Cleaning Makeup Brushes

Once a week comes my least favorite part of makeup....cleaning my brushes. :P It's not that it's particularly difficult or anything, it's mainly mind-numbing and tedious. But it is a necessary evil in order to keep bacteria down and it DEFINITIVELY helps if you have acne-prone skin. With acne-prone skin the problem is bacteria getting trapped under the skin in the pores and causing an "infection", so if you think about it you get bacteria on your skin everyday just by living, no need to add more with the bacteria that collects on your brush along with the old makeup that gets jammed into your pores with every use. 

Most people will tell you that you should spot clean your brushes after every use, and you should but I am too lazy to do that. So each week I deep clean the brushes. 

Let's start with the set up:

I lay down a towel that has one edge rolled under to catch spills and also to dry my brushes when I am finished. I do this either in the bathroom or kitchen depending on where I get to first. I of course have the brushes that need to be cleaned and baby shampoo. Now my sister begged a good question, why do I use baby shampoo? The reason I use baby shampoo instead of dish soap which some people use, or olive oil which can also be used, is this - if you were to use dish soap on your hair over and over, your hair will eventually dry out. Same goes (in my opinion) for brushes. They dry out and shed like CRAZY. And as for olive oil, I've tried it and it just made my brushes goopy and they NEVER came clean. And I personally like the smell of baby shampoo. By all means try each method for yourself and find your preference this is just mine. 

Washing:

I start with clean warm water (that I change with each brush) in a bowl. I then dip my brush in, trying to avoid the feral (the metal part), then I add some baby shampoo and then swirl the brush against my palm and continue until I see no more foundation or eyeshadow coming out onto my hand. 

Face brushes:

Please excuse the lack of handle with this brush. The handle got wet one time too many and the glue loosened and the handle kept falling off and I just got tired of it and tossed the handle. But other than that the brush works fine.

Eye brushes:

After completing this step with all my brushes I move over to the sink. I make sure the water is warm, NOT HOT but warm. I then run the brushes under the water (again trying to avoid the feral, but I don't always succeed) and until the water runs clear. 

Then I squeeze out the excess water and blot on a paper towel.

I then place my brushes, handle up on the rolled edge of the towel. I do this so that the water drains down and into the towel and not back into the feral. If water gets into the feral it loosens the glue that holds the bristles together and then the brush sheds and you end up with brush hairs on your face and a very bald brush. This also goes for the handle. But this method or any drying method works only with single brushes. Dual ended brushes (brushes on both ends) have to be laid flat because either way to put it water is going to go into the feral. Also laying brushes flat can still result in water getting into the feral. But with the dual ended brushes it's the lesser of the evils. Then just let air dry until fully dry.

They do make brush trees which are great because they hold the brush upside down which ensures that water doesn't get into the feral, but they can be pricey and just not something I want to spend my money on. But there is a way to get the same effect for very cheap. All you need is a towel rod or shower rod and hair ties. 

You make a C with the hair tie so that there are two loops at the top and bottom of the rod and just feed the brush through it. This works with both face brushes and eye brushes but if you find that the eye brushes or smaller brushes are too loose just double them up with a face brush (pictured below) and it'll be all snug. 

So that's it my darlings, all my brushes are squeaky clean and drying nicely. Remember dears, until next time stay safe.

Little Tidbits: 

I made the most delicious chocolate chip cookies tonight. They were AMAZE BALLS!

And after the cookies, I'm wondering what I'll have for dinner LOL.

As usual I'm watching Psych on Netflix....I have a problem.

My dog is currently smacking me in the leg with her little pirate toy.

Blue Glitter Smokey Eye (Fail)

I saw a picture on Pinterest.com of a beautiful blue smokey eye.  And I looked in my "collection" and found some blue shadows that I got for Christmas that I hadn't played with yet. So I tried to recreate the look......FAIL. It DID NOT turn out as planned to say the least but in a weird way (and this may just be me) it looked kinda pretty. My husband looked at it and said he wasn't used to seeing me with blue shadow. Normally I am terrified of blue shadows because I don't want to turn out looking like Mimi from the Drew Carey show. Or that I stepped back into the '80s. Let's get to it.....

