Sinéad Hughes

Spring Cleaning!

New Year, New You. . .

Hear me out! Whether you pledge to be more economical, more adventurous, more natural OR go full RuPaul with your makeup for 2019, it’s achievable without spending your rent in Sephora or reducing your stash as though you’re packing for Australia on a Ryanair flight!

1. Spring Clean

It’s as simple as it sounds!

Gather all the makeup you own together, yes, even those random liners, powders and lipsticks in your handbag. Sort them by function. Ask yourself is there anything I haven’t used in months/over a year? If you forgot you had it, keep it. If you won’t reuse it leave it aside, I will explain later.

Note: If you suspect a product is passed its use by date, please dispose of it! It will do you no favors keeping it.

2. Display

Now that you know what you have or rediscovered you have, rearrange how you display/ store/ leave out your makeup.

This isn’t so you can’t find that mascara you use everyday but to encourage you to try other items that you have. You may discover new gems or recall what you hated about an item, if that’s the case, leave it aside too.

Try to use something in your daily makeup that you haven’t used in a while, it might even change the way or order in which you apply your makeup.

3. #Affiliate Link

I urge you to review who you follow or look to for inspiration, guidance and expertise.

If there wasn’t social media, would they be in the ‘beauty industry’?

If they didn’t earn money from an affiliate link to a website or a brand would they recommend something to you? Finally, what is their goal? To share knowledge or get likes?….

4. Sharing is caring

Consider what you have set aside from earlier sorting and ask a friend, family member, colleague or whoever you think might like to try anything of yours or perhaps even swap it for something they no longer like/use. . . . it’s a yard sale but FREE!

*Avoid sharing mascaras as they can spread infection and be kind enough to clean a product where possible! 🙂

And remember…. clean those brushes!!!

The Brush Series Part 2; Faux? Yes or no!

Here we have the second piece of this Brush Series puzzle.

Ever spotted a velvety soft makeup brush and immediately decide, it’s the softest brush of all time, therefore, I need it! – only to then notice its €€€ price tag and thought… I’ve seen that in Penneys, for €8, it’ll do instead thank you! The likelihood is that it was made from natural hair, in japan, with a laser printed, wooden handle. Super expensive and an excellent applicator but that doesn’t mean no other brush will do the job.

The good news is that there are many brushes(both natural and synthetic) available to you, varying in prices so that you can buy within your budget, needs and preferences.

Natural Hair Brushes

Availible from: ZOEVA (luxury range), Blank Canvas, Morphe, Tom Ford, Trish McEvoy, BareMinerals, Wayne Goss, Charlotte Tilbury

Advantages:

Application; due to the ‘porous’ nature of natural hair(goat, squirrel, pony), they pick up product easily.
Blendability; natural hairs will blend products very well due to their soft, very flexible hairs.

Disadvantages:

Absorption; some don’t like that fact that they can absorb some of your product due to the hair being porous; it’s a personal preference.
Cost; while some brands maintain a high price tag for their natural brushes, brands such as ZOEVA have made them much more accessible
Care; a little bit extra care is needed when cleaning/maintaining these brushes, gentle washing and a conditioning treatment(occasional) are needed.
Liquids; liquid can get trapped in the hairs easier than those made of synthetic fibers.
Animal Cruelty; not all makeup brands are described as animal cruelty-free….. you do you when it comes to this issue.

Synthetic Brushes

Available from; ZOEVA, Blank Canvas, MAC, Real Techniques, Inglot

Advantages:

Liquids; blend liquids very well because of the lack of ‘grip’ the synthetic fibers have(nylon or polyester)
Creams; synthetic brushes are brilliant when applying cream eye shadows and blending eye crayons/kohl pencils.
Cost; even quality synthetic brushes can be purchased at a low price.
Feel; the texture and feel of synthetic brushes are consistently improving with developments in manufacturing.
Clean; much easier to clean than natural(no cuticles or pores)

Disadvantages:

Powders; synthetic brushes can sometimes leave a more uneven finish to a look as the hairs don’t ‘hold’ and blend powder quite like natural hair; not always the case.

All in all it’s a very personal preference when it comes to brushes but I hope this has been at least a little helpful!

As always, ask away if you’ve any questions..

Why Bronzer is brilliant!

I’ll keep this short and sweet!

People might shy away from bronzer for fear of looking like this…

BUT when a subtle amount of bronzer is applied correctly it can give dimension and ‘glow’ back to your face after a ‘flat’ or ‘washed out’ looking foundation.

NOTE: Bronzer is not to be mistaken for contour!

Where to apply;

With a large powder brush, lightly apply….

