GIFT GUIDE for Christmas: Makeup Edition

Hello there, beautiful creature!
Today I want to help you with some ideas for your gift shopping list about makeup: What to buy, how to give it, tips&tricks.
First, let’s talk about the person you should give makeup to: This person should really be into makeup, and enjoy trying makeup, does his/her makeup every time she/he goes out or just for fun. DO NOT buy makeup for someone who is scared of trying out new stuff, or wears makeup just on special occasions.
How much to spend: This depends only on your budget, or how important the person is for you!But even if that person is important and you have a limited budget, do not think about it; the important thing is that you thought of him/her.

Makeup Sets!
 
Makeup Sets are a great way to simplify your shopping, cause they have everything you need in one set! But you have to know the person, so you are sure that he/she will use everything in this gift set! You have foundation sets, eyeliner sets, eyeshadow sets, lip product sets and so on! And you can find them on a wide price range, but keep in mind that usually SETS ARE AT SPECIAL PRICES! I think Benefit have the most versatile sets, and they are so cute decorated everyone will love them!

Eyeshadow Pallets!
 
This is perfect for any makeup lover or even makeup artists! See if they are interested in a specific palette, or if it’s one that they do not have and you think they would use it and buy it! Most palettes can be expensive, and if we are talking about makeup lovers then they use only good products, but you can always find good quality at a lower price like Sleek Eyeshadow Palette!

Really Fancy Gift Sets!

Now… this is for a real makeup lover, someone who has a passion out of makeup or makeup is they job! For those kind of people, go full on! This is going to be expensive! But these will contain a wide range of good quality products that will be adored by the person you buy them for! They usually have multiple full-sized products!

Makeup Brushes!

Everyone that like makeup, should own some makeup brushes to make their life easier! And everyone know that you apply makeup better with a brush! So you could go and buy them individually or buy Brush Sets that have the basics! Here I say, like always, invest in good quality brushes cause they make a difference! But there are some good value brushes that you can find like Real Technique!

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I hope this was helpful, and gave you some inspiration, ideas for what to give as a GIFT for a MAKEUP LOVER!
If you have any more questions, please ask in the comments and I will gladly answer! 🙂

Stay Beautiful,
George

Cleaning Your Makeup Brushes! Everything you need to know!

Today we have to discus about cleaning your brushes and sponges!
We all know that out brushes get dirty really quick, but do you know why is important to clean them?

The importance of cleaning your brushes:
You will have a clean makeup as well: Having dirty brushes will make your makeup look muddy. Ex.: Imagine you have some black on your brush and you want to put some brown on your eyes.. well it will not look good honey!
You will preserve your brushes more: If you leave products in your brushes, this will only damage the natural hair in it and break.Imagine your brushes is your hair… you need to keep it clean so they remain intact and heathy. Your foundation can dry into your bristles and make them hard and eventually break.
Bacteria: Cleaning your brushes will get rid of the bacteria in it. This bacteria can come from the air, cause they were exposed to an open space or from your products. the bacteria can self develop into the bristles.
Acne: If you have acne prone skin, using the same brush over and over again without cleaning it, will only spread out your acne!

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How to wash your brushes:

1. Buy a special detergent from your drugstore, that is made for cleaning your brushes. Harsh detergents will dry out the bristles and make them more stiff. Imagine you are taking care of your hair, you do not want cheap shampoo in your hair that will make it fall. You can also use “johnson’s baby shampoo“. I find “johnson’s baby” to be perfect cause it cleans so good and it is very gentle and a little hydrating to.

2. Pur a tiny amount in your hand, wet the brush and start cleaning it into your palm doing gentle circular motions.Do this until the foam that you create become clear.

3. Rinse very well everything off your brushes. Be sure you are left with no detergent in your bristles!
4. Moisture: Take a leave in conditioner (spray) and spray a tiny bit on them from a distance. I know it sounds weird, but it does help!
5. Dry them in a vertical position, with the bristles facing down! Why? Cause the excess water has to fall of the brushes, otherwise it will damage the glue and your brushes will have fallout.

