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The Best Way to Clean Your Makeup Brushes: From the Experts

   Makeup  Mar 04, 2020  Comments Off on The Best Way to Clean Your Makeup Brushes: From the Experts
The Best Way to Clean Your Makeup Brushes: From the Experts

Brushes, blushes, palettes, concealers, mascara wands, lip gloss…oh my!

Don’t allow your makeup drawer/caddy/bag, etc. to get out of hand. By tossing all of your products and tools in the same space, you are not only going to have a more difficult time locating what you need when you are in a hurry and need to get glam quick, but your makeup brushes are more likely to accumulate unwanted gunk and bacteria, which you do not want on your beautiful face. And not only that, all of the remaining stuff on your brush can cause wear and tear and damage the bristles, leaving you running out to Sephora to purchase new ones.

Before you organize your brushes (which you will learn about in the next article) along with your other makeup products, you want to make sure to clean those brushes…regularly.

How do you properly clean your makeup brushes?

Here are some expert tips from the American Academy of Dermatology:

  • Get on a schedule: Wash your makeup brushes every 7-10 days like clockwork.
  • Rinse the tips of your brushes under lukewarm running water to remove residual makeup. **Note: Throughout this process, do not submerge the entire brush head, as the glue that holds the makeup brush together should not get wet. We don’t want it all to fall apart!
  • Fill a bowl with lukewarm water and a tablespoon of either gentle shampoo or clarifying shampoo. **Note: There are other DIY methods to this—ingredients you can use, such as dish soap or ********
  • Swirl each brush tip in the bowl. **Note: Feel free to use your fingers to “shampoo” the brush tip.
  • Rinse the brush tips under running water. **Note: Remember to avoid getting the glue and handle soaked.
  • Continue shampooing and rinsing each brush until the water runs clear from the brush.
  • Squeeze out excess moisture with a clean, dry paper towel.
  • Lay your brushes flat to dry on a towel with the tips hanging off the edge of the counter. **Note: Do not throw them back into whatever you keep them in or stand them upright, as we don’t want water dripping down onto the glued portion.

Click to watch a great video showing the correct cleaning process…which has had over 5 MILLION views!

Natural Living Ideas has a number of solutions for alternative ingredients to use when cleaning makeup brushes:

  • castile soap
  • bar soap
  • liquid dish soap
  • apple cider vinegar + dish soap
  • hydrogen peroxide + castile soap or organic baby shampoo
  • organic baby shampoo and water
  • coconut oil + dish soap + hand soap

So keep those brushes clean and fresh so that your face will be the same! There are various ingredients to use when cleaning them…choose what is best for you and follow the steps above to achieve sparkly new-looking, bacteria and gunk-free brushes.

Speaking of makeup brushes, if you are in need of professional makeup application for an event, or even just for a night out on the town, contact Laura Skin Care and book an appointment soon!

Get Glowing Skin For Your Valentine’s Night Out

   Facial  Feb 01, 2020  Comments Off on Get Glowing Skin For Your Valentine’s Night Out
Get Glowing Skin For Your Valentine’s Night Out

Whether you are planning a romantic night out with your spouse or significant other, are having a gals only get-together, or are flying solo either out or in, you want to look and feel fabulous. If you do choose to go out for a night on the town with your boo, makeup will look even better on you after you have indulged in an at-home facial. Even if you’re staying in binge watching Netflix with a box of Lindor chocolate truffles–show your skin some love and pamper yourself!

There are oh-so-many options—so you definitely need to be aware of your skin type and what exactly your face can handle. Also, if you are doing the facial on the day of your VDate, it may be wise to use products you are already familiar with. The last thing you want is to have a bad allergic reaction and have your face match the color of the Valentine decorations and red roses.

