Basic Brows

In case you aren’t following the beauty world, I’m here to tell you brows are in.

For years, the thinner the better was the goal with brows. Not anymore. Big and defined is what you’re going for (if you’ve jumped on the bandwagon too).

About two years ago I started to fill in my brows. I started with a very light brown color and dusted it slightly along my brows creating a slight definition. The color I used was perfect for beginners – not too dark, not too light. It was the Goldilocks for brow color. It worked with both my brown and blonde hair colors.

I wish I could tell you the name of this magical powder, but it was given to me as gift and I didn’t realize how fabulous it was until the name wore off. And then I dropped it. And shattered the beautiful perfection to pieces.

Whomp whomp.

Have no fear, I have found another fabulous brow powder for you to try.

But before we get into what products I use to make my brows be beautifully on trend these days, let’s do some photos, shall we?

Makeup with out brows done.

Makeup with brows done.

It’s not a HUGE difference, but noticeable enough for me. I find that doing my brows frames my face.

To do my brows, I use MAC 266 Small Angled Brush and MAC Coquette (eye shadow).

Side note: I’ve had my MAC 266 for 11 years now – I bought it when I was 19, and it was $19 at the time. (The price now is $20). I remember my friends telling me that $19 was a ridiculous amount of money to spend on a makeup brush. Well, I’ve taken really good care of it, and it still works really well today!

I lightly brush my MAC 266 in the MAC Coquette and start applying in small strokes from the center of my face outward. It’s important to apply it in small strokes as opposed to one line – small strokes mimic hairs.

If I’m working a long day, I set my brows with Benefit’s Gimme Brow in Light/Medium. It’s a really great product for setting the shape, it doesn’t add a ton of color.

There are MANY products for brows on the market – I haven’t tried most of them. I by no means am an expert in brows – but an advocate!

Helpful Links on Brows:

Mascara Brow School

Claire’s Brows

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Do you do your brows? What are your favorite brow products? 

 

 

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Tried and Tested: MAC Cleanse Off Oil

Confession: Until recently, I rarely washed my face before bed.

Okay, I never washed my face before bed.

Ever since I started wearing make up, I usually took the time to remove my eye makeup but nothing else. I had heard that removing makeup before bed was important for your skin’s health and to prevent aging. I tried to wash my face. I hated it. I hated the time it took, how I seemed to get water everywhere. I hated splashing water on my face.

I saved face washing for in the showers only. Which meant my face only got washed once a day.

Overall, I have good skin. Despite struggling as a teen with acne, I rarely break out now. As an adult, I always had clogged pores and blackheads, most of which was only noticeable to me. Skincare wasn’t a huge concern for me so I had little motivation to deep clean my face.

Fast forward to today. Every night, before going to bed, I use MAC Cleanse Off Oil to remove all of my makeup. This includes the use of water. Being splashed on my face. And I LOVE it.

What changed?

As a huge fan of many beauty bloggers/vloggers, I noticed a trend of cleansing oils and balms. Particularly Fleur De Force’s post about Cleansing Balms. I read this post about a year ago and I was intrigued. I wasn’t, however, going to pay $40 + dollars on something to wash my face.

I was willing to pay $9 and give the Body Shop Camomile Sumptuous Cleansing Balm a whirl.  I bought the tin container and started using it. I really liked it. I liked that the first step was to massage the oil into your skin, and then remove it with water. I’m not sure why, using water at the end of the cleansing was much more appealing than using it twice.

The downside to the Body Shop Camomile Sumptuous Cleansing Balm was that I went through my tin very quickly. In fact, it lasted just over a month. I decided going to the mall every month and spending $9 wasn’t for me. I wanted something more accessible, something that lasted longer than a month.

In addition, I decided to look for a Cleansing Oil instead of a Balm. I didn’t like dipping my hand in the same tin everyday. It just screamed bacteria growth to me.

Quite soon after, I discovered Garnier Clean + Nourshing Cleansing Oil from Samantha Schuerman’s Review. Although it was a sponsored post, I do agree with most of Sam’s reviews and decided to give it a try. The Cleansing Oil was great except for one thing: the scent. I hated it. I hated it so much that I decided to return it.

Back to the drawing board.

I wanted to find a product that was effective, long-lasting and not too pricey. I had become addicted to the nightly massage and was serious about finding a product that worked for me. I started going through my favorite bloggers once again and found Tati’s video on her nighttime routine. In her video, she used MAC Cleanse Off Oil. Coming in at $31, the MAC Cleanse Off Oil was a bit more money then I wanted to spend. I was nervous I would have the same situation I did with the Body Shop Camomile Sumptuous Cleansing Balm and I was afraid I would go through a bottle a month. Not quite ready to give up $31, I opted for the travel size, which is $10. (Still quite a bit of money, but less of a risk).

To my surprise, I loved that little bottle. I loved the scent, the slight citrus smell. I loved the feeling on my skin, and how it effectively removed all of my makeup. And, I loved that the little 1oz bottle lasted almost a month. In September 2014, I bought the regular 5oz bottle and I am happy to say it has lasted until this week. I am just about out of my first bottle and repurchased another bottle today. (I use two pumps a day, and I’ve used it every day).

And my skin? The best it’s ever been. While I’m starting to deal with sun spots and other side effects of being almost 30, my pores are not longer clogged and I rarely break out. Win Win.

What Cleansing Oils/ Balms do you enjoy?

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A few notes:

• I sometimes use an additional eye makeup remover if I have quite a bit of mascara or eyeliner on.
• How I use it:
  • First pump: massage all over my face, except for eyes. Gently rub eyebrows last.
  • Second pump: massage gently into my eyes.
  • Wet hands, massage face again, concentrating on the eyes. I will do this step multiple times. (Note: the oil will turn into a milky substance with water).
  • Final step: Gently splash water on my face until the milky substance is gone.

Enjoy!