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Top Three | Hydrating Face Masks

top three hydrating face masks, super facialist rose hydrate intense moisture mask, super drug hydrating face mask, antipodes aura manuka honey mask


Hello everyone, I hope you’re doing well. Today I have another instalment of my new Top Three, this time my favourite hydrating face masks. My skintype is normal to dehydrated, with a couple of dry patches during the colder months. So hydrating facemasks are absolutely essential for my skincare routine! You don’t need to have dehydrated skin to benefit from this type of face mask, in fact I believe that everyone should have at least one in their routine for A/W time OR for using after an intense clay mask, which can be very stripping. Sometimes when my skin is feeling extra dehydrated I’ll leave one of these on over-night and wake up with soft, plump and supple skin. So in no particular order, lets get started...



1. Antipodes Aura Manuka Honey Mask | £22 | 75ml
This mask got so much hype on the blogosphere that when it was on special offer, I had to pick it up and I have not been left disappointed. Filled with one of my favourite skincare ingredients manuka honey it works to hydrate my skin but it also cleanses it too. The mask feels glorious on the skin and has a lovely vanilla infused scent. I turn to this mask when my skin feels kinda crusty, y’know? That’s not a very nice word but it sums up when I need it the most - dry patches, extra dehydration and tightness from the central heating. This mask does a wonderful job of restoring my skin and it does calm blemishes down too. It is rather pricey, so I would probably only repurchase it if I found it on sale again...it’s one of those lovely to use masks but there are cheaper alternatives available!


2. Super Facialist by Una Brennan Rose Hydrate Intense Moisture Mask | £10 | 125ml
This is a white mask with a creamy texture that sinks effortlessly into the skin. I’m not the biggest fan of the scent, which is quite chemically despite having under tones of rose, but aside from that it does what it says on the bottle. It contains Vitamin E as well as ‘smoothing marshmallow extract’ which both help to hydrate the skin and keep it plump. This was actually the first hydrating mask I used and I remember being so happy to see my skin glowing and feeling super soft when I rinsed this off. As the smell isn’t my favourite I don’t tend to leave this one in particular over night, but if you need to choose another item for a 3for2 deal then do pick this for a boost of hydration!


3. Superdrug Vitamin E Moisture Mask | £2.59 | 75ml
Yes. You read that price right, it is insane that this mask is so affordable and it really is a steal. It has a slightly less thicker texture than the Una Brennan one and it sinks into the skin easily, whilst providing lots of moisture. My skin drinks this stuff up and I love applying a generous layer overnight because when I wash it off in the morning my skin is back to a normal state, no tightness or dryness and because of this makeup applies so much better! I’m not kidding when I say that around this time of the year I will slather this on at least twice a week and it helps so so much.  The key ingredients in this mask are grape-seed oil and Vitamin E, which work fantastically well and it’s the one mask from the three that I would repurchase in a heartbeat, both pricewise and for its effectiveness!


Have you tried any of these masks? Which is your favourite hydrating one?



Thank-you for reading ♥

Top Three | Hydrating Face Masks

top three hydrating face masks, super facialist rose hydrate intense moisture mask, super drug hydrating face mask, antipodes aura manuka honey mask


Hello everyone, I hope you’re doing well. Today I have another instalment of my new Top Three, this time my favourite hydrating face masks. My skintype is normal to dehydrated, with a couple of dry patches during the colder months. So hydrating facemasks are absolutely essential for my skincare routine! You don’t need to have dehydrated skin to benefit from this type of face mask, in fact I believe that everyone should have at least one in their routine for A/W time OR for using after an intense clay mask, which can be very stripping. Sometimes when my skin is feeling extra dehydrated I’ll leave one of these on over-night and wake up with soft, plump and supple skin. So in no particular order, lets get started...

