Wednesday 16 January 2013

Beauty tips that I actually found helpful. No really.

Every now and then it becomes glaringly apparent to me, that just because someone is employed in a particular occupation doesn't mean that they are any good at it. I'm sure you've all experienced this in some form or another, or maybe you've even been that person? I know I sure have been. I was once told by a restaurant manager that I wasn't "a natural waitress." It was a comment that was probably unfair at the time, given it was my first time waitressing. Thankfully however, I saw the humour in it and never spent any time berating myself for my lack of success in that arena. 


The start of the new year always finds the internet flooded with new-year themed articles from beauty and style writers. I recently clicked on one titled "Top Beauty Tips for 2013." Cool, I thought to myself - I'm stuck in a bit of a makeup rut and maybe this will provide some ideas about new things to try. I was so disappointed...so, so, disappointed. I'm not exaggerating here - some of these "Top Trends" included "wearing sunscreen" and "washing your face." Now, I'm not saying that these aren't good things to do on a daily basis, they absolutely are, but I would tend to categorise these under the heading of "common sense" or maybe "personal hygiene" rather than "top tips."

So, as a lot of us do when we are in a situation like this, I thought to myself "They got paid for that? I can do better than that!" And hopefully I have - here are some tips that I've come across that I have actually found helpful -  I hope you do too.

1. Keep your eyeliner pencil in the freezer.

I know, right? It sounds whack. But it actually makes perfect sense - eyeliner pencils are always soft and smudgy, and sometimes this makes it really hard to draw a precise line. Storing your eyeliner in the freezer will harden the pencil and help you create a look that is sharp and clean - perfect for work, when you're probably not going for the smokey, smudgy look. Probably. I mean, I don't know your life.

2. Do your eye makeup first.

I was a bit of a late bloomer when it came to makeup, and never really had anyone show me what to do or how to do it. There were certainly no YouTube tutorials to help me out. I just bought some makeup and off I went. I'm sure this contributed to some odd looks and odd habits over the years. I always, always used to start with foundation and then go from there - I mean, it makes sense semantically - the foundation always goes first. BUT, when you do your eyes first, you can then clean up any smudges or mistakes without the hassle of redoing your foundation. Totally sensical. 

3. All you need to exfoliate is olive oil and sugar.

In the past, I have spent crazy amounts of money on facial scrubs and body scrubs. I've never found a cheap one that actually did the job, and the expensive ones well, they're expensive. When someone told me how easy it was to make your own at home, I was completely won over. All you need is a jar, some olive oil and some raw sugar. I say raw sugar, because white or brown sugar are too soft and you won't get that really scrubby texture that gets rid of the dead skin cells. Added bonus, you can play with the ratio of oil to sugar until you get the texture that you prefer!

xx


2 comments:

  1. I love it! I should do my version of this too.

    Another eyeliner tip - if you do want the smudgey look and your pencil is a bit hard, hold it over a flame (candle or lighter) briefly and carefully to soften it up.

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  2. Thanks sis! You should definitely do one. I like your tip too, good one! xx

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