I know it doesn’t really feel like it because the weather is still quite cold, but spring has arrived, which means it’s time for spring cleaning: tidy and dust the house, clean out your wardrobe to make room for new purchases, and don’t forget to declutter your beauty stash! Here’s how:

1. Throw away expired products

No beauty product lasts forever. Although most products contain preservatives to prolong their shelf-life, sooner or later they all will start to go bad and when that happens, you need to throw them away to avoid them causing problems for your skin such as irritations and infections. Look for “best by” or any other indication of the shelf life of a product on the packaging. Products sold in Europe should have the PAO (Period After Opening) date printed on the label: it is a small symbol of a jar with a small number and the letter M after it, which indicates for how many months you can use the product after opening it.

If you can’t find any indication whatsoever about the shelf life of a product on the packaging, check out this post about the expiration date of each beauty product. Usually liquid products go bad sooner than powders and mascara is the one that lasts less: it should be thrown away after only 6 months. If that’s still no help as you can’t remember when you bought the product, check the formula. If the texture, color or smell has changed, it means the product has gone bad and it’s time to toss it in the bin.

2. Recycle products you don’t use

Now that you’ve got rid of all the expired stuff, look for products that are just lying forgotten in a drawer for a reason or another.. like that foundation that looked like a perfect match under the bright lights of the shop but is actually a few shades darker than your skintone and you forgot to return it (or couldn’t because the law in your country doesn’t allow that), a moisturizer that has broken your skin out and you haven’t touched since, that awful eyeshadow shade our friends/parents/boyfriend gave you for your birthday that you would never wear.. or maybe you just collected too much stuff and can’t give to each product, no matter how much you like it, the love it deserves..

Keep the products you use the most and get rid of the rest, but don’t thrown them in the bin. Just because these products didn’t work for you, it doesn’t mean they won’t work for anyone else. You can give them to your friends and family members, donate them to a charity such as Give And Makeup, create an account at Makeup Alley and swap them for something you’d love, or, if you have a blog, you can have a blog sale. Although it can be hard to part with some items, just think about the room you are creating for new products.

3. Clean it!

Now that you’re left with all the products you’re gonna keep and use regularly, it’s time to clean them. Yes, clean them. I know, I know, you’re the only one using the products so why should you clean them? Well, everything needs a good clean every now and again and it’s important that the products that come in contact with your skin are properly sanitized once in a while. You can find some useful tips on how to sanitize your makeup products here. I usually do it twice a year, but you can do it more often if you feel the need to. Also, wash your brushes with soap and water at least every ten days, and replace eyelash curler pads every 4-6 months.

Have fun spring cleaning your stash!

Source: dragonartz.net

Hello everyone,

today I’m bringing a guest post written by the lovely Vanessa on the latest beauty balm craze. Enjoy!

They are finally here and they are awesome. From solid coverage that doesn’t suffocate your skin to moisturizing benefits that also protect your face from harmful UV rays, beauty balms are the latest and greatest beauty secret to hit the shelves in the last few months.

Beauty balms first burst onto the scenes in Asia, and in the last year over a dozen brands have launched their own balm.

So what makes the beauty balm the hottest new product to have? Well read on fellow beauty queens as I explain exactly what the heck a beauty balm is.

Why Beauty Balms Are The Bomb

Simply put, beauty balms are essentially tinted moisturizers that have nourishing skin care ingredients as well as SPF added in.

So not only are you taking good care of your skin and ensuring it’s health but you are also receiving flawless coverage without feeling too heavy.

From achieving a fresh dewy look to hydrating your skin, antioxidant rich options to light reflecting qualities, each beauty balm offers it’s own benefit.

So which one is right for your particular skin? Well I’m glad you asked.

Picking The Right Balm

If price is a determining factor in which make up you buy, you might want to consider trying Garnier Skin Renew BB Cream Miracle Skin Perfector. It’s light in texture, doesn’t cause your skin to break out and for only $12.99, you won’t feel like you are wasting those hard earned dolla dolla bills.

If you like the fresh-faced, natural, dewy look you should give Too Faced Beauty Balm Multi-Benefit Skin Care Makeup a shot. You can wear it alone or with your other make up to get a beautifully natural look, for those days where you don’t want to look like you’re wearing a lot of makeup.

