My Makeup Brush Collection.

Link to the photo of my brushes: HERE

I've only recently (within the last 6 months or so) gotten into makeup, so my brush collection isn't huge. I only actually have 14 brushes, 3 of them being double ended brushes. 

Real Techniques Brushes.

Disclaimer: This is not my photo.

I have both the original real techniques sets, which I believe are absolutely perfect for beginners. You can buy both sets for a lot less that in store on Amazon, which is where I got mine. I paid around £25 for both the sets, which I think is an absolute bargain! I don't use the foundation brush, and I find it a bit too flimsy for my liking, but the rest of the brushes are so soft and versatile, the sets really do provide you with everything you need as a beginner. 

Urban Decay Brushes.

I have all 3 of the Naked palettes, and each palette comes with its own brush- which I have removed and store with my other brushes. The original Naked palette comes with a flat rigid eyeshadow brush, which works really well to pack on eyeshadow, Naked 2 had a two sided brush, one side is a smaller version of the original brush, the other is a big fluffy crease brush, which I use nearly every time I wear eyeshadow. Naked 3 also has a double sided brush, however unfortunately, both the Naked 3 and the Naked 2 brushes have duplicate flat eyeshadow brushes, which is a shame considering how much the sets cost. However, the naked 3 does have a flat fluffy brush which is amazing at blending. 

Estee Lauder Brushes.

I did use to have the whole set of gold Estee Lauder brushes, however I lost the smaller lip brush and the bigger powder brushes were way to flimsy for me to use. I do like the smaller eyeshadow brush, though I wouldn't buy it again. The fact that its shorter than the powder brushes gives it more stability, however it is still very flimsy and can be hard to work with. Fortunately for this brush, its mobility makes it a good blending brush. 

Wilko Brushes.

I would never have considered buying Wilko brushes if I had just walked into the store, however, after they first launched, everywhere I looked there was nothing but great reviews! I decided to head in and pick some up- considering the most expensive brush is only £4, you can't really go wrong. I chose the concealer brush and the smokey eye brush (which is double ended), and they have really lived up to the reviews. Although they are only cheap, they have held their shape very well, which is impressive considering I use the angled brush all the time. I already have a concealer brush from the real techniques collection, and so I use the concealer brush as a lip brush, which works surprisingly well!

I'm hoping to buy more brushes soon, as there are a lot of brands I've heard about and want to try, plus my collection seriously needs expanding! Let me know what brushes you use down below!

Dye My Hair With Me: Pink Lilacs.

Hey guys, this is just a super quick post as I'm working all day today but didn't want to leave you guys empty handed.

My hair has been looking quite drab and dull the last few days, so i decided to liven it up by using my hair mask dye to dye it a pinky lilacy colour. My hair has always been pretty dry, and the bleaching doesn't help it, so I use this hair dye mask to add some moisture back it, whilst adding a bit of fun to my look. Here's what you'll need:

- An empty tub, container or bowl.

- Cheap conditioner 

- Coconut oil (or another hair oil)

- A hair dying tool (optional)

-Hair dyes of your chosen colour

Okay, to start, I simply add a load of conditioner to the container, making sure I have enough to cover my whole head, and a little extra to really saturate it. I also add a little bit of coconut oil for added moisture, and then mix it up really well.

Next, I add some of my pink dye, I'm using pink carnation by directions, but you can use any brand or colour that you choose. I recommend using a vegan dye as they don't do any damage to your hair.

Once I've reached the darkness I want the dye to be, add a little bit more as some of the dye will wash out, and it won't be as strong as the colour looks here. Then I add a small amount of the colour violet, as this pink dye is too much of a neon colour for my personal liking, and the purple tones really cool the colour down.

I mix the colours together really well, to make sure I'm not left with any blobs of purple dye or coconut oil. The final colour looked like this:

This is the kind of tone and colour I think complements my skin tone the best, it's the colour I tend to sway towards when dying my hair a crazy colour. Here's my hair colour before adding the dye, as you can see it's looking pretty drab, and the purple dye is fading in patches- it's really time for a touch up.

I add the dye, and then leave it on for around half an hour, unfortunately I am unable to show you guys a finished picture, as I am writing this post sunday night and won't be back before this post publishes. If you'd like to see the final result, you can follow me via the instagram link on the side bar.

