15 Beauty Mistakes You Need To Stop Making

With summer officially starting in just three days, I thought now would be a good idea to create a list of mistakes I used to mistake as a rookie. Some of these are common sense, and some of these are things I know my friends still do!

1. Not cleaning your make-up brushes.. Seriously, I know the hassle, and it's such a chore, but your skin will help you for it!
2. Matching your foundation to the back of your hand.. I never thought twice about doing this in high school, and never understood why my face was so orange afterwards..
3. Sleeping in your make-up.. C'mon, stop being lazy! Think of your pores here!
4. Applying make-up to dry skin.. The amount of moisturiser I have to use is ridiculous, but I would rather do this each day than have flakey foundation.
5. Curing your eyelashes with mascara already on.. This is only a recent thing i've stopped doing, because it used to save me time.
6. Applying your make-up in the wrong lighting.. Natural lighting gives you a much better view. 
7. Keeping your old make-up for too long.. I used to be awful with this, and then wondered why my foundation was suddenly 2 shades darker when I next wanted to use it!
8. Applying the wrong shade of concealer.. I've found applying a lighter shade of concealer can help brighten your skin a lot!
9. Applying too much foundation.. It's not attractive seeing somebodies foundation dry out on their face, or rub off on their collar!
10. Not changing your foundation to suit the seasons.. Using waterproof and cream based make-up in the summer will stop it from literally melting off your face.
11. Not testing your make-up before you purchase it.. The packaging may look nice, but products often oxidise and change colour when it comes in contact with the air. 
12. Shading your brows too dark.. Using a pencil that is the same as your natural eyebrow often makes it look too intense and full on, opt for a shade lighter.
13. Not blending your face to your neck.. Having an orange face and a white neck is never a good look. Luckily this is one thing I always remember. 
14. Applying too much mascara.. Two coats is plenty, anything else often starts to make your eyelashes clump together and that sight isn't pretty. 
15. Over bronzing.. Don't apply bronzer to your whole face. Many people make the mistake of applying it like a normal powder, or using it like a highlighter. Big no!

Comment below any beauty mistakes you've made in the past!

MAC Studio Sculp Foundation | Review

Being a newbie, It's only been a year since I bought my first MAC product- the Studio Sculpt foundation. I had been having a love hate relationship with my Wake Me Up foundation for a while, and decided it was time to move on.. 

Since i'm completely useless at matching my skin tone to the right foundation, I took a trip to Selfridges and relied entirely on the lady at the counter to hook me up with something. She was so lovely and messed around with a few different foundations until she found the right combination for me, turns out I have pretty dry skin! I asked for a full coverage, long lasting foundation and the lady recommended the Studio Sculpt. 

I bought the shade NW20, which adds a bit of colour to my ever pale face! It really is full coverage, and can last a night out, or day at work, which i'm happy about. I use my Real Techniques brush to blend, I found it works really well with the Studio Sculpt foundation. I love the fact it also mattifies as you apply it to your face. It dries really fast so your skin doesn't feel oily, yet is also really full of moisture. 

I'm on my second bottle now- they last around 6 months with me applying it every day, which is really good for me! For £25, I think it's a great 'investment', and lasts longer/looks better than drug store brands that I used to have to buy more often. 

What's your favourite MAC product?

Fix & Perfect Primer | Rimmel London Review

Primer is still a fairly recent thing for me, and I had never really given it much thought until the Maybelline 'baby skin' primer blew up in the beauty world. And not being one to follow the crowd too much, I picked up Rimmel London Fix & Perfect. I don't think i've read many, if any, reviews of this product. I chose this rather than the ever popular baby skin primer because I didn't like the finish the maybelline primer gave. I can't explain it, but it was almost too smooth for me! ha. Also the Fix and Perfect is only £6.99 for the same amount of primer. (see here).

Since buying the Fix and Perfect, I now use it every day before my foundation, and am currently on my third tube. It promises to smooth, resurface, brighten, mattify and perfect your skin before applying foundation. The only thing I don't agree with is the primer brightening your skin, but what does that matter since you're applying foundation on to your skin straight afterwards. 

You apply it like usual primer, using it to smooth any blemishes on your skin. It always leaves my skin silky smooth, and makes my foundation last so much longer after applying it. I can now go through the full day without having to reapply my foundation again. I've found however, that I have to use quite a lot of the primer when applying. I don't know whether this is because of how dry my skin gets, or if it's because the primer mattifies so quickly.. But the tube states you only need to use a 'pea size' on your whole face, yet i'm having to use that size on each section of my face to feel like it's completely covered. 

It doesn't bother me that I have to use more of the product, as it hydrates my skin and also saves me constantly applying foundation. The primer still lasts me around 4-5 months before I run out, and that's good going for me! 

What primer do you use?

Ultimate Blends Sleek Perfector | Garnier

I'm super impatient with waiting for my hair to grow, and I will literally try anything from hair growth shampoo, to vitamins and minerals. But what I've recently discovered is this little beauty by Garnier. Garnier have released a new range of hair care products called 'Ultimate Blends', and since i've heard so much about how good coconut oil is for your hair, I thought I would give it a go. 

