How I Clean My Makeup Brushes | Real Techniques Brush Cleansing Palette Review.

Hello my little bee's! 

It's the end of the bank holiday!!! For me it's been an eventful one to say the least and not in a good way. 

Friday, Papa Hutt started my car which he had left in gear previously (which I have told him to stop doing) and oh what is this?! Yep my nice, shiny car goes slamming into the side of our house!!! Oh yeah, my front bumper needs replacing. I was upstairs at the time and felt my room shudder and I heard pops shouting "noooo, noooooo NOOOOOO!!!" Lol. 

Obviously I wasn't happy but it was an accident and he was absolutely gutted so I didn't want to make him feel worse. I am gutted though because I have never damaged it and I am still paying the car off. 

*Insert sad face here*

So, I hope your bank hol has been a lot better than mine. Ha ha. 

Today I am presenting you with a step by step on how I clean my makeup brushes with a little review thrown in. 

Aren't you lucky! 

C'mon lets be honest, cleaning our makeup brushes is a serious ball ache. It's not riveting in the slightest, especially for me anyway. It takes forever to get all the grubby makeup off the brushes, then the drying process takes forever. For me it's a major chore. Is it for you? 

I thought my hands were doomed until I found this little contraption, but is it actually any good? 

My usual regime to clean my brushes involved my hand and the shower head pinned under the taps of the bath (don't ask). I would then proceed to clean. It took FOREVER!! I  mean snore!! 

I had seen that Real Techniques recently bought out this brush cleaning palette and it really caught my eye. I took the plunge and I bought it. 

Is it any good? Is it worth the money? Does it save time?

Yes, yes and yes. 

I LOVE this palette A LOT. 

I love Real Techniques anyway and have lots of their brushes so I was hoping it was going to live up to my expectations. It has a handle on the back to slide it onto your hand so it sits securely. 

It really did. I will be honest, I am not a fan of the cleansing gel that came with it as it didn't remove any of the makeup off my brushes, just moved it around. Is this the same for anyone else? 

So I just stuck to my usual cleansing method ( I will explain in a minute). 

This palette removed the makeup off my brushes so quickly I was actually sat in the bathroom talking out loud at how impressed I was. It has saved me SO much time and it cleans each strand thoroughly!! 

I am genuinely impressed.

There are three different sections with three different cleaning nibs. I just whirl mine around all three to ensure everything is off the brush. 

This little beauty retails at around £12.99 in Superdrug and I am so glad I have bought it, okay it's a bit of bendy plastic but lets be honest if you're prone to skimping on the cleaning then you NEED this in your life. 

It's affordable and does the job well. 

HOW OFTEN DO I CLEAN MY BRUSHES?

I used to clean my brushes once in a blue moon but now I do it once a week to ensure everything is clean and germ free. 

WHAT DO I USE TO WASH MY BRUSHES?

There are a lot of cleansing products out there on the market, I have tried and tested a couple and they haven't really worked for me. 

What I have tried and it works, is to add a drop of Fairy Liquid and a drop of Carex antibacterial hand soap onto my brushes and it cleans the brushes beautifully. It has never harmed my brushes either and it's cheap. 

Score. 

HOW I CLEAN MY BRUSHES - ROUTINE.

STEP ONE - Cleanse

I start off by adding the cleansing products to the palette. Simple as that. 

I then rub my brush into the liquid dry and then add the water. 

STEP 2 - THE WASH

This step is pretty self-explanatory really. I just swirl my brush around and rinse and then repeat that process until the brush is absolutely clean. With this palette and the amount of foundation I carry on my brush this takes around two attempts. 

STEP 3 - DRYING

 To dry my brushes I don't have anything fancy I just line them up against my wall on kitchen roll with the applicator facing down to allow the excess water to drain. 

And that's basically it really. 

My routine is pretty simple but I just wanted to show you that you don't need an expensive cleaner to wash your brushes with, just household items are sufficient enough. I also wanted to prove that you can get something pretty decent from the drug store as a tool to clean your brushes. 

Let me know your thoughts, do you have this palette, if so what do you think? If you don't have anything like this I would seriously give it a go, it won't break the bank and it's such a time saver. 

Well played Real Techniques. Well played. 

:) 

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What's In My Bag | Everyday Essentials.

Well hello there!!! 

Welcome back to my blog. :) 

Finally my eyes are getting better. YAAYYYY!! Just in time too as I am off to a gig tonight to see Counterfeit play! If you don't know who they are then they are Jamie Campbell Bower's band. And if you don't know who he is (which you should because he is extremely talented and hot) he was in the Twilight saga, Sweeney Todd and Immortal Instruments.  

He is my new man addiction fo'sure. 

I am meeting him tonight and I am SO nervous about it and I don't know why?! Most likely because he is beautiful and I am barely going to be able to breathe let alone speak to him!! 

