How To: Clean Your Makeup Brushes

Cleaning your makeup brushes is vital. If you aren't regularly cleaning these brushes oils, bacteria, and makeup buildup all just sit on the brushes and are transfered into your actual makeup and on your face - not good. So you want to make sure you clean the brushes once a week. I recommend Sunday nights - that way they are ready to face the week! 

Since I had a few brushes that needed cleaning, I thought I would share how I do this.

Directions:

1. Get an old cup and cover the bottom with a thin layer of shampoo. Any kind is fine - you don't need a specific brush cleaning shampoo or the most expensive.

2. Place the brushes down into the cup so that the bristles get the shampoo on them. Wiggle them around a bit to make sure the shampoo is on all of the brushes.

3. Get warm water running. Quickly put the cup under the faucet so that you fill the cup up with about an inch of water (you don't want too much as water should not be above the silver piece of the brush).

4. Wiggle the brushes around to get the shampoo/water mix on all the brushes.  

   

5. Pull one brush out at a time and move it around in a circular motion in the palm of your hand. The suds will be dirty.

6. Move your hand under the water while continuing moving brush in circular motion. Keep doing so until water runs clean of makeup and suds. You may want to alternate squeezing out the brush and rubbing it on your hand. *Also, be sure to keep brush at a downward angle so water does not go up into brush.

7. Completely wring out excess water and use your hand to shape the bristles.

8. Lay the brushes out to dry overnight - they will be completely dry and ready to use in the morning. *I like placing my brush on some sort of ledge or over the counter so that all side of the brush are able to breathe/get fresh air. 

  

And now they are clean - free of excess oils, bacterial, and makeup.

I learned this method from a makeup artist. She used to work for MAC and stated this is how they clean their brushes in the store - cheap shampoo and all!

Tutorial: Knotted Bun Up-do

I finally got around to recording the tutorial for a knotted bun up-do! The video is kind of long (sorry), but I pride myself on being thorough. (Actually, I could still be thorough without being long, but I only recored this once. I usually record a couple times and figure out what really needs to be said vs. me just rambling - like I am now.)

This bun is easy to do and takes very little time - especially for being visually interesting. I mentioned in the video, and I'll say it here, tying your hair in a knot can be frustrating. It took me a while to get it down, so don't get discouraged if you have trouble initially. Just practice. 

The hairstyle is so versatile! It can easily be worn to class, work, on the weekend, on a date, or a night out with the girls. You can tie the knot low for a romantic feel or up higher where a ponytail might sit. You can also comb hair back for a more clean, finished look or pull pieces out (like I did) for a more messy, effortless look - it's all up to you. Good luck!

Here's what I used:

Dirty hair 

Dry shampoo

Texturing spray/balm

Spin hair pins (optional)

Bobby pins 

Teasing comb

Hairspray

See a picture of the bun here. 

Tutorial: Tying a Scarf and a Belt

{Scarf: Market in Charleston, SC, Belt: Target}

Here it is! A tutorial on the ways I tie my scarf and the main way I tie my belt. It's taken long enough, right? Sorry about that. I didn't rehearse the video, so I kind of ramble and get off topic a couple times. Making videos is so weird. 

Oh, and, For the record - the faint music in the background is from a XM station - not necessarily music I like. In fact, I don't like any of the songs that were playing. Just wanted to throw that out there. 

Look! I Have a Badge!

So we all know a badge is a great way to spread the word of your blog. It's like a "mini" first impression. I finally made one. I'm not really that html savvy. I mean, sure I could Google the Internets for tutorials, but that's a lot of work - reading and sifting through tutorials that I may or may not understand. So I called out on my Twitter and asked for help. 

The Wonderful Lisa of The Coastal Chicster came to my rescue. She sent me an email with advice, tidbits, and other links that all led me in the direction towards my very own. I now present you all with my new badge:

Copy and paste the text below

 to add this badge to your blog:

<br /> <a href="http://dwellingandtelling.blogspot.com"><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5249/5378536134_c17f524a11.jpg" width="150" alt="DT"></a>

So I made the big announcement on Twitter and a couple seemed interested in a tutorial/directions for doing this. Would you all like me to share the step my step directions for making your own badge? I'm not high on the totem poll when it comes to html, so all of you may already know, but for those of you who don't, I'd be happy to share! Let me know!