How to Properly Clean Your Makeup Brushes

I mentioned in last week's post that I would have an in-depth post on cleaning your makeup brushes. 

I want to start off by saying some of my pictures are a bit out of focus. Sorry, I was trying to take pictures with one hand and clean my brushes in the other. More difficult than I thought it would be.

"Why should I clean my makeup brushes?" you might have asked.

Well, as you rub brushes all over your face and eyes, oils, dirt, and dead skin begin to build up inside. Yuck! And if your using a sponge to apply makeup, bacteria and fungus can begin to grow inside. (Excuse me while I go throw up...) 

If you're not cleaning your makeup tools your skin is at risk of breaking out, and other nasty things.

The good news is, it is SUPER easy to clean your brushes and sponges. 

All you need is dish soap (or baby soap) and some olive oil!

Squeeze about a quarter size drop on a plate, and then a nickle size drop of olive oil.

Completely wet your brush.

Then stir it around in your soap/oil mixture.

It should begin looking really gross. This brush was used for foundation, so you can see a skin toned color to the mixture.

After mixing for a bit, rinse your brush out and squeeze as much water out as possible.

Mold the bristles back to their original form for drying. These brushes can stand alone, so I just set them upright.

Face Sponges are just as easy to clean as brushes. You can see the foundation in this sponge.

Just like brushes, wet your sponge completely.

Next you'll only use dish soap (no olive oil in sponges), but put the soap in your hand instead of on a plate.

Work the soap through the sponge, drawing out the makeup. When your sponge is thoroughly soaped up, rinse and squeeze all the soap out. **It is important to make sure all the soap is out, or the sponge can get ruined when soap drys inside.**  

Squeeze dry the sponge in a clean towel and let it air dry.

**If brushes cannot stand alone, let them dry off a counter.**

I recommend giving your brushes a full 12 hours to dry. Some brushes may dry sooner, but that is about average. Sponges can, of course, be used wet, so you could use your sponge right after cleaning.

Some sources say to clean your makeup brushes once a week.. however lets be honest here, nobody has the time to wash all their brushes every week. I wash mine about every 3 weeks. 

What did I tell you? Easy right! 

So did you know all this information already? Or is this new stuff? Comment!

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{Pinterest} What I'm Loving 2.1

What I'm Loving

Stripes

I'm not sure if it's a phase i'm going through.. but i'm completely obsessed with stripes right now. Particularly black and white.

  

Flower Head-Wreaths 

Yes I pin things for my very distant wedding. :) When it comes to weddings i'm pretty traditional, like, just a veil, but i'm really loving the flower head-wreath thing going on!

Aren't they elegant? 

Blue Nail Polish

It's becoming my thing. Just last night, I bought two blue nail polishes. I have a thing for blue, okay?

I bought this color ^

**All Images From Pinterest.com**

{Faithful Fridays} Throwing Away the 'Perfect' Life

Everyone has a calling. However, not everyone follows their calling.
Some people aren't listening for God's will. They want to build their own life, instead of allow God to be the author of their life.

They strive to create the "perfect life" and are unable to fulfill that picture because ultimately they were trying to build a life on fleshly selfish desires.

God should be leading your life. Does this mean you can't have dreams, desires, wants? No, but if they are not God's will you need to give them up. Then you need to trust God will give you a new dream.

Sometimes what God calls you to do with your life is difficult, maybe even crazy. However, until you're where God wants you, nothing will give a peace.

{Jonah 1:1-3}

The word of the Lord came to Jonah son of Amittai:  “Go to the great city of Nineveh and preach against it, because its wickedness has come up before me.”

But Jonah ran away from the Lord and headed for Tarshish. He went down to Joppa, where he found a ship bound for that port. After paying the fare, he went aboard and sailed for Tarshish to flee from the Lord.

When reading the story of Jonah it is easy to point fingers and judge his motive. After all, he ran from God. But I think there are many people who are doing exactly what Jonah did. Because, lets face it, doing the right thing is very difficult sometimes. Which is why the reward is great.