This is everything you need to know about deep cleaning your brushes. I would say do this every 2 weeks, or depending on how much makeup you use, if you consider you need to do it once a week. This is ofcorse in case you use these brushes on yourself; If you use them on someone else be sure they are clean before and after you apply the makeup on someone else.

Quick cleaning: If you are in a rush, or you want to be sure you just disinfected them a little bit before applying makeup, there a a lot of spray, with alcohol that will disinfect the brushes.
Spray a little on the brush and then on a cloth, do circular motion. This will remove the extra product and bacteria.
These kind of sprays can be used to spray on your eyeshadow pallet so you can kill the bacteria that may live on your eyeshadows.
This is a step that every makeup artist does, so he can have clean brushes and pallets all the time. After every client, he/she sprays some product on the brushes and pallets.

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I hope you enjoyed this post, and that you learned something today! If you have questions, please leave them in the comments bellow!

Stay beautiful, 
George

Makeup Brushes 101

Today we talk makeup! And we will be talking about the most important thing about makeup: Brushes
Brushes are the most important tools in any makeup kit; Even mascaras have a brush! 🙂

I will not be talking about how many brushes or what brands should a makeup artist have, I will be talking about the large population, wich don’t need that many.
So.. what are brushes good for? Well, darling, brushes will help you apply, blend and define your makeup.If you are a minimalistic person that wears just little makeup, yes you could go on without brushes, but either way these tips will help you!

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You can have synthetic hair or real hair brushes:
Synthetic hair is good for liquids and creams so they will not be absorbed into the bristles.
Real hair is good for powders like eyeshadows, blushes, face powder..etc. This will grab the products and keep it on the brush until you apply it to the face. When applying it will be more smooth and the blending easier.

Basic kit for everyone:

Foundation brush (synthetic) or a foundation sponge: Your fingers can do their job, but a brush will give you a more natural finish, nd blending will not rub off the product.

Powder brush (real hair) : A big, fluffy powder brush will make sure that you dispose your powder correctly and quick on your skin.

Blush brush (synthetic or real hair) : Depending on the type of blush you have (creamy or powder); This looks a little like the powder brush but a smaller one. This brush will help you blend your blush so you will not have a big dot on your face! 🙂 Haha!

Contouring brush (real hair): If you like to contour your face, or you saw what contouring can do to your face, you need to have a contouring brush, wich is a fluffy angled brush so you can be very precise when making those shadows on your face!

Eyeshadow brush: Depending on what type of makeup you wear, you will need from 4 to 6 brushes;

Flat eyeshadow applying brush (real hair): 3 of them, but you can go with only 2. This will apply the color to your eyes, and you don’t want to use the same brush for two or more separate eyeshadows.

Blending brush (real hair): This look like a miniature powder brush (fluffy).This will blend the colors together so you do not have any sharp-looking like or blocky color on your eyes. 2 of them is needed (you can pass with only one) for a nice blend eye.

Smudging brush (real hair): This is if you like to smudge your eyeliner so it looks more smokey, and it’s perfect for the under eyes area so you can apply just s little color.

Eyebrows: Two main brushes are needed:

A flat angled brush (synthetic) for filling in your eyebrows and give them shape; The angled brush will give you precision, not letting any mistakes.
*This can also be doubled as a gel eyeliner brush (but wash it right after)

A coaming brush (synthetic) for coaming your eyebrows in place and get rid of the excess product in your eyebrows after filling them in. This will also make them look more natural.

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So these are the basic brushes that you need to ensure a perfect makeup. Like I said, If you are the type of person that wears only mascara and a liquid eyeliner you can pass the eye brushes.
Also, try investing in your brushes, cause a more precise brush that does not leave hair behind will give you a more better looking makeup; And if you take good care of your brushes you will have them for a long, long period of time. Brushes can be expensive, but you will not change them as you change your mascara or foundation.

I hope you learnt something today and enjoyed this post; Like always please give this post a like and comment down bellow telling me what is one brush that you can not live without.
Also if you need tips for cleaning your brushes please tell me, and I can give you advice!

Stay beautiful, 
George