Around the hairline
Across the cheekbones(this is not for contouring)
Across the nose, lightly!
Around the jawline
Around the chin, in swirling motions
Across the eyelid, lower lashline & in the socket, with a fluffy eye brush (this is beautiful for everyday)

What to avoid;

Shimmer/glitter in bronzer
Say no to Orange: the tone should be approx. 2 shades darker than your foundation…not 10!
Chalk-like textures: test the colour on your hand, if it catches on hairs, dry patches etc, it will be a similar situation on your face!

Would you notice that these ladies are all wearing bronzer? . . .

I will recommend a variety of options in a follow up post, in the meantime, go cheap & cheerful and get yourself a bronzer! There are many options for fair/medium skin, have a look in Boots, CARA etc.!

Play around with one and see how you get on before you decide to invest in one!

Glow forth and conquer!

The Brush Series Part 1; Brush Translate

Brushes can be what stands between you and a flawless finish, but with thousands available, how do you know which to buy, use or lose?

This will be a series of posts explaining the functions and features of make-up brushes, here are some of the most popular brushes.

A few things to note:

Firstly….Do you need them? Yes! …Do you need 1,000 of them? No!
Secondly… there are no rules, if a brush says “powder brush” and you like using it for cream products, you do you!
Remember! The shorter and closer together the brush hairs, the more product they will pick up and apply!

FACE BRUSHES

*Coverage= how much product the brush will apply

*Product= corresponding product to use

Flat brush;

Coverage= High

Blending time= time consuming

Function= application & blending out

Product= foundation/primer/concealer

Stippling brush(Duo fibre);

Coverage= Light

Blending time = fast

Function= application & blending

Product= wet or dry: Foundation, cream/liquid blusher or bronzer.

Large “powder” brush;

Coverage= light/medium (depending on how much you dip into your product)

Blending time; fast

Function= application & blending

Product= Powders ( powder foundation/translucent), blusher, bronzer

Duo Fibre brushes;

Coverage= light/medium and high(if tightly packed)

Blending time = fast(the dark, shorter hairs keep the longer hair separated so the blend out your product

Function= blending(eyeshadow), blusher, bronzer, highlighter, setting powders

Flat top brush;

Coverage= high

Blending time= fast

Function= applying liquid foundation .

Small round top brush;

Coverage= medium/high

Function= applying & blending out

Product= blusher, bronzer, contour

Concealer Brush;

Coverage= Medium/high

Function= applying concealer to under eyes, specific areas of the face

Product= colour corrector, liquid/cream concealers

.

EYE BRUSHES.

Large Blending brushes;

Coverage= light/medium/high

Blending time= quick(if you are sticking by “thin, light layers” at a time method)

Function= applying & blending

Product= eyeshadow, highlighter to smaller areas, under eye powders

Pencil brush;

Coverage= medium/high

Function= precise application of colour (dark or light)

Product= eyeshadow, glitters/pigments.

Smaller Blending Brush;

Coverage= Light/medium/high

Function= applying and blending eyeshadow (this brush is more precise than the fluffier brush above, it will apply more product to smaller areas).

Still have questions? Send them my way!

5 tips for better make-up!

1. Clean those brushes!

Da Vinci didn’t start on a painting with used brushes, covered in paint nor would a painter, paint a house with rollers/brushes left dirty, unwashed!

Think dirt & bacteria, think mixing colours, think uneven application!

So…no, that brush you bought in MAC 3 years ago is not useless… it’s just dirty!

Tip; Use baby shampoo/ brush cleaner with warm water, dry flat

*more help with brushes in a later post

2. Moisturise!

Uneven texture and dehydration = Makeup enemies… it’s pretty simple!

The more moisture in your skin, the longer your makeup will last, the fresher it will look.

Tip; Apply your moisturizer, let it sink in(2 mins) then see

if anywhere is still dehydrated and apply more just to that area.

3. Water, water, water!

Just like dehydration is an enemy of flawless make-up, water is its best friend.

Ever tried to apply make-up the morning after drinking alcohol? It drags, sits in fine lines, goes patchy! Much of the water has left you skin and you need to replace it!

Drink plenty of water regularly (tea/MiWadi doesn’t count I’m afraid), use face masks regularly(twice a week) and your skin will thank you for it!

4. Oils

Oil and water might not mix but drinking water and taking fish oils certainly does! Fish oils help moisturizer the skin from the inside out. Every pharmacy has them! Note: It takes at least 2 weeks to see an improvement if you’re just starting off!

Eating salmon etc. is also a great option!

Tip; Omega-3 supplements improve hair, skin and nail condition!

5. Less is, sometimes, more!

“ONIONS!… Onions have layers!”

So does make-up application!

Sounds tedious and basic but thinner layers of primer-foundation-concealer-powders look and last better than a heavier/thicker ‘quick’ application! You can always add more but its ~~impossible~~ very hard to fix cakey make-up! If you have the time… take it!

Tip; apply this even with eyeshadow!

You’ve much more control that way!

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