Face:

Mac Creme Matte Primer

L'Oreal True Match Foundation - N3 natural buff

NYX HD Concealer - Medium

NYC Smooth Skin Powder - Translucent

NYC Smooth Skin Bronzer - Sunny

Maybelline Dream Sun Bronzer - Matte Medium

The Balm Blush - Hot Mama

Benefit Highlighter - High Beam

As always easy part. See other posts for application.

Eyes:

Urban Decay Primer Potion - Original

Urban Decay Oz The Great and Powerful Glinda Palette - Oz

Urban Decay Naked Basics Palette - Crave, Venus

Markwins Eyeshadow "Palette" - Blue shadows

Claire's Eye Glitter Palette - Blue

Jesse's Girl Liquid Eyeliner - Black

Essence Long Lasting Eye Pencil - Black Fever

Loreal Double Extend Beauty Tubes Mascara - Blackest Black

Loreal Voluminous Million Lashes Diamonds Mascara - Black Diamond

Maybelline Great Lash Mascara - Clear

This started out with so much promise. I applied my primer and that was the end of the good things. I used a flat shader brush to apply the lighter blue color to my lid. It was not as pigmented as it is swatched and went on very patchy. Once I had a "decent" layer built up I took the darker blue and placed it with a fluffy brush into my crease. Again not as pigmented and patchy. So I tried to deepen it up with some black and that took the lighter blue to a grayish blue. And don't get me started on the glitter. Very very tacky and never dries. Plus this move made the blue underneath sheer out and it just wasn't good. But I went ahead and lined my upper lash line with black liner and winged it out. Lined my water line with a black pencil liner. While looking at it in the mirror I was like "What the hell, let's throw some silver on there". Lined my lower lash line with the silver color called Oz from the Glinda palette from Urban Decay. That actually made it easier to look at for me and kinda saved it. I went ahead and applied my mascara of choice for the moment. And topped it off with a glittery mascara. 

Lips:

Origins Rain and Shine Lipstick - Brilliant Bronze

I apologize for the way the lipstick looks in the tube (above). My niece got a hold of it one day and decided the mint in it tasted good and proceeded to eat it. 

This shade even though it says bronze which makes me think GOLDEN BROWN! is really pretty. It's my lips only a little browner. It also has some shimmer which catches the light beautifully and has a satin finish. 

So was this look salvageable? Did it turn out okay? I thought so but you can judge for yourselves. Til next time my loves, be safe.

Little Tidbits:

My dog has decided to fall asleep as close to me as possible i.e. with her butt on top of my legs.

Looks like we're in for some thunder boomers tomorrow. Right when I have to be driving to work. Yay mother nature.

I cannot believe it took me this long to find the show Psych. Where have I been it's hilarious. 

And I have now taken to calling my car the Blueberry. 

My Piercings and Tattoos

So I have a confession to make, I am a tattoo and piercing addict. I absolutely LOVE them. I am forever on Pinterest.com looking at different tattoos and piercing sites. The creativity that comes with tattoos and all the places that you can put them and piercings. GAH!!! I literally pine until I can get another one each time. Like the second after the needle leaves my skin I'm like "I want another one now!" It's a problem especially for the wallet. 

I will also be including the back story of each tattoo, when I got them (including piercings), healing process, pain level, and retired piercings.

Tattoos

Back story:

This was my very first tattoo. I got it when I was 19, around Christmas in 2008. My husband designed it for me. Now I know that some people are gonna be like "OMG now your relationship will never last! Ya'll are gonna break up! I can't believe you did that!" Well this was done when I had only been married for 5 months, and my husband and I are celebrating our 6 year anniversary in July and are still going strong. I like to think of it as a beautiful reminder of our anniversary so neither of us can forget it. It is on my chest above my left breast. It's very straight forward, our names in an infinity symbol with our wedding date. 

Pain level:

Never let someone tell you that tattoos don't hurt. They lie. Every tattoo will hurt no matter where it is on you. After all it is a bunch of needles stabbing you over and over again at a high rate of speed. So point blank YES THIS HURT. Everyone has a different pain tolerance. Mine is fairly high, meaning things that other people could perceive as very painful don't really bother me. 

