How I clean my makeup brushes.

I see a lot of bloggers who end up buying expensive makeup brush cleaners, and most of them barely do the job!

Well my friend I have a cheap homemade remedy which revives, whitens and thoroughly cleans you're brushes like nothing else!

Also, since purchasing new makeup which I talked about here I really didn't want to start using my new stuff with filthy brushes.

My brushes after a few hard uses!

 




Above is my only brush set.
(yes, I don't feel the need to have 10 foundation brushes!)
I have 3 brushes from the Body Shop

• Slanted brush for eyeliner application
• Blending brush for intense eye shadow application and I also use it to apply concealer, obviously cleaning it in-between
• And last but not least the line softener

And then my Real Techniques brushes

• My fave the Stippling brush which I use as a foundation brush
• Contour brush which I use for...well contouring and also use as a blush brush
• The foundation brush which I mostly use to blend in concealer
• Lipstick brush which I never use
• And the buffer brush which I use to blend in foundation and also pat powder over my face.

All the brushes above do exactly what I need to and I find a lot of girls find it a chore to clean their brushes.
Not meaning to sound biased, but cleaning my brushes is the most easiest thing ever!

I've made a habit of cleaning them once to twice a month as bacteria build up is not very nice!
Here's my quick method:



 

 

Ingredients:

• Olive oil - to remove the foundation residue etc.
• Bi Carb soda or Baking soda - to whiten and dissolve bacteria
• two tablespoons of water - help to mix the ingredients into a paste
• a bowl
• a tablespoon

Mix the olive oil and baking soda together in the bowl and add in the water to form a paste.

Get all you're brushes together, or one at a time, and stir into the mixture.

 

You can see by the two pictures that the mixture is already lifting the makeup and dirt of the brush.
And in the second pic the brush has been rinsed of with water and then cleaned a little more with normal shampoo and conditioner.

And that's it!
My brushes look as good as new, are soft and there is no olive oil residue left after cleanings done.

Just one quick tip also, I give my brush carrier a quick clean with a makeup remover wipe so my brushes and carrier are all equally cared for :-)

The end result is soft, clean brushes and no bacteria added to you're face!
It takes no more than 5mins as well, such a quick fix how can you go wrong, and all products are things that use on a daily basis :-)

Hope this was a good insight, let me know of any good remedies you recommend!
You'll hear from me soon :-)

XOXOX

A touch of Gold

Via my last post I promised some good things were coming.

 If you happened to see some gold booties in there, you weren't dreaming :P


I got these beauties with my staff discount as I work in a fabulous shoe store!
They weren't my first choice but I couldn't resist the gold sparkles and rustic look to them!
They go pretty much with anything and will keep my feet quite warm in winter as they are leather upper and lined - quality over quantity I always say!



For Valentines Day, Andrei (knowing me too well) got me a M.A.C voucher, and I knew exactly what I wanted :-)
I'm loving gold e/s at the mo and this shade is perfect!
It has a kind of green undertone which works well with my hazel eyes.
As you can see the pic I mixed with density's with and without water.
I ended up dong a FOTN with it plus a mix with my other e/s, here is the outcome...

My full makeup application is pretty much applied the same as it was in my last makeup post, with the exemption of adding my M.A.C Black Track e/l to this application obviously to line my upper and smudging into my lower lashline; plus using my other new M.A.C e/s 3/4 of the upper lid and using The Body Shops Starlight e/s in crease and 1/2 of the lid.

This pic shows the technique used quite nicely :-) Please excuse my unplucked eyebrows, I'm trying to grow them thicker I.E. Lily Collins, Anne Hathaway etc.

This photo, as nice as it is, does the graduating shades no justice!

My next little splurge was for Andrei's Birthday, and I knew exactly what to get him :-)

These gorgeous men's shoes are also from the store I work in. They are definitely Andrei's style, quite casual but quite dressy as well and can be worn all year round! They also have unique patch working detail with a nubuck toe puff and leather based around the rest of the shoe and a nice little detail to the sole :-)
So if you're stuck looking for a great gift for you're man, shoe's never go amiss as they're always needing a new pair!
My company, Overland Footwear, ships free around NZ and I think they do a bit of shipping overseas too :-)



And last but not least :)
I wanted this oversized shirt ever since it came out! But it way to expensive at the time, I'm so glad I waited for to go on sale!
NZD$29 from NZD$150 is quite a sale price, I snapped it up straight away. Added bonus, it's 100% pure silk and goes with anything - wardrobe staple for sure!
And Pinterest has been no help with flashing all these gorge statement necklaces. While shopping around yesterday I wasn't really looking for anything in particular; I walked into the Portmans store and saw plenty I wanted (as you do) but couldn't afford. And just as I was leaving empty handed I glanced over and saw they had 'Nothing Over $20 necklaces" and snapped up this gorge Mint Statement Necklace which was reduced from NZD$45!
I couldn't believe my luck that day, I've always been a great bargain hunter and this was no exception - def pays to look around :-)

So that is me for the day everyone, I hope you enjoyed reading and my lastest gave you some inspiration for the next time you go shopping :-)

I'll definately be following up with some outfits and faces of the day and night soon.

