10 Beauty Rules I Break

One of Mysti's kittens from a few years ago. I wish we kept him!

I probably break more than ten beauty rules, but I just can't think of them! Here are the beauty rules I break, and my justifications for them!

• Use heat protectant on your hair before straightening. I do this once a week, maybe? My hair is very thick and doesn't damage easily though. I've been straightening my hair for years, and my hair is still fine!
• Get your hair cut every 6-8 weeks. I well and truly break this rule! Last year, I had my hair cut twice, with eight months in between each one. I don't feel like my hair needs cutting that often though.
• Don't wash your hair every day. My hair gets extremely greasy, so I feel the need to wash it every night. I know that your hair will get used to not being washed every day, and therefore, won't be as greasy, but I can't even bring myself to have greasy hair for a few weeks.
• Apply concealer with your ring finger. Your ring finger is supposed to be more delicate. I'm finding it hard to stop my habit of using my middle finger though!
• Don't squeeze your spots. I love squeezing spots! The 'pop' is so satisfying. I've found that if I leave a spot, it doesn't disappear - it just stays under the skin.
• Don't sleep with your make-up on. I don't do this often because I usually have a shower and wash my hair every night. Also, I don't wear foundation, so my skin doesn't get that clogged from make-up.
• Throw away your make-up products every *however many* months. The majority of my make-up products are at least over a year old and are perfectly fine. I'm not throwing away perfectly good make-up! I'll only throw something away if it has dried up or smells funny.
• Don't blow on your brushes. I don't have an excuse for this one... it's just a habit. I'm trying to stop though because I don't want to spread any more germs than I need to!
• Wash your make-up brushes regularly. Like many, I break this rule simply because I'm lazy. I use a powder brush, blush brush, eyebrow powder brush and an eyeliner brush (to apply eyeshadow on my lower lash line). Because I only use these four on a daily basis, they get quite dirty!
• Cleanse, tone and moisturise. Again, I break this rule because I'm lazy. I cleanse and exfoliate when I have a shower in the evening, and then apply moisturiser to my eye area in the morning, before I apply my concealer. I really should moisturise more.

Products I'm currently using in my shower

I rarely change my routine, so the following products are products I have been using for a while, and I will probably continue to use them for months to come.

Hair

Aussie Aussome Volume shampoo, Aussie Take the Heat 3 Minute Miracle Deep Treatment and TRESemme Salon Silk shampoo & conditioner.

My hair loves Aussie and TRESemme. Come to think about it, 90% of the hair products I use are by them. I'm probably going to stick to these brands because I don't want to risk trying another brand and it not working for me. Herbal Essences and Head & Shoulders, I'm looking at you!

 I won the Aussie Aussome Volume shampoo. I usually go for moisture ranges, but this is working well.

I want to try the TRESemme Naturals range next, but I won't have to buy any shampoo or conditioner for a while because the 900ml bottles last agesss!

Body

Lush soap (top to bottom: Angel's Delight, Ice Blue and Snow Globe), Wilkinson shower puff and Original Source shower gel in Lime and Lemon & Tea Tree.

I'm showing you some of my unused Lush soap because the chunks in my shower are small and manky, to be quite honest. 

The Wilkinson shower puff was about 40p and it has a sucker on it, which is very useful. 

I love Original Source shower gel. After these, I will be using the Golden Pineapple and Vanilla Milk & Raspberry varieties (Have already gone through a few bottles of Vanilla Milk & Raspberry - It's delicious!)

Face

The Body Shop Vitamin E Facial Cleansing Bar, Lush Ocean Salt (review to come), Liz Earle Cleanse & Polish Hot Cloth Cleanser and Liz Earle Gentle Face Exfoliator.

I don't have much of a facial routine. I use these products in the shower and moisturise my face before applying make-up. 

I use The Body Shop Vitamin E Facial Cleansing Bar and Lush Ocean Salt together, and when I want something more gentle, I use the Liz Earle products. The Vitamin E bar and Ocean Salt together is cheaper than one of the Liz Earle products, so I'm more likely to repurchase these (I've repurchased the Vitamin E bar three times because it's highly effective and only £3). 

Before starting my third Vitamin E bar, I was using The Body Shop's Tea Tree Foaming Cleanser, but the scent was so strong, I went back to my trusty soap!

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Nails of the Week

China Glaze Secret Peri-Wink-Le in natural window light, with flash
                  
Price: £4.50-£5, including P&P, from beautyzone2007

I've started painting my nails again! I actually started to paint them last week and wore China Glaze Make Some Noise, but I wasn't ready to start taking photos of my nails because I become obsessive when looking at the them, and I don't like it. I will be repainting my nails in Make Some Noise and blogging about it soon though, because I love the colour and formula. 