Most people can relate to a scale reference. So on a scale from 1-10 one being not painful at all and ten being the most excruciating pain you can imagine, this tattoo was a 4 or 5. The entire tattoo took 30 minutes (no breaks) so I still had plenty of endorphins left. 

Healing process:

After the tattoo was finished it was covered and I was instructed to let it be for 4 hours then go home and wash it gently with unscented antibacterial soap. Then to apply Tattoo Goo (can now be found at Walmart) which is this lip balm like substance that comes in a little pot that hydrates and helps your tattoo to heal. And then to apply the Goo 2 times daily or when it itched. So that's what I did. It took about 4 to 6 weeks to fully heal. Some tattoos will peel and form scabs, I only had one teeny tiny little scab and that was it. And like with all tattoos I couldn't submerge it in water for 6 weeks.

Back story:

I had been dreaming about this tattoo for years. I finally got my dream tattoo just last year in the end of January 2013. This one as you can tell is on my ribs (right side). Now I consider this one big tattoo and others say its 6 different tattoos, you can decide which you'd like to call it. This tattoo is 3 butterflies 

(one big two small) and 3 dragonflies (one big two small) done in black and grey with different colored "movement" lines. The big dragonfly and butterfly represent my parents. The 4 smaller "flies" represent my brothers and sisters. Each "fly" has the corresponding person's favorite color. The meaning is that to the world they all just blend in but the each leave their mark (the colors) on the world. 

Pain level:

This tattoo on the scale was an 8-9. The ribs are a bony area so it makes sense. It took 5 1/2 hours to complete (with two 10 minute breaks) and this was finished in one sitting. The artist was also VERY heavy handed which makes it a little worse, and I had worked a full 8 hours that day starting at 6 am, so needless to say I was exhausted when I left the shop. But surprisingly on the large butterfly and the large dragon fly I fell asleep until he hit the area that starts to run under my breast, then I woke up in a hurry. By the time he was working on the "movements", I was writhing in pain. I had no endorphins left, I had used them all up by the 4th hour. When he was finished I was EXTREMELY sore. It made it very difficult to drive home.

Healing process:

Unfortunately this tattoo did not heal as well as my first. The picture is from about a week after it was completed. It didn't peel just like the first time, but I did scab pretty badly one some of the "flies" especially the butterfly with the blue "movement" now that it is completely healed that butterfly has holes in the wings where the ink was pulled out (and I did not pick it). The others have holes from scabs but mainly from where my bra would rub even though I had it taped up. But the blue butterfly's is the most noticeable and even then it's not really. I had the same instructions as before wait 4 hours, wash it and apply the Goo.

Piercings

My very first piercing was my lobes as it probably is for most people. I got them done for my 16th birthday. I had them done with a gun (MISTAKE!) and it was honestly a 1 on the scale. It was a slight pinch and that was it. I cleaned them twice a day and twisted them once a day and they healed in 6 weeks right on schedule. No infections or any problems.

I got my second lobe piercing done next when I was 18. (Again MISTAKE!) again a 1 out of 10 and a little pinch. They healed fine just like my first lobes.

My tongue was my first "body" piercing. I got the gumption one day to go get a piercing and went for it. I believe I got this in November of 2011. This was a literal 0 out of 10 for the initial piercing. After that it became swollen and sore (totally normal). This was my most annoying piercing because of the healing process. It is a tedious 6 weeks. After you do anything with your mouth (eating, drinking, smoking, nail biting, etc.) you have to swish with an alcohol free mouthwash, and after a while my taste buds had all but burned off. Thank god they grow back. Now it's completely healed and I've never had a problem.

I got my nose pierced about 2 weeks after my second tattoo in February 2013. My husband was busy getting his tattoo done at the same shop and I was bored so I decided to get a piercing. This was like a 2 out of 10. It mainly made my eyes water. This was just like taking care of my lobes, clean twice daily. It took about 8 weeks to fully heal. My only complaint is that it closes up fairly quickly. I lost my nose ring one night while I was sleeping and the next morning it was "closed". I remembered that if you don't wear earrings in your ears for a long time you develop a flesh plug which is just a bit of flesh that fills in the hole but can be pushed out. And that's what I did, I cleaned an earring and pushed it through. Opened it right back up. Now this will still get a bit sore from time to time but nothing major. 