Until next time!

XOXOX

Black & Blonde

First look I gave my viewers on Instagram and my Facebook page :-)

It's the last day on January *sigh.
I don't know what it is about January that I love so much, I love that I'm always relaxed and feel tranquillity from the hot summer days, the warm breeze and especially going to the beach and eating fish & chips!

Or may be it's cause my birthday's in January......

Any who, I'm at a net cafe listening to Metallica's "Turn the Page", it's a song a strongly relate to and above all else I love Metallica :D

Yesterday I went back to Total Care Hair and Beauty salon as I've officially become my dear friend Daena's hair model as part of her hairdressing training :-)
At the moment she's trying her magic hands at cascading (or ombre) hair and I didn't hesitate to put my hand up!

Here's the low down...

Starting out

Hairs looking a wee bit sad :-(

Remember this baby!!!! #spaceship

Does this look suit me?

It took two and a half hours to foil and clean my hair up, but that was ok. Time flew by with all the chatting and foiling of the ends of my hair Daena was doing :P

And it was well worth the wait as miss Daena did a fantastic job!

YOWZA!

I was a bit bored this morning and put some black smoke on my eyes :-)

End result

I love my new look, I was scared it wouldn't suit me but I fought the fear and did it anyway!

And it didn't cost me an arm and a leg :P

So now you've seen the 'Blonde', it's now time for the 'Black' in "Black & Blonde".

Face

• The Body Shop BB Cream in 01
• Clinique City Stick Concealer in 10
• M.A.C Pro Longwear Foundation in NW20
• M.A.C MSFN powder in light
• M.A.C Peachy Keen blush

Eyes

• M.A.C paint pot in Bare Study - all over lid
• M.A.C Blanc Type - all over lid and upper brow bone
• M.A.C Knight Devine e/s - in crease, 3/4 eye lid
• Collection 2000 black Kohl e/l - on upper and lower lash line and rim
• The Body Shop 'Starlight' e/s - black half used over lid, in crease and lower lash line for dramatic effect
• Vaseline for eyelashes

Lips

• M.A.C Red satin lipstick
• Calvin Klein lipgloss in Taffy

Very achievable look I must say :-)

So waddaya think?

I hope you like my latest and last post for the month of January, there's plenty more to come!

XOXOX

Hollywood Glamour! MOTN & OOTN

Hi Everyone!

Hope you all are well?
It's finally Summer here in little New Zealand, and so far it has been impressive!
Sunshine all around but also a lot of people walking around looking like tomato's from not wearing there sunscreen!
I'll def be sure to do that when I head to the beach for some RNR tomorrow.

Otherwise, I finally have the latest pics of how I looked for my work place's Christmas party last week!
It was held at a very nice hotel in the city last Tuesday, the theme was Hollywood Glamour.

I instantly knew what I would be wearing which was my gorgeous figure hugging ASOS Rose-Gold dress  which I brought for me and my boyfriend Andrei's 5year Anniversary.
I instantly knew as well as to what makeup I would be wearing, stated in the pictures below of my OOTN & MOTN (Outfit Of The Night & Makeup Of The Night).....

Phase one: Natural and simple makeup application

Face

• The Body Shop 'All in One BB Cream' - 01
• Clinique City Stick Consealer - 10
• MAC Pro Longwear Foundation - NW20
• MAC Mineralize Skinfinish Natural powder
• MAC Peachy Keen blush

Subtle smokey eye - pic 1
Glamified winged liner and smoky eye - pic 2

 Eyes

• MAC Bare Study Paint Pot - all over lid and tear duct
• MAC Goldbit e/s - all over lid and tear duct
• MAC Satin Taupe e/s - through crease, 3/4 upper and lower lash line
• MAC Blanc Type e/s - under eyes and brow bone
• Collection 2000 black khol e.l - through rim of lower lash line
• MAC Black Track e/l gel - create winged liner look

Final product -  Hollywood Glam?

Lips

• The Body Shop Cranberry Joy lip balm - actually wore MAC Red lipstick on the night

Brushes

• Real Techniques by Sam Chapman - Core Collection and stippling brush
• The Body Shop Slanted brush and line softener - e/l application
• The Body Shop Blender brush - e/s app.
• Generic store brought brow brush

Hair

• Soft curls and ringlets created by GHD
• Hold done by Schwarzkopf Volume Power hairspray

Sexy brown leather pumps!