For we live by faith, not by sight. {2 Corinthians 5:7}

So the next time the world shows you the picture "perfect" life, remember your perfect life is where God puts you in this life. So stop looking at what the world says is a "good" life and focus on what Jesus has given you today!

To read more Faithful Fridays, follow Joy

How to Keep Your Skin Clear & Healthy

**When I say skin, i'm referring to the skin on your face**

It's not secret. Everyone want clear and healthy skin. So how do you achieve such skin? It's easy.

Wash Your Face

If you are past the age of 12, your skin is producing daily oils and needs to be washed twice a day. Wash your face when you wake up, and before you go to bed. This removes unwanted oils, dirt, and bacteria from your face. Find a face wash that works for you. You may need to try a few before you find the right one. Finding one with salicylic acid will help prevent acne breakouts. 

Don't Touch

I know its hard, but you've got to stop touching your face and chest area. Really, stop. You probably don't want to think about where your hand have been. They carry dirt, germs, and other nasty things you don't want all over your skin. While we're thinking about, wash your hands too!

Remove Your Makeup
If your a daily makeup "wearer" you need to remove all your makeup before you go to sleep. It is very unhealthy to go to sleep with makeup all over your face. It will clog your pores and leave your skin with a gray hue. Healthy skin is not gray.


Clean Your Makeup Brushes
It doesn't matter how much makeup you wear, whatever your putting you makeup on with needs to be clean. Brush, sponge, or even your hands, you need to clean it. Next Tuesday I will be showing you how to properly clean makeup brushes and sponges. 

Moisturize
Your skin needs to be moisturized, even if your don't have dry skin. Many people tend to think that if their skin isn't dry, or if they have oily skin, they don't need to moisturize. It's a lie. All skin types need hydration. Also, this isn't just for your face, your entire body need lotion... so lather up!

Let Your Skin Breathe
If you do not wear foundation, Congratulations you're living this step out! If you do, it's important to realize you do not need to wear foundation everyday. If your sitting at home all day, skip makeup, your skin wants to breathe the free air too!

Exfoliate
Exfoliating your skin once a week really helps your skin. Face scrubs remove dead skin and clean the face making the skin softer and feeling refreshed.

Shown skin care products:

Aveeno Clear Complexion Foaming Face Wash ($7)

Good Skin Soft Skin Creamy Cleanser ($13)

Simple Cleansing Facial Wipes ($5)

Olay Complete Daily Moisturizer ($9)

Clinique Dramatically Different Moisturizer ($26)

Aveeno Daily Moisturizing Lotion ($4)

Clean & Clear Face Scrub/Exfoliater ($5)

Adding Categories~ Minor Blog Update

Firstly, and most obviously... I gave the blog a little face-lift. Made it a little cleaner, a little sharper.

Secondly, for those of you who may be wondering about the title of my last blog post, that said, "Year of the Dragon". Sorry! It is not, the year of the dragon, it is the year of the horse, but I was typing away and did not notice. It has been fixed. 

Thirdly, i'm expanding the content of the blog. I will still post what I have been posting, just adding some other stuff:

I will be linking with Joy on Fridays for Faithful Fridays

I will be posting Mini Tutorials on easy blog designing. 

 I will be adding a Beauty category for Tuesdays. Tomorrow's post is entitled, "How to Keep Your Skin Clear and Healthy."

And there are going to be some Giveaways in the future!!! So keep your eyes peeled! 

IG Drop- Every month I'll re-post my Instagrams here for those who do not have an IG.

Fashion Inspiration- I'll show you how I style clothing and pick things out.

Photography Tips- I'll teach you some of the most useful photography skills I have learned. 

Possibly a couple of Recipes, with pictures.. of course!

Maybe some Pinterest trys.. did it work?

So in a nutshell, you'll be seeing a lot of new things! I'm excited... and I hope you are.