**UPDATE**

12.05.2014

I unfortunately had to retire this piercing earlier than I wanted to. I had surgery back in October and had to remove all jewlery. When I left the hospital I tried to put it back in but I was too groggy and by the time I woke up fully (2 days later) the hole was completely gone. :(

Retired Piercings:

I did have my third lobe holes done (with a gun) when I was 18 almost 19 (2007-2008). But the earring was made with palladium and my ears did NOT like it what so ever. They hurt all the time and would not heal and started to reject. So I sadly took them out. 

I also had my helix (cartilage in ear) pierced on both sides. And yes with a gun. This was April of 2010. These too did not want to heal and hurt all the time. They also started to reject after a year. And again sadly I took them out.

So those are my tattoos and piercings both current and retired. I am as usual planning a whole bunch more but my husband and I trade off, so when I get one I can't have another until  he gets one. But it's my turn now! HAHA! As a word of warning, don't take my experiences as this is how every tattoo or piercing will feel or heal. Everyone heals differently and everyone's body deals with piercings differently so talk to your piercer or tattoo artist before going willy nilly into getting something.

Little Tidbits:

I have been woken up for the past 3 days to my dog chasing her tail on my bed.

Anyone ever put up a green or hot house for veggies? I have :)

I found the most giant chicken egg at my PawPaw's today. That poor hen must have wanted to die!

Work FOTD

Hello all! I finally woke up early enough today to do my makeup before going to work. I wanted something fairly neutral but colorful at the same time (first world problems). Nothing to outrageous because I work with the elderly and my purple hair and piercings get them a little riled up already. HAHA 

Face:

Mac Creme Matte Primer

L'Oreal True Match - N3 natural buff

NYX HD concealer - medium (not pictured)

Maybelline Dream Sun Bronzer - Matte Medium

Wet N' Wild Blush - Pearlescent Pink

Benefit High Beam Highlighter

NYC Translucent Powder (not pictured)

As always this is the simple part. Apply primer over face, buff in foundation, conceal everything, set with powder, apply blush on apples of cheeks and sweep upwards, lightly bronze face, and stipple on highlighter. So basic.

Eyes:

Urban Decay Primer Potion - Original

Naked 2 Palette - Tease, Chopper, Snakebite, and Bootycall

Revlon PhotoReady quad - Bohemian (teal and gold shadow topper)

L'Oreal Double Extend Mascara - Blackest Black

Rimmel Scandal Eyes Liner - Nude

Jesse's Girl Waterproof Liquid Eye Liner - Black

Maybelline Great Lash Mascara - Clear (for brows)

I started off applying my eye primer, then took Tease on a fluffy blending brush and put it in my crease. Next I applied Chopper (which is a beautiful shimmery copper color) to the entire mobile lid with a short chunky eyeshadow brush. Then with the same brush I used to apply Tease, I used Snakebite in the outer V to deepen things up. And then popped Bootycall into the inner corners of my eyes and under my brows. Lined my upper lash line with the black liquid eye liner (always the hardest part) and took the teal color from the Revlon quad and ran it along my lower lash line. All that was left was to line my waterline with the nude liner so I wouldn't close off my eyes and apply mascara. Now this mascara I have a love hate relationship with. It makes my lashes look AMAZING when it wants to work right. But there are other times that it just sticks my lashes together so it looks like I have 2 giant lashes. Not cute. But it worked today. Then at the last second I decided I wanted more shimmer so I added the gold shadow topper from the Revlon quad. And as for my brows I have very thick prominent brows as it is so I just keep them tamed with the clear mascara. 

Lips:

Ulta Lip Liner - Bare

Rimmel Lasting Finish Lipstick - Airy Fairy

Lips are another no brainer for me. I lined them with Bare, and swiped on my "my lips but better" lipstick and ran out the door. 

Little Tidbits:

Sorry for the sub par pictures, I took them after I got back from work

As I had to literally run out the door after I finished this afternoon.