Review | Brush Cleaning Egg

brush cleaning egg born pretty store

Hello everyone! I’m so glad my first product review from Born Pretty Store was such a hit, a lot of lovely ladies told me that they ordered the mini beauty blender dupe and they were super happy with it! Today I am going to be reviewing the Brush Cleaning Egg* which I have used a couple of times now and I’m ready to give y’all the low down!


So this little pink rubber cleaning tool is currently on sale for $2.99! It is usually $7.11 and they are supplied in a random colour. I think it’s inspired by the Benefit brush cleaning glove, but much much smaller of course. The cleaning egg is the size of my palm and it has a flat side with vertical ridges across the majority of it. At the tip of the egg there are smaller round ridges and at the bottom of the ‘egg’ there’s space for you to put two fingers in and hold the tool like that. It is totally hollow on the inside and it stays put throughout washing.

brush cleaning egg born pretty store


The whole purpose of this tool is to help make cleaning brushes quicker and easier. I always preach about cleaning brushes regularly but lately I haven’t had the time to clean all my brushes in one go, so I was hoping this would live up to it’s purpose. I have a detailed post on how to thoroughly clean your brushes here. 

brush cleaning egg born pretty store


The way I tested this out was by putting my two magic ingredients in a small bowl, mixed with some warm water and then I slipped the cleaning egg over two fingers on my left hand. I soaked the brush in the solution for 10 seconds and then I started rubbing the brush against the ridges. I was really impressed with how quickly it lathered up and how much foundation was being removed as I washed the brush! The ridges helped to get in-between the bristles and dislodge product much quicker than when I use my hands and it cut the time I spent lathering the brush up in half - success!

The small circular ridges were particularly good for eye brushes and worked very effectively, so all in all this affordable little tool is well worth picking up. The only thing I would change is the size. I would have preferred if I could have fitted four fingers in as I feel like this would have made the tool even more efficient and time saving!



Overall Rating
Rating: 8
Pros: Super affordable, fits comfortably on two fingers, has two different textures which both work well at cleaning makeup and dirt off brushes. The ridges allow you to get deeply into the brush, which is harder to do with just fingers. It does speed up the process of brush washing and my brushes have all looked a good deal cleaner than before.
Cons: I wish it were bigger in size so I could get more brushes washed before rinsing it off!
Repurchase? Well I doubt this’ll fall apart anytime soon, but since it has helped I would repurchase (though a bigger size would make me even happier!).
 
You can purchase the brush cleaning egg from here and if you want 10% off use the code IQAH10. Oh and did I mention free worldwide shipping? It’ll take around 2 weeks to get to you, but for the price and quality its well worth it!


Do you have any tools to help speed up brush cleaning?

*This post contains press samples or products gifted to me. All opinions are my own. For more info check my Disclaimer .
 

Thank-you for reading ♥


Review | Brush Cleaning Egg

brush cleaning egg born pretty store

Hello everyone! I’m so glad my first product review from Born Pretty Store was such a hit, a lot of lovely ladies told me that they ordered the mini beauty blender dupe and they were super happy with it! Today I am going to be reviewing the Brush Cleaning Egg* which I have used a couple of times now and I’m ready to give y’all the low down!

October Favourites 2015

october favourites theblushinggiraffe


Hello lovely readers, I hope you’re all doing well. Before I get into my October favourites I’d just like to apologise for the quality of these photos, I’ve had no time to retake them and with poor lighting and darkness at 4:00pm I’ve just had to work with what I can! Anyhoo lets get started ^_^



soap and glory eyeshadows, NARS Amour, Rimmel lipliner epic, E.L.F Mineral Lipstick in beautiful berry


The past few weeks I’ve been sticking to one eyeshadow palette, really getting to know the formula and the longevity and I have to say I am very very impressed. I received the Soap and Glory Tricks of the shade palette a year and a half ago for my birthday, it was an X-mas collection palette and a combination of 3 of their quads in their permanent line. The shadows I have been using pretty much every single day can be found in the Soap and Glory Lid Stuff in Whats Nude (£10) and the quality of these is brilliant. Easy to apply, not too powdery, highly blendable and very comparable to high-end shadows because they last flawlessly for over 8 hours. When I hit pan on this palette, I’ll be adding the Quad on my to buy list, because it really is so perfect for an everyday look.

