How to Clean your Make-up Brushes

Today I will be explaining how to clean your make-up brushes without spending a fortune on brush cleansers and such.  It cannot be stressed enough how important it is to clean your brushes, especially if you wear make-up every day!  If you’re an every day make-up user like myself it’s best to deep clean your brushes once a week.  With that in mind it’s probably ideal to follow through this routine at night when you've already applied your make-up so they’ll be dry for the next day.  It is essential to clean your brushes often as not just old make-up gets trapped in the bristles, but also dirt, bacteria, dead skin cells and oil (ew!).  If you avoid cleaning your brushes you may get blemishes and spots, so cleaning your brushes will help avoid this by preventing the spread of germs to your face.

What you need:
Baby shampoo
A clean cloth
A deep bowl

Instructions:

1. Run your brushes under water, making sure it’s lukewarm to rinse out any remaining make-up.
2. Once the bristles are damp, fill a bowl with lukewarm water and using your brush mix in a little baby shampoo making sure to gently lather the brush with this mixture. Soak your brushes in the bowl for 5-10 seconds.
3. You then rinse your brushes with lukewarm water, and if any make-up remains lather your brush once more with a drop of baby shampoo.
4. Blot your brushes on a cloth to dry them while maintaining the original shape   instead of fanning them out.
5. Finally, lay your brushes flat on a cloth or towel overnight, while flipping them on their other side after a few hours to fully dry.

*Tip! Instead of using a bowl you can squirt some baby shampoo onto your hand and swirl your wet brush gently to make a lather.  Also to give your brushes a soft, silky feel you can rub a little conditioner into the bristles of your brush.  Rinse your brushes with lukewarm water and lay out to dry, simple!

Winter Trends

Baroque It.
Since this trend has been around for quite a while and doesn’t seem to be moving out any time soon I thought I should give my opinion on it and some style advice for wearing this statement trend. As it is very daring for many people like myself, you might want to wear one piece of baroque clothing and tone it down with a little black. For those of you who might not know what baroque is I thought I’d give a little explanation. So here it goes; Baroque is an artistic style which developed throughout Europe in the early 17th century, yeah that’s right it’s that old and it’s a fashion trend today. The style has since been known most for its dramatic approach to art, its ornate details and embellished pieces.

Tartan Queen.
I’m sure we’re all familiar with this trend as it continues to rock the runway and stock the rails of the high street shops. From coats to skirts this tartan trend is definitely here to stay a long time.  Not only is it a cute and affordable style, but also it is perfect for winter time as you find the tartan pattern comes mainly in greens, reds and blacks which are classic winter colours.  Not one shop that I have visited in the past few months has been without tartan clothing.  You can find many different stylish and fitting tartan pieces in the following clothing shops; New Look, Topshop, ASOS, Motel Rocks, River Island, Primark (Penneys), Next.

Knit Beanies.
As always knitted beanies continue to stay on trend, with the cosy yet stylish hats even gracing the runway. The thing I love most about this trend is that it caters to both men and women, as the majority of men’s shops stock these beauties.  Also what I love about these hats is how you can wear them with just about anything, from jeans to a dress. They help tone down the look and keep it casual while still making a statement.  They’re in the majority of shops now at an average price of £15 (€20).

 (Original Post on my blog The Beauty Haven: 'http://katieannehedderman.wordpress.com/2013/11/18/3-trends-of-the-season')