Anyway, this is China Glaze Secret Peri-Wink-Le. It's, well, a periwinkle shade! It's in-between a blue and a purple... it's a 'blurple'. The formula is thinner than the other China Glaze polishes I own, taking three coats, four on the odd nail. Although I used a flash in the photo above, the natural light is still the dominant light, so the colour is fairly accurate. I was actually surprised by this because blue-purples are a nightmare to photograph!

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Three ways I use my Lush Bubble Bars

The Comforter (1/6 used), Candy Mountain (Christmas product) and Magic Mushroom (Valentine's product).

The Bubble Bars are one of my favourite products from Lush because they can be used for many purposes. I don't have baths, so use them in other ways:

In my shower puff to wash my body. The Bubble Bars are quite concentrated, so be sure to add plenty of water.

In a bucket of water for a foot soak. We're always walking on our feet, so I think they deserve regular pampering. After a Lush Bubble Bar foot soak, my feet are soft and smell great!

In the bottom of the bath tub, with the plug in and shower on. Whilst washing my hair, face and body, I like to soak my feet. This is similar to the use above, but is for people who don't have time for a long foot soak.


Another way I know people use them is to crumble or grate them in to the drum of your washing machine. I've tried this a couple times, but unfortunately, my clothes didn't come out smelling of anything. If this did work for me, I would use them when washing my bedding and dressing gowns.


When I am not using my Bubble Bars, I leave them around my room (wrapped in cling film) to make it smell amazing.

Not only are the Bubble Bars multi-purpose products, but they can be used multiple times. An average 100g bar lasts me at least 3-4 times, and The Comforter, which is 200g, lasts me at least 6-8 times. I cringe when I hear of people using whole Bubble Bars at once!

Primark hair ties

Hair ties arranged in colour, not in packs.

I've never thought to blog about these because they're everyday, boring items. The boring products are often the most useful though. Primark hair ties come in packs of 30, including both thick and thin variants, and are priced at just £1. As you can see, I've bought quite a few packs! The best thing about these hair ties (apart from the price) is the fact that they are elasticated all the way around and don't have those annoying metal bands on them.

I picked up the hair elastics the other week, after looking for some for months! I use these when I plait my hair.

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Liz Earle Energising Body Lotion

Liz Earle Energising Body Lotion*

Packaging

I love the packaging. The dusky, baby blue tube and silver banner compliment each other well, and gives an overall elegant feel to the product.

Formula

The formula sinks in to your skin fast, so you are able to get dressed straight after applying the product. It moisturises, but what body lotion or butter doesn't? 

The lotion claims to 'firm and tone'... a lot of products claim this, but I don't think it is the products that directly achieve these results. It's more to do with the motion of your hands when rubbing them in, so really, any moisturiser can do this.

Scent

I cannot stand the scent! It does capture my senses, but for the wrong reasons. When you first apply the product to your skin, it smells fresh and herbally, like the other products from the range. Then, when you start to rub it in, the scent changes. I can smell a strong scent of patchouli coming through, which I hate. Looking at the ingredient list (which contains a lot of natural products, yay!), patchouli oil is listed, so this is the reason why I can smell it! The scent lasts for hours on your skin, which, if you like the scent, is a positive aspect.

Price

A 150ml tube is priced at £17, which is very expensive for a body lotion. I wouldn't purchase it because I do not like the scent, and the scent of a body product is very important to me. However, Liz Earle sell smaller sizes of the products, so you can try the products before investing in a full sized one. I would suggest purchasing a 30ml tube first, which is priced at £4.75. Then, if you love the product, you can purchase the 150ml tube.

*PR sample

Avon Empowerment Necklace - Raising awareness and supporting domestic violence charities

On the 8th March, it is International Women's Day 2012. In celebration of this day, Alesha Dixon, Avon's Beauty and Empowerment Ambassador, is launching a new empowerment necklace*. It is priced at just £3.50 and all proceeds will go to Refuge and Women's Aid; Charities that help women who have experienced domestic violence (one in four women experience domestic violence in their lifetime, which is horrifying).

By purchasing and wearing this necklace, you will be supporting and raising awareness of these domestic violence charities.
You can purchase the necklace from here.

*PR sample. I wanted to write about this because I think it is an important cause. I will be encouraging my friends and family to purchase a necklace of their own, to help support these charities.