Battle of the bases

Ding ding ding! Round one, commence!

Just kidding, but imagine that. Two foundations battling it out to be the number 1 flawless champion. That's sort of what this post is about today, minus the boxing ring and referee haha. The idea of this post came to me this evening as I was taking my make up off. My usual foundation is Mac Studio Fix fluid, however I ran out of this at the weekend and whilst I am waiting for a fresh bottle to be delivered, I reached for an old favourite, Estee Lauder Double Wear. 

Now when I say old favourite, I'm talking obsessed. I used to use it daily along with the matching Double Wear concealer. It was only when I had my makeup done at Mac did I discover my undying love for Studio Fix. Now although I would recommend either of these products to anyone, I thought I would do a comparison of, in my opinion, the differences between them both. I will then come to a conclusion of which is my favourite. Here goes..

So first of all, Studio fix. LOVE. Like, heart eye emoji face x 10000. The coverage, flawless. I can be having the worst skin day ever and still come out feeling as though I can face anything when I'm wearing this. It is such a lightweight consistency, so easy to blend with either brush or beauty blender. The longevity of this product cannot be compromised either, although I do usually top up half way through my day if I know I'm going to be out for a long time, just to freshen it up a little.

Now I will say pretty much similar things about Double Wear, firstly the coverage is amazing. I've often felt as though I can get away with this without putting concealer under my eyes (when I'm feeling brave) because it is so lightening and fresh. The consistency of this is much thicker than Studio Fix. What I will say is that I feel as though it stays put all day, without needing to top it up at all. For example, now this is a bad example so don't judge. The other day, I woke up, put my make up on as usual, went for breakfast with a friend and popped to the shops. After this, however, I decided to go the gym and guess what?? I forgot to take my make up off *beauty lovers across the internet shudder in sequence*, I know I know, it will clog my pores and cause me to have breakouts, but I will have to live with this. My point is, 1 hour on the cross trainer, countless Russian twists and 100 squats later and MY MAKE UP WAS STILL IN TACT. Yes, that's right, the Double Wear was still with me and had not budged (and I sweat a lot too). Impressive, eh? 

I think overall though, my favourite has to be Studio Fix. I know I said the coverage was excellent on both foundations, but what has given Studio fix that edge is how lightweight it is. Once I have blended this into my skin I barely remember I'm wearing it. With Double Wear I find at times my face feels noticeably heavier. I don't wear an excessive amount or anything but I wear enough to give me a good, full coverage base, and I often feel as though my face is going to crack if I smile, not good haha. I have also noticed sometimes with Double Wear that it doesn't stay in the creases of my face as much, such as around my mouth and eyes, which I feel can accentuate these lines and make me look older. I wonder if mixing these products would give me the perfect base??? I will let you know!

Let me know your favourite foundations in the comments below, and what you think of these two too. 

Thanks for reading x

Cleaning my brushes..

I'd like to start this post with an apology. I'm sorry for abandoning my little blog for like two months. The only excuse I have is that I started to replace the time I was spending blogging with going to the gym. On the plus side I've dropped nearly ten pounds, on the flip side my blog now has cobwebs haha.

So I thought I'd try to get back into it and share with everyone how exciting my Saturday night was last weekend. Yep, cleaned my brushes. Mental I know. Considering I don't work with make up and I certainly am no make up artist, it would seem I have quite an amount of make up brushes. I remember a couple of years ago I just couldn't grasp using brushes on my face, I always used my fingers for everything whether it be concealer, foundation or eyeshadow. This literally creeps me out now I don't know why but I just cannot bear to apply anything without a brush! (obviously excluding moisturisers, primers etc). I don't even know how I applied eyeshadow with my fingers?? But I did haha.

A couple of my friends who know I have quite a few brushes often ask how I look after them, hence the reason for this post. I know a lot of people use this method so chances are it won't come as a shock to you but if this helps one person then it was worth posting I suppose. Please do leave me a comment if it helps that would make my day!

So first of all I lay all of my brushes out on a towel, preferably an old one that you don't mind potentially turning an orangey colour.

The next step I do two different ways depending on my mood. The first and best way perhaps is to take each brush one by one, add a drop of baby shampoo to the bristles (I use Johnson's) and run the brush under the hot tap, massaging it in simultaneously.

If, like me on Saturday, you're feeling lazy, you can fill a big bowl full of warm water and sit on your living room floor doing it, just replacing the water every so often.

After I have massaged the shampoo in until the water coming off the brush runs clear, I then lay the brush flat onto the towel to dry. Not only does the baby shampoo give them a much fresher smell, but as it is meant for babies you know it isn't going to be harsh on the bristles leading them to shed. We all know there's nothing worse than a brush that sheds haha.

Once the brushes are dry, they can then go back into whichever pot or storage you usually keep them in. I just use these cheap ones from Ikea which I think every man and his dog has but they are quite pretty. I was going to try and be funny and say, 'which every woman and her blog has' but I think it sounded better in my head haha.

You may have noticed I have lots of different brands of brushes, including Mac, Zoeva, Real techniques core, duo fibre and Bold Metals collections and a few others such as Bare Minerals and some new ones I'm trying out from Jessup. Let me know if you'd like me to do a post on my favourites. If you read my Bold Metals post a couple of months ago, you may have spotted another brush from that range in the pictures above. I told you I'd end up buying at least one more haha.

That's it from me today, I'm hoping it won't be another two months until I write again. I will work on my consistency I promise ha.

Thanks for reading x