I am going on my own as I always do, I just hope people don't mosh around me because I don't want a broken face. Ha. 

I have put some 'stiletto' false nails on and I cannot for the life of me type with them!!! I wanted to bish bash bosh this post out so I can get organised for tonight but so far the 'backspace' is being used hella a lot. 

Screwin. 

Okay, so I LOVE bags and purses and if I buy a bag I will have to buy a new purse and visa versa. I am currently waiting for a bag in Accessorize to go into sale because there is nothing worse than buying something full price and then the next day "oh hello" it's gone into sale.  

Are you kidding me?! 

I love to see what people have in their bags, call me nosey... That's because I am. Ha. 

Lets not beat around the bush.

So, today for all of you beautiful people I am presenting you with the contents of my very own bag and what I carry around on a day to day basis. Essential central right here. 

My bag is a Primark one I bought a while ago and I have currently gone back to it because it's the most practical until I get a new one. 

1,2,3... GOOOOOOO. 

I ALWAYS carry my Real Techniques 'Expert Face' brush around with me. It's just handy to have as sometimes under my eyes needs touching up or around my nose because my hay fever ends up with me rubbing half of my makeup off.  

Again, I carry this around for the same reasons as I carry my brush. You can never be TOO prepared ya know. 

I wear a nude lip almost every time I wear makeup, these are totally my go to products as they are the perfect combination. 

Concealer, in case a spot needs covering or I am re-doing my lips, eyeliner & eyebrow for obvious reasons and my matte powder to make my lips extra matte. And I wonder why I have dry lips all the time. 

I will never learn. Ha. 

When you're out and about, touching things or eating it's good to keep hygienic and with my little hand gel I do just that. I do not want any extra germs thank you very muchly! I keep my Carmex with me to hydrate my lips when they are a little sore. Perfect travel sizes. 

I keep these in my bag for when I am having my Superman to Clark Kent moment. Ha. If I am wearing no makeup and want to hide the hideousness of my 'natural' face I will pop these bad boys on. I will also wear these if I want to switch my look up. 

"Mirror mirror on the way, who's the fairest of them all?" 

No one likes lipstick on their teeth, so this little flip mirror gets carried around everywhere. You never know when you will need it. 

You could end up on an island and need to make a fire using the sun and this mirror. Practical thinking. 

This power bank is a life saver, I am always running out of my phone battery as I am on it so much. So this is great in those emergencies. I got it from New Look and I LOVE the colour. It's super pretty for Spring. 

I cannot stand knotty hair and because mine is long it gets hella knotty. This is a god send. 

I will obviously have my purse with me, it rarely has cash in it because I never really carry it. I will spend it if it's there. Papa Hutt always tells me off for having no cash. That's how my plan works... I want to order pizza... Oh no I have no cash... "DAAADDDDD". :) 

I have my drivers license in there, some business cards and my bank cards. Not at all interesting. 

This is the most important item in my bag because it contains my life. Ha. All my blog notes, photo's and memories, contact to the outer world and of course my Spotify playlist. If I am out and about I always have my music on. Love it. 

I carry this little card wallet because it carries the majority of my business cards and other cards I rarely use. I always like to be prepared. 

I like to smell nice okay?!

As mentioned I am waiting for a bag I want to go into sale so I carry these around just in case that day finally happens. 

I don't know why these are in my bag, the Topshop card has like £1 on it and the wallet is from Christmas. Ha. 

We are at the dregs now. I HAVE to have tissue in my bag at all times because of my sneezing and the rest is just crap.

The little card I carry around with me because my nan gave it me!!! I always have a sharpener in case my lip pencils go blunt and yes you can see correctly, that is a needle and thread. Some of my trousers split because of my fat ass, so that has come in handy quite a few times. 

There you have it. The contents of my bag. 

This might of been quite boring for you so my apologies if so but  I love looking at other's bag contents. I find it interesting. 

I will update you over on my social media accounts about the gig tonight is you're interested. 

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Until next time...

Love

L 

X 

  

Huge Haul // Ft New Look, Urban Decay, Topshop, Primark & More.

Afternoon!!!

What a horrible weather day it is today where I am. It's grey, wet but that just makes everything cosier. 

It's Sunday, we are allowed to chill, eat crap and watch awful television. 

I am so excited because tomorrow I am in London for London Fashion Week at a blogger's event. I literally cannot wait. I have planned my outfit, makeup and hair. I am one of those people anyway who plans things way in advance. I will soon be planning my birthday and that's not until August. Ha. Yep, I am THAT girl.

I am switching it up today and presenting you guys with a huge haul. The things that I have been buying have been collected over the last couple of months. As you know (if you have read my previous posts) I am on the job hunt so currently I am having to be careful on what I am spending. 

There are some fashion and beauty bits as well as other miscellaneous items. There is sooo much I currently want at the moment it's mad. I swear my mind knows that I don't have a job because right now I am seriously craving a massive shopping trip. Grrrr. 