We are finally getting a break from rain but now everything is flooding :p

I think we should barrel up all the flood water and ship it to California.

I finally get a day off tomorrow!!!!

UPDATE ON THE CLARISONIC

So I was reading back through my posts (a whopping 3 posts lol) and realized I had forgotten about my horrific experience with the Clarisonic Mia. About a year ago I decided to take the plunge again with the Clarisonic, and purchased the Mia 2. This time I bought a hot pink giraffe print one. So I brought it home and it actually sat on my sink for about a week because I was still a little wary of it, but one day I decided when I hopped in the shower to bite the bullet. OMG the difference that it made to my skin, HOLY COW! My skin was smooth and clean but not stripped, it was amazing. So that night I sat down and thought, "why the hell did my skin react so violently the last time???" Then looking at the box I realized that the original Mia didn't have a timer. The Mia 2 beeps when it's time to change sections on your face whereas the original you had to kinda count out the seconds in your head and then switch. So I could see where I had gone wrong..I must have miscounted or something so it just went overboard on my skin. So now I know what I did wrong and I now LOVE my Clarisonic! I use it everyday, although I wish I had more of the cleanser that comes with the Clarisonic when you purchase it, but $25 is a lot of money for a cleanser. But it does wonders for my skin that I haven't found in any other cleanser. So there is my update on my the Clarisonic. I'm on the band wagon I LOVE IT!!!

Little Tidbits:

Sorry no picture with this blog but I really didn't feel like going into the bathroom and taking pictures of my sopping wet Clarisonic.

Dear Lord I have to give my dog a bath today.......Wish me luck!

It looks a little gloomy out today, how's it look in your area?

Jewel Tone Eyes + Face of the Day

Hello again!!! It's been a LONG time since I've been on here and made a post. 

I woke up this morning and walked outside and it was cool and crisp and so not the weather that I'm used to around here. It put me in the mood for long sleeved shirts, jeans, and boots. And with that comes fall makeup (EEEEEKKKKK! I absolutely love fall!). So with that I was in the total fall mindset and one of my favorite looks for fall is jewel tones because they are still bright but the have a deepness and an odd darkness that is just perfect for the autumn. And I came up with this....

 Face:

Mac Creme Matte Primer (keeps this oily beast at bay)

Loreal Magic BB Cream - Light

Mac Pro Longwear Foundation - NW20

Covergirl Concealer - Light

NYX HD Concealer - Medium

Neutrogena Shine Control Powder - Invisible

Maybelline Dream Sun Bronzer - Matte Medium

The Balm Hot Mama Blush

Essence Single Eyeshadow- Dance all night (highlight)

Mac Fix +

This was the easy part as usual. I applied my primer and then the BB cream to help even out my skin to prevent an overload of foundation to avoid the dreaded CAKE FACE. Then using a flat top kabuki brush I buffed 1 1/2 pumps of my foundation into my skin being sure to blend into the hairline, neck and behind the ears. Then I just concealed my dark circles and zits. And since I'm an oily beast I powder everything. Then I applied a light contour of my face with my bronzer, dusted the blush from my apples back toward my ears and added highlight to the top of my cheekbones, bridge of my nose, cupid's bow, and under my bottom lip. And with a quick spritz of Fix +, my face was complete.

Eyes:

Urban Decay Eyeshadow primer - Original

Urban Decay The Great and Powerful Oz Gilda palette - Torndao

Urban Decay The Great and Powerful Oz Theodora palette - Broken, Bewitch, West

Urban Decay Naked Palette - Buck

Urban Decay Naked 2 Palette - Tease (not pictured)

