It's a crime not to PRIME!

It sure is a crime not to prime, as Napoleon Perdis says. It preps the skin for makeup, helps to even out skin complexion, ensures makeup stays on longer and ensures a smooth makeup application! There are a heap of primers on the market, and they can range from high end (Hourglass, Napoleon Perdis, MAC and more), to drugstore (NYX, Chi Chi, L'Oreal and more). 

As I don't own every single primer on the planet, here are my favourite three...

1: Stila One Step Correct. 

This beautiful primer corrects skin tone and brightens. The three colours swirl together to diminish the look of fine lines and wrinkles, minimises pores, hydrates and balances, all while controlling oil. The green minimises redness, the lavender counteracts yellow undertones, and the peach brightens, illuminates and helps diminish the appearance of sunspots. 

You get 30ml, and you can get it for $37.40 from beautybay.com. 

2: L'Oreal Lumi Magique. 

This is such a gorgeous primer. It's extremely glowy and illuminating. Putting it all over the face, followed by your foundation, makes it look like you're glowing from within. It keeps your foundation on really well too, which is also the point of it. 

You can get this 20ml primer from Priceline Pharmacy for approximately $25. 

3: NYX Angel Veil. 

This skin perfecting primer is velvety and oil free. It makes the skin feel light and smooth. It is quite a matte finish, so when the foundation goes on top, it does not leave a dewy finish. This is great for people with oil skin. This primer is a dupe for Hourglass Mineral Veil, but just a fraction of the price. You can get it from nyxcosmetics.com for approximately $16..bargain!

Top: Stila, left: L'Oreal, Bottom/right: NYX

Never forget to prime, my beauties xxx

Wash those brushes!

Washing your brushes is suuuuch an important thing. It stops the spread of bacteria and makes them last a shite load longer. Below is a photo of the steps taken to thoroughly wash your makeup brushes. It really is not hard, and it's kind of relaxing..in a weird way haha. So put on some music and get washing!

1st (top left): Take the brushes that need to be washed, as well as some brush cleanser. Mine is from MAC cosmetics, but there are some cheaper ones out there. I just love this stuff, it works wonders! You also want to get some baby shampoo to actually clean the brushes with. Baby shampoo is best as it is cheap, and it does not damage the bristles on the brushes. You can also get brush soap from brands such as Bobbi Brown, but honestly, don't waste your money when baby shampoo does the job just as good.
2nd (top right): Wet the bristles of the brush BUT DO NOT get the handle wet as it will start to break down the glue holding the bristles in place. So make sure you hold the brush at an angle so the water falls down the bristles. Put a blob of shampoo on your finger tips and massage into the bristles. Do not be too rough, but make sure most of the makeup is removed. 
3rd (bottom left): To make sure the brush is clean and all the bacteria is removed, put a small amount of brush cleanser on a cloth and rub the brush on the area. 
4th (bottom right): Finally, roll the end of a tea-towel up and rest the brush on it at a slight angle to ensure the water does not seep into the handle. 
DONE! Super easy :)

It is best to thoroughly wash your brushes often, depending on how much you use them. I like to was them once every three weeks. You can also spot clean them just by following steps 3 and 4. Spot cleaning should be done once a week.

So thats how you should clean your brushes!

Happy cleaning! xxx

The Power of Brows

Strong brows are the new black, and no-one cares if your outfits not on point, they're judgin' your brows girl. We have all seen that scary meme floating through social media, the one where the celebrities don't have eyebrows..and oh my gosh, it gives me nightmares. So we don't wanna be lookin' scary like that meme, which is why this post is so important. 

The history of brows:

Makeup started becoming popular in the 1920’s, due to silent movies. Eyebrows in this time were generally over-tweezed, straight, dark and shiny (weird right?). The 1930's was the era when the arch in the brow was introduced..thank you women of the 1930's! Along with cherry lips came the heavier, thicker brow in the 1940's with more of an arch. Lauren Bacall was the leading lady in bringing thicker, more natural brows to the forefront. Then we come to the era where it was good to fill in your brows! With Audrey Hepburn (the most beautiful lady in history, in my opinion) and Elizabeth Taylor introducing the world to a brow pencil, more prominent strong brows were 'founded'. The 1960's had it all, from shaving brows and penciling them all back in everyday to brows dramatically darker than the hair colour. The 70's was a mixture of all past eyebrow creations, from strong arches, to straight brows, to natural to over-tweezed. The caterpillar brow came out to play in the 80's with strong thick brows and a very minimum arch. I think we all know the brow look of the 90's..severely over-tweezed. It was not a good era for brows. So here we are today, with a little inspiration from every era past. We can all say that Cara Delevingne has led the way in brows this decade so far, and lets hope the trend doesn't go back to the days of over-tweezing..

We need to remember that eyebrows shape our face. They don’t need to be extreme. They need to compliment the shape of the face. ‘Sperm brows’ as I like to call them, or semi circle brows (we all know the ones I mean), they just don't look flattering. So the key to filling in the perfect brow can be seen in the picture below.

If you grab anything straight, like a pencil or in this picture I am using my Sigma angled brow (E75) brush, hold it from the centre of your nostril up towards your hairline. This is where you want your brow to start. Then hold the brush on the tip of your nose, diagonally through the pupil of the eye and up to the brow. This is where the arch should sit. And finally, hold the brush diagonally from the corner of the nose, through the lower lash line and to the brow. This is where the brow’s tail should end. Hopefully these photos help!

Products you can use to fill in the perfect brow:

By far, my favourite brow product is by Anastasia Beverly Hills. This brand is known for its Dip Brow Pomade and Brow Wiz. These products create a beautiful brow and can be used lots of different ways. So check them out! If you’re in Australia you can buy them from beautybay.com (its free shipping!). Also, I love the Benefit Gimme Brow. It is perfect for a natural brow as it simply adds fibres, creating a more full brow. You can buy Benefit at Myer or online. MAC cosmetics also have some awesome brow products to check out! Or you can opt for a less expensive brand like NYX.

Happy brow-ing! xx

Get to know me!

HEEEEEEELLO! 

So for my first blog post I thought I would quickly let you know some random facts about me.

• I am 20 years old, born in April, making me a Taurus (the best star sign).
• I am Aussie through and through mate. Literally like 4th generation Aus. 
• I have a good family with 1 bro, zero sis' (sad face), Mum and Dad do alright too.
• I grew up with 7 boy cousins, so am a little bit of a tom-boy around people I know...
• BUT luckily I am super close with my fabulous cousin xxx
• I have an amazingly perfect human as a boyfriend of 1.5+ yrs.
• I volunteered in Cambodia for two weeks working with elephants as well as building a hut for a village. It was the most amazing time of my life and if you haven't been to Cambodia, GO!
• OH and I am also currently in my final semester of University studying Tourism and Events Management WOOO!

How did I get into makeup? Well I became obsessed with makeup through watching YouTubers like Lauren Curtis, Shannon Harris, Jaclyn Hill, Casey Holmes, Amanda Ensing and Marlena from Makeup Geek. From then I started teaching myself all about makeup. My Mum is an artist so thats where I get my creative side from, as well as my steady hand. 

OKAY! So basically, thats me. Well the basics, you'll come to understand my weird and lame sense of humour, what I love and dislike and other bits and bobs!

And don't forget to follow my instagram: @makeup_counter

MUCH LOVE MY MUNCHKINS XXX