However, if you are prone to more dry skin and want a balm that not only helps to hydrate your skin but also evens out your skin tone, pick yourself up a tube of Dr. Jart + Premium Beauty Balm SPF 45 for $39. It nourishes dry skin while giving you solid skin protection from those damaging UV rays.

Finally, if you are the kind of lady who likes to get her daily dose of skin enhancing antioxidants reach for Estee Lauder’s Daywear Anti-Oxidant Beauty Benefit Creme that not only nurtures your skin but also protects it with a SPF of 35.

Whichever beauty balm you choose just make sure it’s a good fit for your skin. The last thing we want is our beauty balm turning into an acne bomb.

AUTHOR BIO:
Vanessa is an independent skincare bloggin’ babe whose work can be found on various websites around the web where she reviews all the latest skincare trends and products, such as LifeCell . The best part about her job? She has awesome skin!

We’ve all been guilty of it. We’ve come back home after a long and tiring day at work or a fun night on the town with our friends and the only thing we wanna do is kick off our shoes, slip into our PJs and go to sleep. We know we should be taking off our makeup, and if we don’t we’ll regret it, but we just can’t be bothered to and tell ourselves that it for once we won’t remove it, nothing bad will happen.. But is that really true? Will sleeping with makeup on really have no consequences or will instead surely result in a bad breakout? Or does the truth lie somewhere in between?

Will I get a breakout if I sleep with makeup on?

Well, that depends. If you regularly sleep with your makeup on, then you will very likely get a breakout or at the very least one or two pimples. But if you do it only once in a while, chances are nothing bad will happen. That’s because there’s not really much difference between wearing your makeup on your face for 8 hours during the day and wearing it for 8 hours during the night. That is especially true if you sleep on your back. If your face rubs against the pillow, instead, then your makeup will rub against it too and the pillow will push it back into your pores, clogging them. In that case, a breakout can occur, especially if your skin is acne-prone.

Sleeping with makeup on can cause eye infections

Sleeping with your makeup on can cause eye infections and, in particular, conjunctivitis. Again, it’s rubbing your face against the pillow that causes the problem. That’s because all that rubbing will move the makeup you have on around and some of it can end up near or into your eyes. When that happens, you’ll wake up in the morning and find that your eyes have become red, itchy and burning! This has actually happened to me once and it was awful! From that day on, no matter how tired I was, I always made sure I removed every little trace of makeup from my face before going to sleep.

You’re missing out on beneficial ingredients

Most of us, before going to bed, use creams with retinoids or antioxidants, prescription products and just any treatment designed to address any skin concern we may have. Even if you’re young and don’t have any particular skin problems, a night cream would still contain ingredients that help repair the skin’s natural barrier and enhance its moisture level. If we go to sleep with our makeup on, then we will miss out on the benefits these products provide to our skin. Sure, if we only skip our nighttime routine once in a while, nothing bad will happen, but it still would be better not to do that and always give skin what it needs to look and feel its best, right?

Not removing your makeup at night is never a good idea, but if you’re really, really, really tired and will sleep on your back, then chances are that nothing bad will happen to your skin. Just don’t make a habit out of it! What about you? Do you ever sleep with your makeup on?

I don’t really consider myself an expert on beauty blogging but after more than 3 years (wow, can’t believe it’s been that long; time really flies when you’re having fun ) I have learned a thing or two about it and thought it would be fun to share them with you:

1. It’s more time-consuming than you think

If you’re inspired, you can write a review or a post where you share some beauty secrets in just 10-15 minutes, but writing is not the only thing a blogger has to do. You also need to take good photos of both products and your looks (more on that later), or if you decide to use stock pictures, spend hours trying to find decent ones you can use without infringing anyone’s copyright; engage with your readers on social media sites (something I rarely seem to find the time for these days ) replying to comments and emails; learn HTML and CSS so you can edit the layout and make it look just the way you want to; promote your blog.. And there’s always something that goes wrong behind the scenes that needs to be taken care of and you have no clue how to fix it! But beauty blogging is also a lot of fun and you make great friends along the way!