NYX For Your Eyes Only - Green Eyes Palette - Light purple

Elf Liquid Eyeliner - Black

Urban Decay 24/7 Glide on Eye Pencil - Rockstar

Maybelline Great Lash Mascara - Clear

This was so much fun! I applied UD primer to my entire lid all the way to the brow and under the lower lashes. Then I applied Tease from the Naked 2 Palette lightly to my crease with a blending brush. To the outer half to 3/4 of my lid using a flat shader brush I laid down Tornado, which is a beautiful plumy color with a satin finish. Using the other side of the brush I applied a light purple color with a satin finish from my NYX palette to the remaining lid, blending the two colors in the middle of the lid. Then it was back to the crease, I applied Bewitch ( a beautiful satin medium brown ) to the crease, and on the outer V I applied West which is a Dark Brown with a satin finish . After that I applied my highlight on my brow bone and inner corner (Broken, a creamy white matte shade). Then I went back to Tornado and lined my lower lash line adding West on the outer half and smudging it out. I lined my waterline and tightlined with UD liner in Rockstar (a very dark plum). Lined my top lid with black liquid liner slightly winging it out at the end.

Using Buck (medium brown matte) from the Original Naked Palette I filled in my brows setting it in place with clear mascara.

Lashes:

Maybelline Mega Plush Volum Express - Blackest Black

Maybelline The Rocket Volum Express - Blackest Black

Benefit Bad Gal Lash - Black

Loreal Voluminous Million Lashes Excess - Blackest Black

Covergirl Lash Blast Waterproof - Black

Elf Eyelash Curler (not pictured)

I LOVE lashes! So I layer and layer and layer my mascara. First I apply Mega Plush as it's a great starter for my little lashes, then comes The Rocket because the brush seperates but it adds length. After that is Bad Gal Lash and it builds nice volume. And by now I've got some clumps going on so I add the Million Lashes to comb through them and add length. Then I curl my lashes (which doesn't hurt my lashes but I am extremely careful) and last but not least I add Lash Blast because again it combs and seperates but it is also waterproof so it's like a little extra security for me. 

Lips:

Rimmel Lasting Finish Lipstick - Airy Fairy

Bonne Bell Lip Lights Gloss - Strawberry Parfait

I wanted simple almost nude lips. And Airy Fairy is my go to not quite nude lipstick. It really is my lips but better. Then I just topped it with a baby pink gloss to give my lips some shine.

And Volia! I was done!

Little Tidbits:

I am totally freezing!!!!!! BRRRR!

I'm thinking fish is sounding lovely for lunch.

As always I have made a complete MESS with my makeup.

Have a wonderful day darlings!!

Skin Disaster!

 So about 2 weeks ago I finally decided to splurge and get the Clarisonic Mia. I had been debating for about a year about getting one. I had heard so many people raving about it on YouTube (yes I watch the beauty community I'm kind of obsessed with makeup) and on Makeup Alley (makeupalley.com), so I thought why not. So I purchased my first Clarisonic (it was a light purple one) from my local Ulta and I couldn't wait to get that puppy home and try it out. That night I used it in my shower with the little sample size cleanser (for normal to oily skin) that it came with. When I got out of the shower and went to put on my moisturizer, my face burned! As I touched my cheeks to figure out what was going on the apples of my cheeks felt scaly. Now I have super oily skin and nothing makes my skin so dry that it flakes off. I thought well I'll just put on some moisturizer and go to bed and it'll all be okay in the morning, not so, my poor skin was just as scaly, itchy and painful as the night before :(. I waited 4 days (gently washing my skin with my fingers and liberally applying every moisturizer I had) and my skin was still flaky and itchy. As I was too chicken to try the Clarisonic again for fear that my skin would be forever ruined I returned it to Ulta where I was told by a manager that she had never heard of the Clarisonic doing that to anyone. I did get my money back and bought myself the Katy Perry Purrr perfume and my husband the YSL L'Homme Libre cologne. Then I went on the hunt for a moisturizer to heal my skin. My favorite one is by Garnier and it's their moisture rescue but it wasn't doing anything, my skin just sucked it up and that was it. Then my aunt gave me her Olay anti-wrinkle for mature skin beauty fluid. I'm only 22 so I obviously don't really worry about wrinkles just yet but it just does a wonderful job of moisturizing my skin. And I think I'm in love. :)

And after a week of applying it day and night my skin is finally almost back to normal. Now it wasn't an instant fix as I said it has taken about a week. So my final thoughts are Clarisonic is a big NO NO for me but I most definitely be purchasing the Olay for myself and maybe the night cream just to see. Until next time....