I'm really optimistic about how the colour will turn out, it looks like a really pretty colour at the moment, I'm just hoping it will stick. 

Thanks for reading, please leave me a comment :)

'Directions' Hair Dye Review

I've been using the directions hair dyes for a while now, I love dying my hair all kinds of crazy colours, and I find these to be the best for me. I currently am using the colours 'Violet' and 'Cerise'. I find that violet is the perfect colour for toning my hair, but also makes for a very pretty purple alone and cerise is very pretty when lightened up with conditioner for a pretty pink.

I personally like to mix the two together with conditioner to create a toned down pinky purple colour like above. Considering these dyes are only £5 each, they're really good quality. Not only are they easy to use, but they mix well together and with conditioner, unlike other hair dyes I've tried, meaning you can create an endless amount of colours- not that they don't have a good selection, with 34 colours to choose from. 

They also last a really long time. I only need a small amount of the product to make the colour strong enough for my liking, so I'm only half way through my pot despite using them a lot of times. 

The colour lasts a really long time in your hair. I do find that the pink washes out a lot faster than the purple, but that's normal as red tones tend to fade faster than blue tones, but even the pink will last me around 2 weeks. 

Directions make vegan friendly dyes, so they won't dry out if you leave them on too long, as they're made from vegetable fats. I find the dyes are really conditioning for your hair, and I have before left the dye on my hair over night (under a plastic bag to reduce mess), which left my hair looking silky, the colour was really intense and it lasted a lot longer than normal. I really like to add a little bit of coconut oil in with the dyes and use them almost like a hair mask, they're so moisturising.

Overall, I love these dyes, and will definitely be buying more soon. I'm looking to try Rubine and Alpine Green next! So, for £5 these are a 10/10 from me.

Please remember to check the side bar for updates on what's coming next!

99p Bargain

I recently ordered one of this scary looking contraptions off eBay for just 99p including shipping. It's used to remove blackheads and spots, and I've been rejoicing since I ordered it. I use it in the bath around once a week to really clean out my pores, and I think my skin is thanking me. I've noticed a dramatic decrease in the number of breakouts I'm getting since I started using it, and my skin has been looking a lot smoother .So I recommend you go pick one of these up if you haven't already.

Please remember to check the side bar for updates on what's coming next!

My Eyebrow Routine

Okay, so this is my natural eyebrow shape. They're pretty thin and bare around the edges, with a few bald patches, but they're not too bad. Still, I choose to fill them in most days, and I like to opt for a natural look. In this photo I have already used a spoolie to brush my eyebrows out.

First, I use my M.A.C eyebrow pencil in Lingering (which was featured in my recent haul) to draw a basic outline for my brows. I draw a full line along the bottom, attempting to create a slight arch as my brows are pretty damn straight. I also draw a line along the top of my brow, but I tend to follow my natural shape here, and I leave the front little hairs unlined.

I use a spoolie to Blend out the product into my eyebrow hairs, and then use my Anastasia Dipbrow pomade in medium brown (also featured in my haul) to fill in any remaining bare patches. I then blend again, just to make sure everything looks smooth and natural.

Next, I use the colour 'naked' from my Urban Decay naked palette to set my brows before applying a translucent powder over my whole brow as my natural hair colour is very ashy, and I always feel as though my brows look to warm if I skip this step. 

Finally, to finish everything off, I conceal the area around my brows using benefits boi-ing concealer in shade 1, before highlighting my brow bone. I feel as though this step really helps create the illusion of an arch in my brow. 

Please ignore the silly faces I'm pulling in the photos, this isn't my forte! :)

Please remember to check the side bar for updates on what's coming next!

My Favourite Lush Products

I am a big fan of Lush product, I truly believe that everything they sell is worth the money they charge, so here are my favourites from their store so far.

1. The Charity Pot.

Not only does it serve as a killer moisturiser, but also 100% of the profits go to charity! (Except taxes, they go to the government).

2. Rising Phoenix Bath Bomb.

I've tried nearly every bath bomb lush sells, but this is one of my favourites. The scent is described as cinnamon on the website, which is one of my favourite all time scents. The bath bomb itself is layered full of different colours and golden glitter, which turns the bath an amazing colour!

