It's All About That Base

I'm all about that base....(refrains from singing Meghan Trainer.....).
Perfecting your base makes a huge difference to your makeup end result, and I love making sure I'm confident with how my skin looks. Over the years I've collected a few holy-grail base products, ones I know I'll continue to repurchase and have become staples in my day-to-day makeup routine.

Primer isn't something I use every day, simply because I don't need it and sometimes I feel it can clog up my pores. But a product I do use, which isn't marketed as a primer but I find helps to prime my skin and prolong the wear of my foundation, is the Elemis Pro-Illuminating Flash Balm. It's a relatively recent find for me, but it's quickly become a firm favourite for it's brightening, skin perfecting qualities. I'll be posting a full review soon.

My Favourite Powder

Whether you have oily skin or dry skin powdering your foundation is a good idea to set everything in place and to help it last all day.

I've used the Rimmel Stay Matte powder for years now, I've repurchased it countless times and will continue to because it's so brilliant and a bargain at only £3.99.
It's quite a light pressed powder that comes in 5 different shades, and transparent too (which is what I use) so whatever skin tone you have you can use it.
I love the transparent one because it won't give me more coverage but it helps to minimise pores, control any shine I may have, helps foundation to look even better and really does set everything in place well so your makeup lasts a lot longer.
The powder contains natural minerals, is free from fragrance, oils, parabens and talc so it won't clog your pores and it feels silky soft and natural on the skin.
Rimmel Stay Matte does everything I want in a powder, and it's great for my dry skin as it's not heavy and doesn't accentuate any patches.
The only gripe I have with this product is the packaging, I'd much prefer something with a flip up lid and mirror….but for the low price I suppose I can't really complain when the product inside is so good.

What powder do you use?

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How To Clean Your Makeup Brushes…The Right Way!

Washing makeup brushes is one of the most mundane things, but it's very important.

Why is it important to clean makeup brushes?

Not only do brushes apply products to your skin but they also pick up any oils, dead skin cells or dirt that might be on your face, so when you go to reapply makeup with the brush that bacteria will be transferred back onto your face….yucky! If you get acne or suffer from spots washing your makeup brushes regularly should make a difference. 

Keeping your brushes in good condition will make them last longer! Cleaning them regularly will keep the bristles soft, prevent them from drying out, caking together or falling apart. 

Clean makeup brushes will also apply makeup a lot better!

How should I clean my makeup brushes?

You can buy shop-bought brush cleanser from places like MAC but that can be expensive, these products can often contain alcohol as well which will make the bristles dry out. Using baby shampoo is the best option, I use Johnson's. It's nice and gentle and will do the job well. 

Firstly put the brush under warm running water, then remove it and massage some of the baby shampoo into the bristles gently, and rinse in CLEAN water! I usually repeat this twice to make sure all the product is off the brushes. Afterwards squeeze the excess water out, and place them somewhere to dry.  

This bit is important - make sure your brushes are NOT standing upright when they're drying, the water could go right into the brush and cause it to rot inside. Stand them upside down, a good way to do that is in one of the Real Techniques brush stands that come with their collections of brushes (pictured).

How often should I clean my makeup brushes?

Once a week is ideal, especially if you're using them every single day. I'd say try not to go over 2 weeks without washing your brushes. 

Extra tips

Using olive oil on your brushes before the baby shampoo will give them a deeper clean. So if they're looking extra dirty or you've used a thicker product on them this is a great thing to do. Tea tree oil is also good for this.

Reshape your brushes while they're still wet, you don't want them trying in a weird way and then you're unable to use them properly. 

Make sure your brushes are completely dry before using them again.

I hope you found this helpful!

Also, I announced the winner of my giveaway! To find out if you won 

click this link!

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Real Techniques Role Reversal

The Real Techniques range is my favourite brand of makeup brushes. There are so many to choose from, they're affordable, they look pretty, they're easy to clean, they dry quickly and I love the way they make my makeup look.

Two of the brushes I own are the Brush Blush and the Contour Brush which is part of the Core Collections kit. I adore both of these brushes and use them daily, however I do use them for different things. The blush brush I find is best for contouring, and the contour brush is brilliant for applying blush, so there's a role reversal going on!

The blush brush is practically just a larger version of the contour brush. They both have those tapered bristles which make them great for blending in your product. You apply the powder to the top bristles and then the bristles on the outer part of the brush will help to blend it all in, so you're not left with an awful harsh line.
The reason I prefer to use the blush brush to contour is because it is larger and has more bristles to help blend my bronzer. Although the contour brush is perfectly great at doing it's job I found I was sometimes left with too harsh a line, it was too precise for a daytime look, so I'd always go in afterwards trying to blend it out…but I don't need to do that with the blush brush!
The contour brush is amazing for applying blush though, it's the perfect size! It's also a dream to apply highlighter with and even help to blend in concealer.

If you have both of these brushes I suggest swapping the uses around and seeing how you get on!
If you don't have these brushes I highly recommend them…and any of the others from the Real Techniques range!

What's In My Handbag Makeup Bag?

Yesterday I had a little trip up to London for a meeting, and in my handbag was my little makeup bag that I carry products in that I might need to use for a touch up during the day, I thought I'd share it with you!

My makeup is new, my gran gave it to me so I have no idea where you can get it but it's by Hardwells.
It's so nice, the fabric feels really durable and it's such a cute design.

You may think I carry too many products around, but actually I only normally touch up with powder, sometimes concealer, and of course lipstick throughout the average day…but I always carry around things just in case! The day I don't will probably be the day I need the products!

My Rimmel Stay Matte powder is always with me, it's the best powder I've used - not heavy but doesn't let shine through and lasts well. I have a NYX blush in peach which is actually pink, and also my Nars luguna bronzer which I adore. I carried my Real Techniques blush brush to apply those 3 products.
The fashionista eyebrow kit is something I can't live without, so that was with me! As was the concealer I'm loving at the moment - Rimmel Wake Me Up in Ivory, perfect for covering up those under eye circles which were in full force on the day - getting up at 5:30am on a Saturday wasn't ideal…damn early trains! I had Maybelline's rocket mascara which I love, and I think I now prefer it to the falsies.
Lastly the two lip products, Carmex to keep my lips soft, and my new lipstick which I might do a review on - Kate Moss for Rimmel in 03, it's beautiful nude that doesn't completely blank the lips out.

What makeup products do you carry around in your

handbag?

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