2. It’s almost impossible to get a picture with accurate color (but you have to do it anyway)

You can take 100 pictures of a product, in different settings and under different lightening conditions, and still don’t come up with a single picture that shows the accurate color! Taking a good picture in summer, when there is a lot of natural light, is easier, but in winter, it can really become impossible. You can wait for a week for the sun to show up and it never does, or if it does, you are at work or something and by the time you get home and get everything ready, the weather is crap again! You can’t wait forever but you can’t even post crappy pictures where the color is very different from how it looks in real life as that would be useless for the readers. That’s why some bloggers (me included), sometimes use GIMP or Photoshop to edit the colors to make them look as accurate as possible.

3. You discover weird products and treatments

Creams containing snail slime, fish exfoliating feet, massages performed by snakes, lip tattoos in all kinds of designs and patterns, crystals for your vagina.. something new (and sometimes totally unnecessary) seems to pop up every week…

4. Macro mode will show mistakes invisible to the naked eye

You can spend ages doing your makeup and hair, plucking eyebrows hair, blending eyeshadows, brushing unruly strands of hair, applying foundation, covering pimples etc until you are sure that you look perfect, but when you see the photos you’ve taken with macro mode, you’ll always find something wrong. A brow hair escaped the tweezers, eyeshadow isn’t as well blended as you thought and that eyeliner line is not that straight after all..

5. You start recognizing products from brands you have never even tried

When I started beauty blogging, there were so many brands I didn’t know or had very limited knowledge of. I knew for instance about MAC, but not having a store near me, I hadn’t tried much from the brand and wasn’t able to spot a fake item from a real one. Now, I can see the difference just by taking a quick look, even if it is a product I don’t own myself. And when I open a magazine and see a picture of a makeup product, or watch TV and see someone applying makeup, I can tell what they are and what they are using even if the names and brands aren’t mentioned.

6. It’s almost always possible to find a drugstore dupe of high-end products

Drugstore brands have really upped their game in recent years and it’s now possible to find cheap dupes for pretty much every high-end product. Granted, they may not come in such pretty packaging, but it’s not that hard anymore to come across inexpensive eyeshadows in muted colors that have a smooth texture and good color payoff, lipsticks that are actually moisturizing or foundations that don’t make your face look like a mask. You don’t really have to spend a lot on good makeup products these days, although it’s nice to treat yourself to a luxurious item every now and then.

7. Follow your instinct

Beauty bloggers receive all kinds of emails and offers. Most of these are legit and give the blogger an opportunity to share with readers brands and products they wouldn’t otherwise be able to cover and get a feel of how the industry works. But others just don’t feel right.. like people asking to use your content, on which your worked very hard on, on their site and offering only a link back to your blog (why should I let anyone else benefit from my work without getting almost anything in return?!), or people asking to buy products they saw you mentioned on your blog even when it’s clear that you don’t own them (what’s the deal with that, don’t they know the difference between a blog and a shop?!), or PRs offering products for review but want to know what you write in advance to make sure you don’t say anything negative about them even when they don’t work (these piss me off the most)… It is your blog and you don’t have to work with anyone you don’t want to. If it doesn’t feel right, just turn the offer down.

8. You can’t please everyone

There will always be someone who won’t like your blog. They may unsubscribe from your feed, stumble on your blog and go away after 5 seconds because they have decided they don’t like it, and sometimes they may even criticise you because you use bright eyeshadows or review mostly high-end products or something.. You just cannot cover every brand, review every product, and your writing or makeup style may not appeal to everyone. Keep doing your own thing, develop your unique voice, share what you like and your passions and you’ll find lots of like-minded people will follow you. As for the others, they will find other blogs that better suit their needs. It doesn’t mean your blog sucks, but just that you can’t please everyone all the time. And that’s just life.

What did you learn from beauty blogging, both as a blogger and a reader?

Mineral makeup took the beauty world by storm a few years ago and, even though the hype seems to have died down recently, there are still a lot of women who swear by it. So, I thought I’d share some tips and tricks on how to apply mineral makeup to achieve a flawless look and I hope you’ll find them helpful. Let’s get started:

1. Choose the right brush

Choosing the right makeup brush is essential for a flawless application. To apply mineral foundation, a kabuki brush is the most common choice, and is usually included in a lot of mineral makeup kits. This type of brush has a short handle and densely packed bristles that pick up a lot of product, thus providing a medium to full coverage. But if you need a lighter coverage, then your best option is a skunk (or stippling) brush. Its bristles have varying lengths and pick up less product thus ensuring a natural but flawless look, which is also the reason why I prefer to apply mineral foundation this way.