3. So White Bath Bomb.

This was one of the first bath bombs I ever bought from lush, and I've been re-buying it every time since. The bath bomb itself looks pretty boring, however once dropped into the bath it reveals a pink centre. The scent is clean and fresh, which I love.

4. D'Fluff Strawberry Shaving Soap.

I was very sceptical about this at first, but it was recommended to me so I decided to try it out. I was blessed with almost white, very thin and slow growing leg and arm hair, so rarely have to shave. This means that products like this don't normally do much for me, as I don't shave often enough to develop dry or flaky skin, but this product surprised me- it leaves me with the softest feeling legs you could possibly imagine, and you only need the tiniest bit! Plus, I love strawberries, which is a bonus.

5. Jason and the Argan Oil Shampoo Bar.

I will warn you guys, this thing smells super strong. It's a great scent but you can smell it from miles away. Nonetheless, it gives my super thin hair life and body, which is what I want from a shampoo, and it's super long lasting!

6. Mask of Magnaminty.

I wouldn't usually go for this product, as I absolutely hate the smell of mint. However, it claims to reduce redness and blemishes, and I've found that all lush products so far have done exactly what they say on the tin. My skin has been playing up the last couple months, and I have no idea why- so I needed something to help calm it down. This isn't a miracle fix for blemishes, but it will reduce them and help calm you skin over time, which is what I'm looking for. I use this once a week and I find that it really helps keep my skin in control!

How I Bleach My Hair White

My hair has been bleached white fairly frequently for the last few years:
Photo
Photo
And over this time I have learned a few things about keeping my hair healthy looking whilst still achieving the lightest colour possible. So, I decided to share a few tips and tricks that I have learned along the way. 

1. Coconut oil.

Everybody knows that you shouldn't bleach clean hair, but why? Well, when our hair gets greasy, the oil forms a protective barrier against the bleach, stopping it from drying out or getting damaged. As I don't like to leave my hair get too greasy before bleaching it, I tend to use coconut oil on second day hair instead. Coconut oil is solid, but has a very low melting temperature, so I scoop out a small amount- warm it in my hands and then apply a thick coat all over my hair. I tend to leave this on for around half hour before bleaching, as coconut oil is really good at adding moisture to your hair. 

Don't bother buying special coconut oil branded for use on hair, as organic coconut oil will be cheaper and does the exact same job. You can find this is your local grocery store or organic health food shop. 

2. Generic Bleach.

Rather than use a coloured bleach, such as a cool ash tone or a honey blonde tone- I choose to use a bleach which does not contain a toner and tone my hair myself afterwards. The bleach I use is Jerome Russell's Bblonde bleach in medium lift, as I have a pretty light hair colour naturally.

I choose to use this bleach as you get the bleach sachets and developer separately so there is little to no waste, and I've found that using this bleach allows me to get the lightest colour my hair is capable of achieving.

4. Bleaching Technique.

There's nothing complicated about my bleaching technique, but I thought I should share it with you regardless. Basically, I split my bleaching sessions into two parts. First, I will apply bleach to my roots and the darkest parts of my hair, such as sections which didn't lighten as much last time. I will leave this on for around half an hour (or half the time noted on the bleach box). Then, I will go back and apply more bleach to the rest of my hair, concentrating again on the darkest spots. 

I don't always bleach my whole head, only if a lot of my hair isn't the colour I want it to be yet- as I do frequently change between my natural hair colour and white blonde.

3. Fudge Clean Blonde Toner Shampoo.

Toning is a really important part of achieving the right colour, personally I prefer an icy white colour, and so I use a purple toner. My favourite way of toning my hair day to day is to use a toning shampoo, which is just what it sounds like- a shampoo containing purple dye to counteract the yellow tones in your hair. My favourite one so fair is the Fudge Clean Blonde Violet Toning Shampoo. I apply this like regular shampoo, lathering it all over my hair, and then leave it on for five minutes or so, depending on how yellow my hair is looking at the time. It's a really easy way of keeping your colour up to check.

4. D.I.Y Toner.

If this option doesn't really appeal to you, you can save a lot of money by making your own toner or toning shampoo. All you need to do is buy a dark purple hair dye, my favourite is the directions violet hair dye.