I hope you like what I have bought and maybe you might spot some things you like yourself. 

 I bought this cute makeup/wash bag from Primark. I liked it because it matched the colour scheme of my bedroom, it's super cute and big enough to put some of my makeup in. I think this was around £3.

I bought a few of these t-shirts from Primark because I am currently 'trying something out'. These are men's t-shirts and I love the oversized look so that's why I got an 'XL' as it hangs better. This was £2.50. 

Again, these black skinny jeans are from Primark. I mainly get my jeans from New Look because they always fit me perfectly. I bought these so I can customise them myself. I want to rip the crap out of them, they are around £7-8 so you can't really go wrong. 

This makeup bag is so freaking cute. I love everything about it. It's from H & M and I love the fact it's a nude blush pink in a patent fabric and it's big enough for my carry about makeup. This was £4.99, they also have it in black too. 

Mason 'Love Heart' jar from Tiger. £2. 

This top coat polish is gorgeous, I have been using it on it's own without any polish underneath as it's really buildable. I love anything sparkly and this hits the spot. This is in a gold shade, I also have it in silver. £4.99.

This shade was always sold out in Superdrug, so I purchased the gold version first, then when I found this I had to grab it. This is from Model Own's 'Chrome' range and this is obviously their copper shade. I will be honest, I am not as impressed as I thought I would be, I think I expected it to be more like the packaging. A girl can dream. £4.99. 

I love Real Techniques brushes a lot. I now have the Nanshy brushes too which I haven't used yet but currently Real Techniques are my go-to. I love copper/rose gold and this brush is awesome. I also have their 'crease' brush in their 'Bold Metals' collection too. £22. 

Real Techniques 'Core' collection. £21. 

Soap & Glory 'Eyes Box' £18. 

New Look purse £14.99

Love a Yankee candle. :) 

This is seriously cute, I am actually looking for a card holder similar to this but I saw this and thought that this was the next best thing. New Look, £3.99. 

Oh what's this?! Another Yankee candle? Yes it is!!! Ha. I got this in the sale it was half price. I found this tricky because in their store they also had one that actually smelt like Christmas Trees and it was a toss between that smell and this one. I had been searching high and low for a candle that smelt like 'Christmas' and couldn't find it, I then find it but because Christmas was nearing it's end I thought it would be weird to burn it in the new year. So I went for this one. I love this smell, cinnamon is my fave. £12. 

I have suddenly become addicted to buying Urban Decay's pallets. I always swore that I would NEVER spend almost £40 on a pallet but I got their smoky one for Christmas (which I still haven't used as it's too pretty) and I had some Christmas money that I had saved so I bought the Naked 2 (which again, I haven't used yet). I 100% want the Naked 1 as it is a lot warmer and I feel that suits my skin tone more. £38.

"Got a secret, can you keep it?!" It's no secret that I am a fan of Pretty Little Liars and I love reading, so why not get the book. £6.99. 

I saw a trailer of the 'The Mortal Instruments' film and it looked pretty good. I am a fan of Jamie too so again a good buy for me. 

I love rose gold and this cute little wallet is to die for. I don't know what I will use this for yet but I am sure it will get its use. I got it from Accessorize in a sale for around £4. I did buy some sterling silver midi rings too but they went a weird brassy colour which it shouldn't of gone, so I had to take them back. 

This cute little ring is from Topshop, again I picked this up in a sale. It was £20 and I got it for £10. It's sterling silver too which is awesome. 

I re-purchased some of my essential beauty products. Y'all have seen those before somewhere on this blog. Ha. 

Okay, right so the ear cuff situation, I cannot for the life of me work out how on earth they sit on my ear. They keep falling off. Can anyone please shed some light?! I got those from Topshop too. 

Topshop are also selling these cute necklaces and there are quite a few to choose from. There are one's for luck and power etc. I chose this one because I was drawn to it more. As you can see this was also in a sale so I think it was around £5. 

All the above clothing items are from New Look. I cannot actually remember how much each item was, so I do apologise. 

I wanted a camel 'waterfall' coat for a while now and I found this and it was the last one in my size, so I grabbed it. At the time of trying it on I thought it looked really cool. Now I am a little unsure if it actually suits me. 

The black lace shirt is so beautiful. I love things like that, a little different and unique. I thought it would look lovely when you're transitioning from Spring to Summer. 

And finally, I love a bit of leather (this is faux leather, I never wear real leather) and this dress teamed with a long sleeved white tee and military boots would look super cool.

Always think ahead. 

I did buy some Lush products too but I couldn't wait and had to use them. I bought one of my favourites 'Razzle Dazzle' and I got given a bomb too. 

I hope you enjoyed seeing what I have bought and I will see you in my next post. 

Love 

L 

X