D.I.Y. How to wash Make up Brushes?

Apologies for not posting last week! I had to revise for some exams I hated (ugh, physics) and so I didn't have much time to post :(

However this week I'd like to show you how to do something essential for your make-up routine - my method for washing brushes! Cleaning them helps extend their life and is incredibly important as they can harbour dirt and bacteria. That's not very nice for your skin, is it?

I used to just wash mine in a bowl of soapy water but as it used to bit a bit drying, I recently discovered another method which really gets them looking soft, shiny and new.

You will need: 
Soap (shampoo, dish soap.....anything you want )
Olive Oil (to condition the brushes as they will have been stripped of moisture from the soap)
Bowl

1. Add 1 part oil to 1 1/2 parts soap in a bowl.

2. Take your first brush and swirl it around in the mixture, you should see the mixture changing colour as the make-up is coming off it!

3. Rinse under cold water until the water you squeeze out is clear.

4. Leave to dry flat or facing down on paper towels or the water may get trapped inside and create a loss of hair, damaging the brush. Make sure they are fully shaped and leave them overnight.

How often should you wash them? It depends on your usage but I'd say anything from every week to every month!

How do you wash your make-up brushes? Comment below! xx

Banana and Chocolate Oat Cookies

After Easter the abundance of Easter eggs in my house was just getting too much, so I had to find a way to use up all the chocolate. 

What did I do? 

I found a very simple egg-free, wheat-free and banana-full recipe which is so quick it hardly requires any weighing.

Here it is:

3 ripe bananas

100g melted butter

1 tsp vanilla extract

2 large handfuls of porridge oats

handful almonds, ground or chopped

2 handfuls of dried fruit

a pinch of cinnamon

100g chocolate, chopped into little bits

Makes about 25

1. Preheat oven to 180 degrees, and line a baking sheet with greaseproof paper.

2. In a mixing bowl mash the bananas, add the melted butter and the vanilla, giving everything a good mix.

3. Fold in the rest of the ingredients.

4. Space out the cookies on the baking sheet so there is enough space for them to expand. Roughly the size should be about 2 tsp each. 

5. Bake for 30 minutes, until golden. 

They are best enjoyed when warm!

xxx

Spring Make-up Buys

First Superdrug with the buy 1 get one half price on Rimmel, them boots with their 3 for 2's - how could I resist?

Both of these are first buys and I have been loving them. The crystal clear vinyl lip gloss can be a bit sticky but does dry and leave behind a glossy shine that lasts. The foundation is light coverage and easily blended, leaving behind a dewy look. A definite pro must be that even if it contains SPF18 it doesn't leave much of a white cast in flash photography!

This has always been one of my favourite concealers as it can hide all sorts of imperfections even when used alone. It lasts for ages, but due to its consistency can settle into fine lines so make sure to use powder on top! The only con must be the amount of shades, there are only 4 in this range.

Collection's lasting colour lipsticks only cost me £2.99 each, but last so much longer than higher end lipsticks I have bought before! Their consistency is not to dry, making it easy to apply on lips. I bought a deep red colour and a more pinky nude for everyday use.

First buy for both of these with the first being a lip liner, and the second being an eye liner. I have found that the nude pink shade of the lip liner is much darker than my natural lip colour, but the long wear and consistency of it totally make-up for it. I love to buy from MUA so when I saw they had a white eye liner for £1 I just had to give it a go. It's great to use on the waterline to make you look more awake, or in the inner corner to give the illusion of bigger eyes. Plus, it also comes with a pencil sharper in the lid!

I buy this time and time again as nothing quite matches up to it. Its jet black colour and 3 end-felt tip make it so easy to create the perfect flick, you won't be able to live without it! It doesn't smudge during the day and even lasts under the rain. Unlike many felt tips, this doesn't dry out after a couple of months.

Have you got any great make-up you can't live without? Comment below!! 

xx

D.I.Y. What to do with the bottom of your lipsticks?

Lipstick is very important to me. The other day I hit the bottom of one of my favourite tubes and since I had no idea where I bought it from, felt reluctant and very sad at the thought of having to throw it away. Some others were in a similar situation and so I had an idea - why not melt them all and mix them together?  The whole procedure must have taken me around 10 minutes and is great fun for people like me who like to get creative. 

I melted mine with a hair dryer on full power, but using the over the stove method or in the microwave could be quicker, and none will go flying out of the tin! If you want to make it a softer texture you can add some Vaseline or any vegetable oil which will also increase the shine. 

Beware it can get messy!