Outfit

• ASOS Rose Gold dress
• Brown Leather stilleto pumps by 'Siren' from Wild Pair
• Portmans sparkly black head band

My amazing ASOS gold dress which screams Hollywood Glamour!

The back view of my dress. Gives a pretty swell view of my tat :-)

The whole night was amazing!
It consisted of every single staff member being recognised for their amazing efforts achieved in the company the past year.
Staff that went above and beyond were awarded little Oscars too :P
There was a lovely buffet of food and a dance floor which me and some of my co-workers friends dance to Gangnam style too, so much fun!

Above all else, everyone was dressed to nines.
And yes, I was thrilled to be back in my LGD (Little Gold Dress) which makes me feel like a 1950's Glamour girl or even better, a Bond Girl ;-)


Reality check.
As much as I love a good night, I simply can't resist a good night in wearing my fave trackies and sweater :-)

Love my huge FILA sweater!

That's all from me for now, hope you enjoyed my latest and you'll hear from me soon!

XOXOX

Putting my (not so) best face forward

Hi Everyone!

As most of you know I'm a big fan of The Body Shop.
One of my most fave purchases from them is there Tea Tree Oil face mask which is something I used to purchase quite often but haven't in the last 3 years (shame on me!).

It was a once-a-weekly skin treatment I would do for my skin and it would always come out glowing after being left on for 20-30mins.
I also had a very good skin routine and a healthy diet so my skin was fantastic.

I can't exactly say much for it now:



Purchased for an affordable price of NZD$25.50

I can't even begin to explain how stressed I've been which has caused my skin to breakout so badly, and these photo's are less than satisfactory after my last photo in my post I did a few days ago but then again I was wearing makeup and the above photo is a harsh reality of how good makeup can be when breakouts happen!

So a little in depth detail of the product:

The Body Shop have described this as suitable for blemished skin (obviously) and has an instant cooling effect and helps to list away impurities when used on a weekly basis, something which I thoroughly agree with and it smells really good :-)

Directions listed:
Apply generously to the face and neck with fingertips. Leave for 10-15 mins (20-30 wont kill you though), rinse off with clean water. Mask doesn't dry.
Breakouts are minimised with regular use. The ingredients contain menthol, tamanu oil, lemon tea tree oil and Community Trade organic tea tree oil.
STRICTLY AGAINST ANIMAL TESTING!

I put the mask on straight after having a shower, so my face was ready to soak up the goodness this mask contained and after 20mins of leaving it on and rinsing it off with warm water the redness with my blemishes were reduces and my face felt amazing!

I'll be reviewing this over a 3 week period and using the mask on a 2day basis to try and help my skin heal.
In the mean time I am already eating healthy and drinking plenty of water so hopefully with that occurring my face will look normal again in no time!

My next purchase with The Body Shop is a new BB Cream they've come out with, I tried a little on my hand yesterday and it is amazing!

I'll do a review on that later, in the mean time do you have any favourite purchases from The Body Shop or any other labels?
Or do you have any home remedies to treat blemishes I.E. Honey Oat and Caster sugar mask?

Thanks for reading all and I hope I didn't scare you too much :P

XOXOX

FOTD with M.A.C Knight Divine

OM NOM NOM!

Happy hump day all!
I'm celebrating an end to a long day with a yummy bowl of Cookie's 'n' Cream ice cream, listening to great music and of course blogging about my newest FOTD!

Today's look included a new eyeshadow purchase from M.A.C.
The eyeshadow is Knight Divine, the colour my eye with it's lovely silvery gunpowder shade which I've so far found can be quite a light shade but when applied with more density it can really pop.

The look below is what I did for my friends baby shower last weekend which you can read all about in my last post here.
This look was also created for a friend who wanted to know how to do a simple 'smokey eye' and how I usually do my makeup in general.
So here's what I conjured up for her and also anyone who wants to know how I used my new eyeshadow :)

Eek! A few blemishes, but as you know I've never been too fussed about them. Le' more "natural" le' better ;-)

So first things first!
Starting with my face, here's what I used in order of use and how I applied it:

FACE

• Aveeno Positively Radiant SPF 30 tinted moisteriser - rubbed into the palms of my hands to warm it up then applied to my neck and face in 'upward' strokes and patted gently around the eyes.
• The Body Shop skin primer 'moisterize it' - applied the same as above.
• M.A.C Studio Sculpt SPF 13 Foundation in NC25 - Applied in gentle downward strokes with M.A.C 190 foundation brush all over face and neck.
• Clinique Golden City stick consealer - wipe small amounts off the stick with you're index finger and rub to warm up the consealer into you're thumb and gently dab in and around blemished area's on the face, make sure to blend it well so it doesn't look patchy.
• Bourjois Pastel Teint pressed powder in Rose - used to set the foundation, sweep all over face and neck with M.A.C 187 brush.
• Sugar Baby Glamazon bronzer - applied lightly over forehead, nose, chin and in the contours of you're cheeks with M.A.C 182 Kabuki brush

CHEEKS

• M.A.C Peachykeen sheertone shimmer blush - applied in puff motions from the apples of the cheeks upward and inbetween the contours of you're cheeks with M.A.C Kabuki brush 182.