As you will probably know by now the LOTW series is in full fling and the E.L.F Mineral Lipstick in Beautiful Berry completely stole my heart this month! It is such a gorgeous colour which I shant go on about, because you can read all about it in the post which I’ll link tonight. The lipliner that is a match made in heaven for the lipstick is the Rimmel Exaggerate Lip Liner in Epic which I never reached for before because I thought it was too dark. However as per usual Rimmel have hit the nail on the head with the delightful formula and basically you NEED to pick this shade up if you’re venturing into deeper shades this season then thank me later ;D.

NARS Amour Blush, mini beauty beauty blender dupe, Rimmel lasting finish concealer in warm beige


I’ve kind of been trying a few of the newer foundations in my stash, that I bought towards the end of the summer time so nothing is a firm favourite at the moment. However I did rediscover the drugstore gem that is the Rimmel Lasting Finish Concealer in Warm Beige which is such a wonderful under-eye concealer for me! On the days that I want that whole ‘no makeup makeup look’ I’ll use this alone under the eyes and it provides decent coverage over my dark circles. However it also works well as a decent corrector under concealer too, which is so fantastic considering the price. I have actually reviewed this in full, so I’ll link that at the end of this post too! If you’re on the market for a decent corrector/concealer and don’t want to spent a lot of cash, do check this one out.

The Mini Beauty Blender Dupe is a wonderful little addition to my makeup routine, it is basically the key to flawless concealer. Of course I don’t use it every single day, but its one of those things that you don’t think you need, yet when you try them you wonder how on earth you got by before (so dramatic but I think you know what I mean!).

The blush that I have not been able to put down is NARS Amour which is a stunning autumnal shade...if I had to try and describe the colour I’d say its a mash up of deep pink, mauve and a tinge of purple? The full review is somewhere in the works, but fellow olive skinned ladies take it from me, this is a winner. Matte in formula, highly pigmented and it has a sculpting effect too. love love love!

palmers strengthening leave in conditioner and makeup revolution pro hygiene brush cleanser

Yet another hair product in a monthly favourites is the Palmer’s Strengthening Leave-In Conditioner which has ticked so many boxes for me and I’m thrilled that I picked it up! It has a coconut oil formula, with Vitamin E, Keratins and Silk Proteins and it really works at detangling and hydrating my hair. I have to be honest I’m not a conditioner kind of person, I just do not have the time. So to find a leave in spray conditioner which tames frizz, feels lightweight and adds a beautiful shine for just a fiver..is awesome! Also the fact that its in a spray format means no stickiness (yay) and it literally takes 30 seconds to apply and spritz through!

My final favourite of the month is the Makeup Revolution Pro Hygiene Anti Bacterial Brush Cleaner, which again I have reviewed already on the blog. I have to be VERY honest with you all, I’ve been so busy this month that I’ve only washed my brushes once D: Which doesn’t mean that I have been using dirty brushes all month, I have pretty much been using my beautyblenders as much as I can and also my fingers. However it’s very hard to do any eyeshadow look with just your fingers, so this brush cleaner has been used a fair amount and I am continuously amazed by how well this cleans the brushes, whilst not drying them out. Highly recommend!


Mentioned Posts:



What have you been loving throughout October? Leave me a comment and link your favourites post if you have one ^_^



Thank-you for reading ♥


October Favourites 2015

october favourites theblushinggiraffe


Hello lovely readers, I hope you’re all doing well. Before I get into my October favourites I’d just like to apologise for the quality of these photos, I’ve had no time to retake them and with poor lighting and darkness at 4:00pm I’ve just had to work with what I can! Anyhoo lets get started ^_^