You can either add a small amount of this to your shampoo and use it like above, or alternatively you can mix it with conditioner to achieve a pale purple colour and then apply it to your hair, leaving it on for around half an hour. Though it does take a little bit of trail and error to learn what shampoo to dye ratio works for you, it's a very good way of saving money!

If you have any more questions regarding my bleaching technique, please feel free to comment.

Recent Haul and Review.

Link to the related instagram photo

My birthday was just over a week ago, and so I chose to treat myself to a few products I've been looking at for a while. I've had the chance to put the products to the test, and decided to review them for you all!

1. E.L.F Daily Brush Cleanser. 

£3.95 / $3.00

I bought this product in an attempt to force myself to clean my brushes more often, and I have to say it has worked. I simply spray the cleanser over the brush, then rub the product off on a towel. Although it does do a reasonable job at cleaning brushes, I can still easily see left over pigment, especially from darker coloured shadows. On a basis of price to product ratio, I feel as though this is very expensive in the UK for the small amount you get- at an equivalent of just over $6! It also has a very strong smell, which lingers on the brushes- and I have found slight damage to my brushes since I started using this. 

WARNING: This product is designed to be used on synthetic brushes and not natural brushes.

Personally, I will not be re-buying this product, however it is something worth trying out if you can find it on offer. 

2. NARS Sheer Glow Foundation in Siberia.

£31.00 / $45.00

As someone who hasn't worn foundation in 5 years, I was hesitant to spend this much money on one. However, I asked for a sample at the NARS counter out of curiosity and instantly fell in love, less than a week later I bought the full sized version. I gave up wearing foundation when I was younger as I found that my sensitive skin would become irritated and break out from even wearing it for a few hours! However, this foundation has impressed me so much! Not only can I not even feel it on my face, but the foundation itself makes my skin look so clear and radiant. I do find that I break out if I wear this every day for a few days, however it a vast improvement on my previous experiences with foundation. If you have the spare money, I cannot recommend this enough!

3. M.A.C Self-Sharpening Eyebrow Pencil in Lingering.

£13.50 / $16.00

Having only ever filled in my eyebrows with my Urban Decay eyeshadow in Naked, I decided I wanted to step up my eyebrow game and delve into the world of eyebrow pencils. I knew I wanted something very thin, light and precise- and this M.A.C pencil gives me just that. It's so quick and easy to use, and lets my subtly build on the patchy areas of my brows without making them look unnatural. I cannot recommend this enough to someone who (like me) is just entering the world of drawing on eyebrows!

4. Anastasia Dipbrow Pomade in Medium Brown.

£15.00 / $18.00

I stumbled across this on sale, and after all the wonderful things I had heard about it, decided to bite the bullet and pick it up. Choosing the right colour was the main issue for me, as I had no option but to order it online. I ended up choosing medium brown over dark brown as my eyebrows are a light ashy brown, and it matches very well (as long as I apply it with a light hand). It took a couple of tries to get it right, but now I find it easy to use- Plus it will last through absolutely anything!

5. NARS Copacabana Multipule.

£29.00 / $39.00

I honestly cannot put into words how much I love this product. Every time I have gone up to the NARS counter without fail, I would swatch this on my hand and gaze at awe in how pretty it is. So I decided that it was time to finally commit and I couldn't be happier, I want them all! I'm currently using this as my highlighter, though I am debating putting it all over my face under my foundation as an illuminator as it makes my skin look so dewy and radiant. 

6. Sleek Blush in Rose Gold.

£4.49 / $6.99

I am constantly hearing good things about the brand sleek, and decided to put them to the test with one of their famous blushes. The rose gold one is probably the most famous and is often referred to as a dupe for NARS Super Orgasm. I have to say I am very impressed by the quality of this blush- I tend to stray away from drugstore brands, as I don't wear makeup everyday and so enjoy the quality of mid/high end makeup when I do wear it. However I do really love this blush, and am considering buying more of their products in the near future. The rose gold micro glitter almost serves as a highlight, so I like to apply this blush a little higher along my cheek bones that I normally would.

NOTE: I apologise if any of the American pricing is wrong, I used google to search for the American pricing of each product- However there may be some mistakes.