How I Deep Clean My Makeup Brushes

Cleaning your makeup brushes is one of those mundane tasks that we must all carry out (unless of course you like to spread bacteria across your face). You'd be surprised at how many people I come across who have used the same foundation brush for months or years and NEVER washed it. Sickening isn't it. For those of you who don't wash your brushes regularly, let me tell you exactly why it's a very good idea. When you apply foundation to your face, you are picking up bacteria from your skin, and it's then left to fester in the brush after use. The next time you go to use it, the same thing happens, except the bacteria that has festered from the time before, it now ALSO on your skin. It's a vicious circle, that I can assure you, will only ever cause you to break out in spots. Obviously eye brushes are a less of a problem, but it's still important to do a deep clean (as opposed to a spot clean - cleaning quickly with a makeup brush solution after each use) every few weeks, just to make sure they are bacteria free. I am lucky in the fact I have quite a lot of brushes, so after using one brush, I can then use a different one another day instead of having to be constantly deep cleaning brushes 24/7. If you have problem skin or acne, I'd definitely advise that you clean your brushes a little more than average person, you may notice an improvement. 

1. Lay out all your dirty brushes ready for cleaning to commence!
2. Dampen the brush slightly with lukewarm water.
3. Pump your cleaning product of choice (I often use a mild shampoo but at the moment I'm using a Dove hand wash because it leaves the brushes exceptionally soft, and I like to think that the anti bacterial properties of a hand wash are beneficial in cleaning away all the nastiness.)
4. Start swirling your brush around on the palm of your hand, occasionally adding a little bit of water to lather up the product and allow the brush to be thoroughly saturated. 
5. Squeeze out excess product and watch all the foundation drip away into the plug hole!
6. Repeat if necessary (stubborn dirt or a very dense brush)
7. Marvel your clean brush (yes, that's very important...)

*Also, try not to use too much water, we don't like to waste now do we! It must be a running tap though, as there is no point washing your brushes in a pool of cloudy, dirty water. Just make sure you are turning it off between steps and between brushes*  

I also just thought I would add a little memo about my favourite brushes as a little extra to this blogpost (I will do a separate in depth blog post). As you can see, the green Bdellium tools brushes feature heavily. These are by far my favourite brushes for applying foundation. In particular, I love to use the 957 from the Green Bamboo Foundation Brush Kit (Shown in the photos & sold on Louise and I's "Louella" shop - get yours HERE) and the 959 which is a rounded top brush. I actually own 3 of the 959 brushes...yes, THREE because I love them so much. (This brush can be found in the Green Bamboo Mineral Kit also available on "Louella" HERE). I can't recommend them highly enough, I absolutely love them. They buff foundation into the skin like a dream. 

Hope you found this blog post helpful! How many of you are now going to run and wash your brushes?

♥

Makeup & Jewellery Storage Ideas/Alternatives

I like to think of myself as quite a creative person, always looking for new ways to store things and pretty things to add to my bedroom. I'm a firm believer of the fact that a girls bedroom is very much a personal space, to dress up as she chooses, with whichever soft furnishings and bits and bobs take her fancy. Everyone has different tastes, but I think it's refreshing to see a variety of ideas and solutions. As most of you will know, I'm a huge fan of searching out unique and vintage items for my bedroom from charity shops, bootsales and home clearance shops, so it may not come as much of a surprise to you that I don't store my jewellery or makeup in a modern glass jar. The selection of things I have pictured here were all under £5. Unlike buying a plastic box for my makeup from a shop on the high street, I get such satisfaction out of finding pretty little trinkets that I know will make my room slightly more interesting. They really aren't that difficult to find either, you just need to open your eyes a bit more. Charity shops are always stocked with cute little plates and saucers & bootsales are absolutely FILLED with vintage, one off items.

Each of the plates you see above, cost me 20p. The tins are a more recent find. I got them from a house clearance shop, which if you ask me, is an amazing idea. It's like a permanent bootsale stand & everything is so reasonably priced. Each tin cost me £2.95. I used the Alice in Wonderland tin to store all my tiny studs and small stacking rings and the Typhoo Tea tin has all my cotton wool pads and cotton buds in it. The Jacobs Cream Cracker tin, as you can see, is used to store all my lipsticks, so simple & so effective. The Mrs Tiggywinkle tin, I have used to store more earrings & the tin beneath that, has my necklaces in it. The mirror on the wall cost me £3 from a bootsale & the cup & saucer candle was also from a bootsale for £2. The retro "Annual for Girls" book was bought on a day out with Louise in Market Harbourough Oxfam for £1.

You don't have to spend a lot of money to store your jewellery or makeup or to add a touch of personality to your bedroom, you just need a creative eye & the ability to make nothing into something.