EYES - Finally!

• M.A.C Bare Study Paint Pot - only need a small amount on fingers and apply in feathering motions inward at the tear ducts of you're eye's then outward and more around the lid.
• M.A.C Knight Divine e/s - applied with definition all around the lid and slightly above the lid and in the outer edges of the eye with The Body Shop e/s blender brush.
• M.A.C Satin Taupe - applied on the outer and middle of the eye lid and around the edges of the eye with The Body Shop e/s blender brush
• M.A.C Blanc Type e/s - applied with The Body Shop blender brush on the upper brow bone (located just below the eye brow to highlight the eyes and make them POP!) and around the tear ducts.
• Collection 2000 black khol eyeliner - start by applying outward of the lid with a flick and work you're way inward by flicking it through gently and use you're fingers to blend it in nicely outward and around the outter edges of you're eye till you reach the middle of you're bottom eye lid.
• M.A.C 'It's a Miracle' e/s - using The Body Shop slanted e/s brush, apply a small amount (of the purple only) and place underneath you're bottom eyelids outward and work you're way in until it almost reaches you're tear duct.
• The Body Shop 'Define and Lengthen' mascara - well DUH! Apply two small coats to you're lower lashes and three to you're upper lashes (depending on how much drama you want).

LIPS

• The Body Shop 'Cranberry Joy lip balm - applied around the lips of course!

Voila!
That's pretty much it; it seems like I used a lot, which I did. But I did it in record time of 25mins and it's such an achievable look which for they eye's invloves a lot of finger blending which givews off the sexy smokey look ;-)

This look is something I usually only wear on the specialist of occasions. Most day's I use only tinted moisteriser and the new Maybelline Baby Lips Lip Balm.
You can check out my 'everyday' look at a previous post here.

Otherwise, I hope this helped.
You don't have to use M.A.C entirely, try different products I.E. Bourjois, Estee Lauder, Smashbox, Lancome, or even an unknown brand which may be more affordable which can also guarantee the same look :-)
And if you have any tips or even a new product which is MUST BUY then by all means let me know :D
Otherwise I hope you enjoyed and have a great day!

XOXOX

TGIF and POTD

Happy Friday!!! (And thank god to it! )

I had the most busiest day at work, it just wouldn't stop going! I took down 2 hours of meeting notes and just wouldn't stop rushing about; although it was quite productive and made my day go by splendidly so I can't really complain :-)

Plans for the weekend, however, is to go to my favourite thrift store (and little piece of heaven) in all of New Zealand..... Recycle Boutique!
They range from you're everyday lables such as Glassons, Cotton etc etc but most importantly, because being based in the city, they have Designer labels too ranging from Marc Jacobs, Christian Louboutin (who I snagged an amazing pair of nude heels at just $60 authentic too!), and some great New Zealand Designers such as Trelise Cooper, Lonely Hearts, Karen Walker and many more....!
So I'll be sure to upload some pics of what I brought to cure my early winter blues as well as show some of my best thrift buys.

In other news, I thought I may just put up my pic of the day

As you can see the photo below is just some every day beauty products I turn to during my week at work.

As much as I love makeup (my faves being Bobbi Brown, M.A.C, Lancome, The Body Shop and Clinique) I just don't feel like making the time to spend hours in the mirror when I can get up have breakfast and a good workout at the gym y'know?
So here are my go to products listed for the lazy makeup lover:

Pic 1 top left (from left to right): - Third application

1. All the Body Shop 'Cheek and Lip Stain'
2. The Body Shop 'Cranberry Joy' Lip Balm - apply after cheek and lip stain
3. The Body Shop 'Define and Lengthen' mascara (not waterproof)

Pic 2 top right: - First application

1. Lush 'Coal Face' solid Cleanser ($30) - great for all skin types and an investment! You only need to slice off a small amount, preferably the size of you're 'ring' finger nail and it clears up you're skin like no-ones business!

Pic 3 bottom left: - Second application

1. Aveeno 'Positively Radiant SPF 30' Moisterizer - This is beautiful on skin! Brings out the natural glow, hardly any chemicals in it and even covers up some blemishes whilst giving you sun protection which I stress about as the sun in NZ is pretty bad over here :-(

Pic 4 bottom right:

1. My vintage Elizabeth Arden makeup box whixh I've had ever since I was 6 years old. Keeps alot of treasures in it, including those little cosmetics ;-)

I hope you enjoy!
Any questions or reccommendations let me know xx