Well! Am I happy I did!   

The Sleek Perfector Oil is around £9.99 in most stores, which is extremely cheap compared to competitors. I've had the bottle for around three months, and i'm only just half way through a bottle after using it 2-3 times a week. You can also get the shampoo, conditioner and restorer, that is supposed to boost your hair condition even more. I haven't bothered to try them, because this oil does the trick for me by itself. However, they range from £2.79-£4.49 in most high street stores, which is also ridiculously cheap!!

The process is super easy, you just pat 2-3 drops in your hand (depending on your hair length) and rub from your roots to the tips. I've found patting the drops together beforehand, rather than rubbing your hands (if you get me?) will spread the oil on your hands better, and stop it from being absorbed by your skin and making your hands really oily. Especially if you choose to use it after every wash, like me!

What I love best about this oil, is you can use it before or after washing, and before or after styling, as well as on the ends of your hair each day if needed. I've been using this product for the past couple of months and I really can see the difference, my hair looks so much more healthy and is super soft all the time! I would definitely recommend this product to anybody who has hair that's looking a bit dull and worse for wear! 

Has anybody else tried any of these new Garnier products?

Loreal Paris Miss Managa | Mega Volume Mascara

Literally, how behind am I with trying this mascara? Very. I actually find it really hard to make it through a tube of mascara, since I hardly ever wear it unless it's for special occasions. I am literally far too lazy to take it off afterwards. I came to finally use mascara a few weeks ago, and realised it had been that long since I last used it, the product had actually dried up! And I call myself a beauty fanatic! ha!

I think the casing is so pretty, the pink/purple colour stands out really nicely against the black. The overall tube is very bulky, and feels like cheap plastic. For £8.99 though, you can't really complain... You get what you pay for, I guess. It comes in four colours, but I went for the generic most common black to try.

The actual wand is fairly nice to hold. One side has clearly been thought through, and is flatter than the other sides to allow you to grip better... It totally works too! With it being plastic, it is fairly light as well, and very easy to move about. I love the fact the wand is bendable too- supposedly for a 360 degree application. It does make the whole experience pretty unique, even if it did also make me very clumsy when applying it.. I guess it all comes with experience. 

As you can tell from the picture, the brush is fairly big and picks up a lot of product, which often means I either end up wasting it, or getting gloopy bits on my eyelashes. L'oreal's miss manga promises thicker lashes, and even though the mascara is thick, I don't think it lives up to it's name.. I have to put 2-3 coats of the product on, and in the end my eyelashes end up clumping together or flaking. All in all, I can't really see the appeal of this mascara. It's not bad for a cheap starter mascara, or as a base mascara before applying a better one. But apart from that, I just couldn't get on with the whole application process, I just didn't have the patience. I guess this will be another mascara that sits in my make-up bag and slowly dries out.  

How has your experience with Miss Manga Mascara been?

To Liquid Eyeliner, Or Not To Liquid Eyeliner?

For some unknown reason, once females hit their twenties, they suddenly set out to find the best liquid eyeliner possible. Now i've read plenty of bloggers ranting or raving about their experiences with different liquids, but i'm yet to find somebody that is truely happy with their eyeliner. I've been using eyeliner since high school.. mind you, it's only in the last few years that i've moved to a liquid liner, and i'm still searching for that perfect liner that I can happily use every day.  

I had the MAC Liquid Eyeliner given to me as a gift for my 21st birthday off this little cherub (Click Here), and I was super excited to start using it, since I've got on so well with the MAC Studio Sculpt.. It's now my go-to foundation! Around about the same time, I also purchased the Rimmel London Exaggerate Eyeliner, since i've got on with their felt tip eyeliner in the past, and I like most Rimmel products i've used. 

With the MAC eyeliner being a bit pricier than usual (even though it was still a gift), I tried to only use it for special occasions, such as nights out or meals. I must say, for a MAC product, I had higher hopes for it, that weren't really met. The applicator is soft, picks up the right amount of liquid, and is easy to hold... But the actual eyeliner itself is not the best. I find myself having to smear it on my eye because it is constantly leaving patches. I also have to used 2-3 times the amount of product when I use it, because it seems to evaporate when it touches your eyelid. It also doesn't last very long, and seems to dry and 'crack' off really easily. Has anybody else had this problem? Or am I just botched up? ha!

The Rimmel London Exaggerate Liner is currently £5.29 at Boots. This is currently being used as my daily go-to eyeliner, since I want to use up the liners I have before they dry up. This lasts a lot longer, but still glides on as nicely as the MAC liner. This can be worn for a day out, though I do find it starts to 'crack' off at the ends of my eyes, so I have to sometimes reapply it if i'm out for a full day. I can live with that for now, but I know i'll soon be after a new liner to try, since these are slowly running out. 

Comment below with some of the liquid eyeliners you have tried, and your experiences!