2. Don’t apply mineral makeup to dry skin

Mineral makeup is usually said to be suitable for all skin types, but that’s not true. A great option for those with oily skin, those with dry skin should instead avoid it. That’s because dry skin needs emollient foundations that also moisturize and, unlike what marketing claims would have us believe, powders don’t have any moisturizing properties at all. On the contrary, some powders have absorbent properties that, although useful to absorb excess oil, can exacerbate dry skin, accentuating dry and patchy areas. If you have dry skin and still want to use mineral foundation, make sure you apply moisturizer, or even a face primer, beforehand, and wait until it has absorbed. This will moisturize skin and prepare it for mineral makeup, ensuring a flawless application.

3. Make Your Own Tinted Moisturizer

Another alternative for people with dry skin who want to use mineral foundation, or just anyone else who wants to create their own custom shade that’s also moisturizing, is to make your own tinted moisturizer. This is really easy. All you need is your moisturizer and your mineral foundation. Place a few pumps of your moisturizer in an empty jar and, slowly, keep adding the mineral foundation until you have created a color that matches your skintone perfectly.

Use a swirl bowl

To use mineral makeup, you’re supposed to pour a small amount of product on the lid, swirl your brush in it and tap off any excess before applying it on your face. But I don’t really like to do this as I don’t think it’s very hygienic. If any bacteria or dirt should be on your brush and/or face, it’ll get onto the lid and risk contaminating the whole jar. And it gets even riskier if you use mineral makeup wet as bacteria need a moist environment to harbour and thrive. In addition, sometimes the lid is not big enough to swirl a big brush in it and that could damage your tool. The
solution? Use a swirl bowl instead. It’ll make application easier and avoid contamination.

Do you have any tips on how to use and apply mineral makeup? Share them in the comments!

Dark circles can be caused by several things: lack of sleep, heredity, sun exposure, bad diet, fatigue and stress. Whatever the cause, they make you look tired, dull and unattractive. But with the right products and application, you can easily conceal them and brighten up your face. Here’s how:

1. Choose The Right Concealer

First of all, it’s really important that we choose the right concealer for the job. Opt for one that is one shade lighter than your skintone. Don’t go lighter than that or, instead than concealing the dark under eye area, you’ll accentuate it! In addition, you should choose a concealer with either peachy or yellow undertones as these shades work well at counteracting the purplish and bluish undertones of dark circles. My favourite concealer to hide dark circles is Bobbi Brown Creamy Concealer. It’s expensive but it does the job really well and you only need very little for each application so it will last for ages.

2. Moisturize the eye area

Concealers tend to have a heavier texture than foundation as they have to completely hide any imperfections you may have. To make application easier, allowing the concealer to glide on smoother, and avoid a cakey appearance, apply a drop of moisturizer on the under eye area and wait until it is fully absorbed (should take less than a minute) before putting on the concealer.

3. Apply concealer

Once you’ve applied foundation, it’s time for concealer (some people prefer to apply concealer before foundation, which is ok too but I prefer to apply it after it). Place a few dots of concealer (be careful not to apply too much, less is more when it comes to concealer) on your under eye area, starting from the inner corner and following your orbital bone. Using your ring finger or a concealer brush, blend gently. Set it with translucent powder.

4. The triangle method

The classic method explained above works well at concealing dark circles, but it’s not my favourite one. The technique I usually use is called “the triangle method”. Basically, you apply concealer under your eye, down your nose and up to the outer corner of the eye again, creating a triangular shape, as illustrated in the photo above. Blend well. This will brighten up the face and give a more natural result.

How do you conceal dark circles?

Foundations and concealers are useful products that even out the skintone and hide any imperfections our skin may have, thus allowing us to present a flawless complexion to the world. But many women are sill confused about what product should be applied first: concealer or foundation? As it often happens when it comes to makeup, there really isn’t a right or wrong answer. It just depends on your personal preference and the products you use. Here are my thoughts on the debate:

Concealer before foundation

This is the method I used when I was in high school. I have very pale skin so finding a concealer light enough for me that wouldn’t break my already quite broken bank was a mission impossible. So I was forced to buy concealers too dark for me and apply them under foundation so not as to look ridiculous! But you don’t have to be a broken pale princess to apply concealer before foundation. If you don’t like wearing foundation or are lucky to have good skin that doesn’t need much coverage, you may start by applying concealer on those areas that need to be camouflaged (such as dark circles or blemishes) and follow up with a light layer of foundation where needed to even out the skintone. You may even find out you don’t need foundation at all! In any case, if you use powder or cream foundations, you should always apply concealer first to avoid blending disasters and look unnatural and cakey!