  • Wash: Since Valentine’s Day is in the middle of winter, your skin may be dry. Be sure to start your facial routine by washing your face with a gentle cleanser that does not include any drying ingredients such as salicylic acid for acne and any version of the detergent sodium lauryl sulfate. Anything containing soap will also leave your skin parched. Instead, try Olay Sensitive Hungarian Water Essence Calming Liquid Cleanser or Glossier Milky Jelly Cleanser.
  • Steam: Next, you will want to steam your face with an at-home facial steamer like this one from Amazon, or you can do it the old-fashioned and more economical way by boiling a pot of water and hovering over it with a towel over your head. Lastly, you can also place a warm towel or washcloth over your face. Be careful not to burn your skin! Read up on several tips for steaming along with some of the benefits to doing so.
  • Exfoliate: After you steam and before you apply a mask, exfoliate your skin, which there are various methods to doing so. Some people make their own exfoliant out of all-natural ingredients, some own fancy contraptions that do the job, and some just buy whatever smells and looks good at the drugstore. Whatever you choose, be careful around the sensitive eye area and do not be too harsh on your skin.
  • Mask: There are so many DIY mask recipes you can make at home with items you already have in your fridge or pantry. Avocado, olive oil, citrus, cucumber, aloe vera, honey, bananas, coffee, eggs, and oatmeal are all examples of yummy ingredients you can mix and match to make a healthy facial mask you may not even want to wipe off.
  • Serum: Once you are done with the messy part, use a serum before you put anything else on your face. Serums should be applied before creams and moisturizers so that they can soak into your skin and do their magic. Those with Vitamin C, hyaluronic acid, and collagen-boosting properties are the way to go to get that glow.
  • Cream/Moisturizer: Lastly, unless you are also applying makeup, slather up with a water-based moisturizer so that you can continue having that dewy look throughout the evening. Neutrogena’s Hydro Boost is a great example of an affordable water-based moisturizer.

Remember to always take your own skin type, specific needs, and your own professional recommendations into consideration when starting a new skin care regimen or experimenting with new products. And also have some fun with it! If you have sensitive skin, there are oodles of products out there for you…and you can even make your own.

If you want some extra pampering and don’t want to hassle with doing it all yourself, contact Laura Skin Care and book your Valentine’s Day appointment soon!

How to Organize Your Makeup the Marie Kondo Way

   Makeup  Jan 19, 2020  Comments Off on How to Organize Your Makeup the Marie Kondo Way
How to Organize Your Makeup the Marie Kondo Way

There are proper ways to organize all of your makeup?

You normally just have everything in a large makeup bag and reach in and grab what you want that day. Then you have on-the-go makeup that you store in your purse. What’s wrong with that?

Nothing at all actually; however, there are ways to organize your makeup that will not only save you time but also preserve the life of certain tools and types of makeup that you own.

Do you remember Marie Kondo? The cheerful Japanese woman from the Netflix series Tidying Up With Marie Kondo has her own method (KonMarie Method) of simplifying and organizing others’ lives…and she’s VERY wonderful at what she does.

Marie Kondo can help others organize just about anything in their life, from a simple jewelry box to an entire basement. If it’s messy, she can organize it. If it’s cluttered, she can simplify it. If it’s borderline hoarding, she can still help!

Fortunately, the KonMarie Method also has tips and tricks for organizing makeup.

Let’s see what advice she gives to all of us makeup wearers…

COMMIT TO THE PROCESS

To fully Marie Kondo (it’s now a verb!) your makeup bag, you will need to fully commit to the process…because it will be a process. Change is not easy, especially if you were doing what you were doing for a very long time.

PUT ALL OF YOUR MAKEUP IN ONE BIG PILE

Why is this important? Why can’t you just go things section by section or reach in and grab stuff out one by one? Marie Kondo believes you need to visually see how much of something you physically have; it will put things into perspective, like “wow…I have a million lip glosses that I don’t even wear!” Hopefully seeing the mountain of makeup will encourage you even more to get rid of some and simplify your life a little.

OUT WITH THE OLD…AND GROSS…AND EXPIRED

Before you really dig into that pile of makeup and decide what to keep, do yourself a favor first and search for items that may be expired, dried out, or broken. Those can easily be tossed.

DECIDE WHAT BRINGS YOU JOY

“What brings you joy?” is one of Marie Kondo’s famous questions. Now that you have tossed out the grossly expired stuff, you hopefully have less of a mountain to work with and can start deciding what you really want to keep. Pick each piece up one by one and ask yourself, hmmmm…does this Tarte spring palette still bring me joy? If your heart and soul still believe it does, then it’s a keeper! Be honest with yourself, or you’ll end up keeping everything.

IT’S TIME TO ORGANIZE

Kondo suggests organizing makeup by categories and subcategories. Keep your brushes away from other items and stored upright (possibly in a glass jar or cute tin). She also suggests storing all long items (mascaras, concealers, brushes) in clear, plastic cosmetic holders and trays. Then add a pop of color with a candle or two surrounding your area. She believes that the area in which you get ready in the morning should be beautiful and calming. If you have a large makeup caddy, clean it out before you put the makeup back in and make sure it is organized by category.

To this this action, watch the Extreme Makeup Declutter the KonMarie Method video on YouTube.

No matter what your makeup resides in or what it all looks like, there is always room to declutter and clean. If Marie Kondo can tidy literally anything, you definitely can tidy your makeup.

Speaking of makeup brushes, if you are in need of professional makeup application for an event, or even just for a night out on the town, contact Laura Skin Care and book an appointment.