Recessionista tip 4

Making the Most of Lipstick Samples

I love samples. Love them. Samples are a great way of trying out a new shade or product without the hassle of crappy store lighting and the pressure of crappy store assistants telling you that you look great when you really look like a crack whore and they just want to make a sale.

But sometimes you just want to get a tiny bit more out of your samples before you splurge on a product. (I'm reminded of that scene in Friends with Money where Jen Aniston lines up like 10 jars of Lancome cream and Chanel lotion!)

Here is an easy way to prolong your lipstick samples:

What you need:

your samples

an empty container (I got this one at Daiso, but you can also find some at Sephora)
Vaseline. I'm sure you can also use any of your fav lipbalm
a lighter
a metal spoon
a spatula. I used a wooden tongue depressor that I cut into half

Use the spatula to scrape out all of the lipstick and put it on the spoon. (I mixed the two middle pinks)
Scrape out a little bit of vaseline and add it on to the spoon. Use less or more depending on how glossy you want the lipstick to be.
Hold the lighter under the spoon and hold it until the flame heats the spoon and the lipstick melts completely.
Pour the liquid lipstick into the container (warning: it's REALLY hot) and stir it with the spatula so that the color mixes evenly.
Let it cool completely. Might take a few minutes.

(tada!)

I think this is the perfect pink to ease myself into the whole 'bright lipstick' trend.

Get Out The Granny Panties, It's Laundry Day!!

(my babies..I keep all of my brushes in these cute little glasses that I got from Ikea)

Washing my makeup brushes is one of my favorite things to do. I love it so much that I have been known to ask my friends if they need their brushes washed so I have more to do! (Yeah, I know I have issues)

I try to clean my brushes like once a week or so, but I also try to deep clean them every few weeks.

Here's how I do it:

First I run my brushes over a MAC Wipes to get off any excess makeup. With my liner brushes, I like to swirl them in a few drops of oil to completely dissolve the gel/liquid liner residue.

Then I mix a few squirts of shampoo in a cup filled halfway with warm water. I swirl each brush in the cup and then rinse gently to get rid of any suds and until all the makeup runs off.
I try and make sure that I hold the brushes upside down because if water gets into the barrel it can cause it to rust or loosen and come apart from the handle. And I try and wash my big brushes, like my Kabuki brushes and blush brushes, last because these tend to soak up the mix and take a bit longer to rinse clean.

Then I squeeze out the excess water and spritz each brush with surgical spirit to disinfect it.

And finally, I lay them down flat on a towel and make sure to shape the bristles so that they don't dry at a weird angle. They usually dry in a couple hours and then I have clean, soft fluffy brushes!

(A small collection, but it's getting bigger!)