7 Deadly Sins TAG

Hey everyone! I haven't done a tag in a while and I don't have any other posts planned so I thought I'd give this one a go. I found it on Jess' blog Coffee and Cosmetics, and I know it's a popular one but in case you haven't done it yet, feel free to grab it :)

1. Greed: What is your most inexpensive beauty product? What is your most expensive beauty product?

My most inexpensive beauty product is anything that I bought from Elf. I have their studio brush line and one of their gel liners, and both are great value for money. Their products are only a couple bucks and really do the job. They're nothing fancy but if you'd like to save some money on basics, Elf is a good option! Their online website is particularly easy to navigate, and shipping doesn't cost an arm & a leg.

My most expensive beauty product (that I bought with my own money, i.e. not gifted) has to be my Vice 2 palette. I don't tend to splurge on single items - I'd rather save up some money and buy an array of things. Although the Urban Decay palettes are quite expensive, I think they are SO worth it. The quality, originality, and durability are incomparable.

2. Wrath: What beauty product do you have a love/hate relationship with? What product has been the hardest to get?

At the moment I'm having a love/hate relationship with the Rimmel Wake Me Up foundation. It's an illuminating, anti-aging foundation, which is lovely in theory, but the problem is that it's chock-full of shimmer. I still can't decide if that's an issue for me or not! It was fine in the summer with a nice tan, but it seems silly to have a glowy face in the winter. Looks like I'll have to move on from it during the time being.

Living in Canada, I'm pretty lucky when it comes to beauty products being available for me. We have Sephora and Mac, and Bioderma is sold at my nearest drug store. I think the only products that posed some difficulty for me were my Real Techniques brushes. It took forever and a half for them to become available at Walmart here, and I could never seem to find them on trips to the States. Of course, UK brands are difficult to get.

3. Gluttony: What are your most delicious beauty products?

Well since I don't tend to eat my beauty products this is a bit of an odd question... However, some products smell so good they could almost be edible. Two of my favorite-smelling lip glosses are from Buxom and NYX. I'm definitely a sucker for sweet scents as opposed to more perfume-y scents like Chanel.

4. Sloth: What beauty product do you neglect due to laziness?

I definitely neglect using concealer. I feel like foundation does the bulk of the work when it comes to covering up, and I don't feel like my under-eye circles are that noticeable. I also neglect powdering sometimes - and more often than not I regret it at some point throughout the day! Oops.

5. Pride: What beauty product gives you the most self-confidence?

The beauty product that gives me the most self-confidence is eyeshadow. On days that I actually put the effort into applying it, I feel instantly rejuvenated haha. Knowing that I put in the extra work in making my "look" complete makes all the difference. I'm no expert when it comes to applying eyeshadow but when it turns out looking great, I feel super accomplished haha.

6. Lust: What attributes do you find most attractive in the opposite sex?

I find this question a little irrelevant so I'm going to replace it with "Which product/brand do you find has the most physically attractive packaging?" 

Even though I'm still gushing over the packaging of my new Vice 2 palette, my answer for this question is very easy: NARS. The sleek packaging and the rubber-y texture gets me every time! I even love the extra kerning on the letters and the curved edges. I contemplate buying NARS products if only for the packaging... To have a big NARS palette one day is my dream - totally wish I'd gotten my hands on Danmari when I had the chance!

7. Envy: What product would you most like to receive as a gift?

At the moment I am dying for a YSL lipstick. I can never justify the price in-store but if someone loved me enough to buy me one as a gift... I would be so so so happy! The packaging and quality looks incredible. I would definitely buy a red color making it feel even fancier :)

I tag: Hannah from Hips Like Cinderella

How I Clean My Brushes

Only two more days to enter my giveaway!

Well hi everyone! I've been putting off brush cleaning for a while now (I know, bad beauty blogger award), and I figured I'd photograph my process and exactly how I clean my brushes because I love seeing how other people do this. I've picked up tips from various beauty gurus and I'll let you know them along the way. So let's get started then! :)

These are the brushes that desperately needed cleaning! Most of them are ELF Studio brushes, but I also have two from MAC and one from Sephora's brush range. I think this is a pretty decent collection; the only ones I'd say I'm missing are a tapered blending brush (I currently use a MAC 275 which is fine, but not ideal) and an angled kabuki I'd like to use for foundation. I'm looking into Real Techniques and Sigma, so let me know if you have any suggestions!

I use a mixture of gentle dish soap and extra virgin olive oil to clean my brushes. This is a medium I picked up from Michelle Phan years ago and I've just stuck with it. The idea is that the dish soap will cleanse the brush while the oil will moisturize. Most of my brushes are made of synthetic bristles so I'm not sure how much moisturizing is going on, but I feel like the dish soap might be too harsh without the olive oil, and anyway, I prefer the consistency the oil gives. I know a lot of people use baby shampoo, but honestly, this works perfectly and I have no other use for baby shampoo in my life lol!

You'll also need two sheets of paper towel (one to immediately dry your brushes off and one to place your brushes on to dry).

Step 1: Place your brush under running tap water (cold-lukewarm is fine). Never hold the brush straight up underneath the faucet, otherwise the water will seep into the barrel, loosen the glue, and cause the bristles to fall out (Michelle Phan tip).

Step 2: Swirl the brush in your dish soap and olive oil mixture. This is where the majority of the cleaning will happen.

Step 3: Swirl the brush against the side of the sink to rinse out all the soap and dirt. Now is when you'll be able to see just how dirty your brush was. Yum.

Step 4: Dry your brush off with a sheet of paper towel.

Step 5: Place your brush lying flat on a paper towel, making sure the bristle are off the counter. (I'll explain why later)

For denser powder brushes and kabukis, you're going to want to use your hands/fingers to work the soap in. Also, it's important that you squeeze the water and excess soap out of the brush, otherwise your brush will retain all of it, and as I mentioned, it may seep into the barrel causing shedding. Additionally, if you skip this step, your brushes will take way longer to dry because they'll be so concentrated with water!

This is the largest brush I own (a MAC 134), and I just wanted to show you guys how much pigment it retains. Look at that mess in the sink! I feel like powder brushes appear to be the least dirty in use, but when you actually clean them you see just how gross they really are.

If it seemed like I was using a lot of oil and soap, rest assured that it was all used up! (Ew.)

So as you can see, I place all my brushes with the tips off the counter. The reason for this is because you want your brushes to dry up in their original shape. If you lie them flat on the paper towel, you'll have one 3D side and one flat side. Does that make any sense? Also, You'll want to keep a towel on the floor so any dripping can be soaked up. This is a tip I got from Allison (Amarixe on YouTube and Blogger).

I usually leave my brushes to dry over night, but honestly, for denser brushes it takes longer than that sometimes. If you see that they're not dry after 5-6 hours of air drying, feel free to use a blow dryer (on a very low setting).

And voila! Squeeky clean!

I hope you guys enjoyed reading this because it took me a while to get this post sorted! Brush cleaning is a long process but, alas, it needs to be done at least every couple of months (if you spot clean between washes, that is).

Do you clean your brushes similarly?