently bought a homemade Kindle case from an American seller.

1) Bellalula sells vintage products here.

They are all really cute and I'd love to be able to purchase them all.

This suitcase is £45, I'd probably use it as a place of storage. I love the inside. It's a suitcase from J. C. Field and Son.

2) ArtCity2011 sells some really cute iPhone cases.

I love this one being a massive fan of turquoise blue and the world's new found love for studs.

Beauty

I was watching Lisa Eldridge's make up videos earlier today (Tonsillitis induces a lot of boredom, but they are good.)

For those of you who haven't heard of Lisa (I hadn't until earlier today), she is a top make up artist who has worked closely with celebrities (hello Mischa Barton and Cameron Diaz).

One of the products she consistently mentioned was Clinique's Airbrush Concealer:

The airbrush concealer is priced on Clinique's website at £16. It looks fantastic and seems to get some great results and reviews. I think I might have to pick one up on pay day :)

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So that's it for now. Does anyone use the Clinique's airbrush concealer? If so, what do you think?

Are there any things you just must have?

Let me know.

Sophie. x