How do you store things in your bedroom? Have you found any vintage gems?

Introduction to Sisley

Sisley isn't really a brand I'd ever looked into before. I've seen it stocked in Space NK but never considered it to buy, or even look into with more depth. The main reason being the price tag. This is a high end brand, and this is reflected not only in the pricing, but the quality of the products. I was approached by a lovely member of their PR and asked if I'd try out some of the products for consideration for review, and of course I said yes. Being an absolute beauty enthusiast, finding and trying new products, high end or high street, is all part of the fun. Seeking to find that permanent staple in our regime.

After trying these skincare and makeup items for a good few weeks, I wanted to give you my feedback. She'd picked out some of Sisley's most popular items and things she thought I'd like (PR's take note - know the blogger's taste & skin type) She got everything spot on, as there was not one product I didn't like. I was secretly hoping to be disappointed with one if not a few of the products, as I knew that falling in love with them, could leave me with quite an empty purse in the long run.

The first two products are the makeup items. I had no idea Sisley had a makeup range as they focus mainly on skincare. When I unboxed the first item, I was like an excited little girl as I pulled the gorgeous animal print compact from the sleek black velvet slip. How gorgeous is it? This is the "Phyto-Poudre Compacte", a finishing powder to set foundation. The main thing I like about this is that it is very natural and has a transparent finish. It also has very finely milled shimmer, which when applied, leaves your skin looking glowing and very healthy, as well keeping makeup looking perfect all day. I keep this in my handbag for touch ups, and although it comes with a puff, I prefer to use a powder brush for a less concentrated application. The price of this is around the £60-£70 mark, depending on where you purchase it from, and this is pretty steep in my opinion. I know not all of you will agree, as everyone's budgets are different.
The second makeup item is the "Phyto-Khol Star Liner". Available in 7 shades, which are all extremely wearable, and most of which I now NEED to own. Again, this has it's own velvet pouch, but as well as this, it's own little diamante on the end. Cute. These liners all contain glitter/shimmer. The glitter in the pencil I received is silver, although I'm not sure that silver is contained in all other colours. This is what I would describe as the "Ultimate pencil for smokey eye". It blends SO easily, it's so creamy yet stays put for absolutely hours. One of my favourite khol liners for a smokey eye, is Mac's Carbon, but I don't use it because it smudges and falls beneath my eyes and takes "panda eyes" to a whole other level. Now I have been introduced to this, I can now see how USELESS the black khol liners are that I have previously used. The pigmentation is also amazing and priced at £37-£40 you wouldn't expect it to be anything less than perfect. Can I personally afford to be buying all 7 of these at £37 a pop? No, but if I could, I would.

Now onto the skincare. If you look on the Sisley or Space NK websites, you will notice that some of the skincare rockets in price (I'm talking between the £100-£200 mark) but thankfully I wasn't sent anything in this price range, as quite frankly, I'd be terrified to use it up, or enjoy it. The first is the "Radiant Glow Express Mask". This mask claims to gently cleanse the skins surface for a quick beauty boost. It contains both red and white clays combined with plenty of botanical extracts. In just 5 minutes, this mask absorbs excess sebum to provide radiance and clarity on the skin. This mask retails at £66.50 on the Space NK website, definitely being the most expensive face mask I've ever used. I used this when my skin was looking particularly lack-lustre and dull, and it did everything it claimed to do. My skin looked a million times better after leaving this on for a mere 5 minutes. It was like magic. I'm going to save this for special occasions or for nights out, and I can see this being used on the morning of wedding days or photoshoots.
I saved my favourite for last. The "Gentle Facial Buffing Cream". This cream is supposed to be used as a mask, and then "rolled" off to reveal a brighter complexion. It gets rid of dead skin cells and literally pulls away a dull complexion. I have also used this as just a simple exfoliator, and I can honestly say my skin has never felt so clean and soft in all my life. I have A LOT of dead skin cells on my face, I find I have to exfoliate quite regularly as a great deal of the skin on my face can become very dry and flaky, and spots leave terrible redness and blemishes which can take months to dissapear. This creams promises that with frequent use, it can refine the skin and be rid of any impurities, and I agree with this statement whole heartedly. My skin has recently been going a little haywire, and it calmed down SO much since I started using this. The texture of this is very creamy but also gritty (not BIG gritty, but very finely milled). This product is £50, and although expensive to most, I think this is slightly more reasonable and I would certainly treat myself to this after trying it out.

Overall, I was thouroughly impressed with Sisley as a brand and their products certainly didn't dissapoint me, I just wish that it was slightly more in my budget so I could splash out on other things from the website.

Have you ever bought anything from Sisley? Would you ever consider it?
♥