Today's post is a roundup of the unsung heroes of beauty, the unglamorous necessities. Makeup brushes aside, beauty tools are the boring side of any collection and are often overlooked, but finding the right ones can make a huge difference to your beauty routines.
Fist up has got to be haircare as finding the right hair brush is a real life saver (okay, not literally but you get the gist). Before I tried the Tangle Teaser I didn't understand how one brush could be different to another, but I was so wrong. I don't know what kind of sorcery it is but it makes taming the beast much easier and pain free. However, I have a new favourite, The Wet Brush. Where have you been all my life? It has the painless detangling power of the Tangle Teaser, but in an easy to use, paddle brush form.
Whilst on the haircare theme I couldn't not mention the Denman Dressing Out Brush. Due to it's long thin shape, it is really easy to concentrate the backcombing into the roots, to give incredible volume without making the lengths of the hair knotty. Now I know backcombing can really damage hair, but for the odd occasion I think it's okay, and this brush makes it much more effective.
When it comes to beauty tools there are some real hidden gems out there, which on the shelf seem no different to any other, but once you try them you'll never go back. For me these are the Boots Double Faced Cotton Pads and Double Faced Cotton Ovals. I use the smaller ones with an eye makeup remover, and the larger for micellar water cleansing. The facing on them means one side is perfect for creams, the other for liquids, and they work without shredding. So you don't have to go around picking bits of fluff off of your face after every cleanse. They may seem like regular cotton pads, but they are head and shoulders above the rest.
Less of a necessity, and more a useful handbag staple, are the Marks and Spencer Mascara Correction Buds (no longer available, but they are usually re-released around Christmas). When the blue end is snapped, the cotton bud at the other end fills with a 'gentle but effective mascara remover' (also works for rouge eyeliner and eyeshadow mishaps etc) so corrections can be made easily. Yes, it is the same as dipping a regular cotton bud into eye makeup remover. But they are great for travelling with if it's going to be a long day and you know mascara might run, yet you don't want to carry a 200ml+ bottle of makeup remover around with you.
I couldn't write a post like this without mentioning the Tweezerman Mini Slant Tweezers. £12.50 for a pair of tweezers seems a little ridiculous, I know, but hear me out. The slanted tip makes it really easy to only pluck specific hairs, removing the risk of grabbing too many and ending up with an eyebrow slit. And, most importantly, they can be properly squeezed together to get a good grip and catch hairs every time. They are definitely worth the investment and will make the mundane task of plucking so much easier.
As with the Tweezerman Tweezers, you can get much cheaper versions of the Nars Pencil Sharpener, but there are some definite advantages to spending just a little bit more. It is self-containing, so you can sharpen without a bin, which is a huge plus for me. But more importantly, it doesn't mangle lip crayons, so you can keep a nice pointed tip without wasting loads of product.
My finally essential beauty tool has got to be a spoolie. These are free ones I picked up from MAC, but they can also be found on the end of many eyebrow pencils. From brow taming to mascara de-clumping they are extremely versatile, and a useful tool to keep to hand.
What are your essential beauty tools?
No comments
Post a Comment