Foundation before concealer

Now that I’m older, wiser (at least I hope I am!) and with a bigger budget, I buy concealers that are the same, or slightly lighter, shade than my skintone so I can apply them after foundation. I have to say I prefer this method. I think it looks more natural (at least on me) and, because a layer of foundation has already evened out my skintone and helped minimize imperfections, I have to apply concealer only on those areas that need some extra camouflage. This way, I actually use less concealer than I used to.  And while any type of concealer can easily be applied on top of liquid foundation, powder concealers should be applied only afterwards to avoid looking cakey and unnatural.

What about you? Do you apply concealer or foundation first? And why?

Do you wanna achieve that beautiful bronzed, sun-kissed look without the risks of sunbathing? Use a bronzer instead. When done right, bronzers enhance your skintone in a natural way but if you don’t apply them properly or are just using the wrong shade you could end up looking orange, muddy, fake or even like a disco ball! Now, that’s not an attractive look, is it? But mastering the art of applying bronzers right isn’t hard. Here are the six most common mistakes and how to avoid them:

1. Choosing the wrong shade

Choosing the right color for your skintone is essential, but unfortunately not an easy task. There are lots of bronzer shades out there, but not all of them are flattering. Avoid anything that’s too orange, too red or too brown cos these shades never look good on anybody. Light or caramel brown shades are those that look more natural on most people. If you have pale skin, opt for a pale beige with rosy gold undertones, while those with olive skin should choose a dark tan shade with gold undertones. In any case, never chose a shade that’s darker than you’d get naturally in the sun.

2. Choosing the wrong texture

A good bronzer doesn’t only have to be an appropriate shade for your skintone, it has to be suitable for your skin type as well. If you have oily skin, opt for a powder or a gel bronzer. Gels have lightweight textures while powders will able absorb some excess oil. Those with dry skin will benefit more from a liquid bronzer as they tend to be more moisturizing. In alternative, they can use powder or gel bronzers too but only after moisturizer.

3. Choosing a too shimmery bronzer

A bronzer should give your skin a natural tanned look, and natural tans just don’t sparkle. So, avoid anything that has big shimmers and glitters cos they won’t just look natural. The best bronzers have a matte or slightly dewy finish that will make you look beautiful and sophisticated. Bronzers that provide a light, not-over-the-top, shimmers are ok too but more suitable for the evenings.

4. Applying too much product

The purpose of bronzer is to enhance your skintone, not change it completely. Avoid applying it all over your face or you’ll risk looking like a mask. Instead, using a big fluffy powder brush or even a fan brush, sweep it on those areas where the sun naturally hits your skin (the apples of your cheeks, the bridge of your nose and along the hairline). In addition, start by applying just a little bit of product and, if necessary, slowly build it up. Remember that if you apply too little, you can always add another layer, but if you apply too much, fixing the mistake will be harder.

5. Not using natural lighting

It is also best to apply bronzer under natural lighting. If you do it in a room with poor lightning conditions, it’s easy to be deceived. You may get the impression you applied it perfectly only to realize later on, once out of the house, that you actually overdid it and now look like a mask. Of course, it’s not always possible to use natural lighting. What if you apply it in the evening, for instance? In that case, do your makeup in the room with the best and brightest lighting. And when you are thinking of purchasing a bronzer, always swatch it on the back of your hand, go outside the shop and examine it under natural lightning. Is it too orange? Too brown? Too shimmery? Skip it and look for something better instead.

6. Forgetting the rest of your body

Now you know how to choose and apply bronzer for that beautiful, sunkissed glow, but no matter how pretty your face looks, you’re gonna look ridiculous if it is a completely different shade than the rest of your body! To fix this, you can use a self-tanner on your body or you can mix your usual body moisturizer with a liquid bronzer so that your whole body will be the same color.

Don’t worry even if you don’t get it right the first time. Like always, practice makes perfect. And if you make a mistake, you can always wash your face.

Do you use bronzers? Do you have any other tips to share on how to apply it properly?