 The funnest part must be mixing different shades together and seeing the end result of them. Here I mixed a dark plum, with the hot glittery pink colour in the tube above, plus some Vaseline. 

It won't take long to set and the end result is this, a lovely new lip gloss you can carry around with you - how cool is that? 

Discovering York

I visited York last week and I have to say it is a beautiful town bursting with history, food and culture. The weather was slightly chilly for April but we had such a lovely day it easily made up for it!

Clifford's Tower

Inside of the tower

York Minister

wonky windows?

The day started with us going to visit the Clifford's tower -which has so many steps you cannot imagine- and we saw the majestic York Minister while walking around the city and taking in the other charming buildings.

We saw some of the quirkiest things there and also many talented street performers. This Yoda was trying his best to float!

Chocolate Shoes!

We were lucky enough to catch the Chocolate festival which is on this Easter weekend. Many stalls had gorgeous creations which tasted delicious thanks to the talented people which made them. One stall even had chocolate shoe sculptures which definitely looked to good to eat!

xx

Spring Fashion Haul

I just couldn't wait to get my hands on a couple of new spring clothes so went shopping!

This is a very fine knit jumper from Primark and I bought it for only £6. Bargain! 

And my obsession with pink flower jewellery continues after I bought this also from there for just £4. 

 

This pink butterfly scarf  caught my eye while I was on my to the till as the neutral shades make it wearable with anything. It was £4.  

The last thing I got from there was this travel bottle set which is always useful! It has different sized bottles with even a spray bottle top, a small pot, tiny funnel, plus stickers to label each one. It was just £1.

The next buy is the most expensive one from Topshop, £23, and is a lovely dark red colour t-shirt with the coca-cola logo on it. Find it here.

 These next two buys are from New Look and are both textured boxy fitting t-shirts. The first floral one was £14.99 and can be found here, whereas the second pink one was £12.99 and can be found here.

These lace up plimsolls from New Look go well with every everything and are ever so comfortable! I paid them £11.99. 

 

The last thing I bought was from Dorothy Perkins and is a floral cami dress which can be found here. It was just £16. The bright floral design was what caught my eye with the slightly flared skirt, and I can image it to be perfect for summer.

Now I just can't wait until the weather gets warmer - what about you?

A Day In Alton Towers

I love big rides. The scarier the better. Last week I spent a great day in the park and went on pretty much all of the rides (apart from the oblivion :( , we ran out of time!).  Going there I have picked up a few words of advice to share with you, so here goes:

1- Do the X-sector last! Start with gentler rides such as Thirteen or Air to build up the experience. When me and my friend went on the smiler I didn't even notice it was going upside down!

2-Thirteen- Many people were scared of the drops on the ride but you can hardly feel them- they are in the dark. The first one is tiny, and then there is a bigger one next, followed by getting pushed backwards on the ride.

3- Sonic Spinball is the scariest ride I went on! Seriously. Even if it is advertised as a kids ride the way the the cart keeps spinning and the unpredictability of it all made me do the whole ride with my eyes shut and screaming. Not for the faint hearted.

4- The River Rapids are definitely a ride for the whole family, however people that suffer from seasickness should avoid. Some people escaped completely dry from the river rapids but I got soaked on them. It was a massive splash from the river which went over my head and only hit me! Obviously it got all of my friends laughing, but left me not very happy. At least in the end they got drenched by some people with water pistols. Thank you non-riders with a good aim.

5- There are so many places and things to eat there so don't worry about food! We went on the Runaway mine train and all I could smell was the delicious pasta and pizza coming from the restaurant. Also the smell of doughnuts was persistent throughout the park :)

6- Air was really one of my surprise favourite rides. The thought of getting thrown around on the roller coaster while lying down looked terrifying, but once on you couldn't feel it at all. It was actually a relaxing experience even.

7- Rita is the shortest ride we went on, but the most intense. It left some of us feeling a bit sick as it is the fastest ride; a blink and you miss it type. Queues can also be quite long for it.

8- The cable cars are the best way to get around. Sometimes they did seem like a ride itself as they can jiggle around a bit too much, but it saves you a lot of effort from walking to one place to another. The staff there are also very helpful and give you great indications to get around!

9- Take warm clothes with you and good footwear! I cannot stress this enough as it is often not lovely weather in Alton, plus you don't want to be worrying about taking off your shoes when you go on a ride.

10- The staff in the park really deserve as they are some of the most helpful and funniest people to be around. They will mock, act crazy, and even sing and dance, but create an amazing atmosphere which is the true soul of the park.

Do you like theme parks? Share your experiences below!