5 Beauty Hacks I Swear By

 When it comes to beauty, I'll be the first to admit that I'm not the greatest. I enjoy makeup and beauty but I'm in no way a connoisseur when it comes to what's great and what's not. Having said that, I know what works for me and as I have become more and more obsessed with makeup and beauty products in general there are a few hacks that I've come to swear by and use in my beauty routine often, if not daily!

1. Using primer waters to dampen beauty sponges

A beauty sponge is my go-to when it comes to applying my base but the one thing that I find frustrating is having to go to the bathroom to dampen my beauty sponge every time I want to do my makeup. I store my makeup in my bedroom and also apply it in my bedroom so the extra step of dampening my beauty blender in the bathroom seems long. For a while I tried keeping my beauty blender in a cup of water so it was effectively always damp. However, I tend to be clumsy when it comes to liquids and so keeping a full cup of water in my room was quite simply a disaster waiting to happen.

Which leads me to primer waters... I've had a few of these but never really used any, I tend to use a primer before my makeup on most days so a primer water didn't really appeal to me. However, for the past few months I've been using these to dampen my beauty blenders and it works a treat! Most primer waters come in spray cap bottles so I can spritz my beauty blender as much or as little as I want. I'd like to think its priming properties are put to good use this way too.

Currently I'm using: Eco Tools beauty sponge // Nip + Fab primer water

2. Trimming eyebrows

I saw this in a YouTube video by Shonagh Scott and I was mesmerised. I don't do much to my eyebrows aside from plucking a few stray hairs that pop up, I don't shape them often and I've never had them dyed so they're pretty much as natural as can be. My natural brow hairs spike up at the front of my brow and I've never really liked that. When I was younger and first got my eyebrows plucked (the painfully thin brow days) there was a time when I had that chunk completely plucked away and a very unnaturally large space between my eyebrows. Most of us are pleased that those days are long gone, our eyebrows have now grown back and big brows are in. 

What I do now is fairly easy, I was so worried I would mess up but I haven't yet and here's hoping I won't! So I simply brush up my brow hairs and sort of keep them there with a spoolie, then using some small scissors I go above the spoolie and trim any long hairs. It's quite complicated to explain so check out Shonagh's video where she explains, and shows you, much better than I do!

Currently I'm using: Drugstore scissors // Eyelure spoolie

3. Eyelash curlers + waterproof mascara = a perfect match

Any time I talk about eyelashes or mascaras, I talk about my lame lashes. I was told I actually have quite long eyelashes, the issue being they're very straight so rather than curling upwards they instantly fall flat. I constantly trial new mascaras in the hope of finding the best for me but I haven't found the one yet. I've always used eyelash curlers but I've found my eyelashes simply fall flat soon after.

Whilst I was on holiday I used waterproof mascara more in my usual routine which I soon realised was the reason my eyelashes had been looking much better by appearing both longer and fuller. I've loved using both L'oreal Miss Hippie waterproof mascara and Too Faced Better Than Sex waterproof mascara. And whilst I'm now happy with how my lashes look, I definitely find waterproof mascara is much more damaging and so hard to remove! Waking up with panda eyes happens frequently.

Currently I'm using: Shu Uemura eyelash curler // Too Faced Better Than Sex waterproof mascara

4. Using cotton buds to remove makeup mistakes

I always make a mess when applying my mascara, I honestly don't know how anybody manages to put on mascara without getting smudges all over their eyelids - I mess up all the time! I used to just use a makeup wipe or some micellar water but would always then mess up my mascara in the process by either accidentally removing it or creating severe spidery lashes.

Now I always have a pack of cotton buds on hand so I can use the small end to gently remove any smudges without making another mess. I either rub this back and forth until the mascara has been soaked up or I use circular motions to gently lift it off sweep away.

5. See-through lip liner

I featured this lip liner in my Summer Best & Worst video because it has completely changed the game for me! Admittedly, I don't wear lip liners often - most of the time choosing to skip this step altogether - but on days when I need my lipstick to last longer this has become my go-to. The lip liner I've been using is by Pur Cosmetics and it's in the shade see-thru which means exactly that, it's see through! At first I was unsure about it but it acts like an additional sticky layer and as soon as I apply my lipstick over the top, I know it won't budge for the next few hours and when it does, it somehow fades in a much nicer way.

Currently I'm using: Pur Cosmetics See-thru lip liner

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