How I clean my makeup brushes!

Hey girls,

Hope you are all having a good start to your week? I'm actually off school this week so no better time to be blogging while I have the chance! :) If you have not already guessed by the title of this post, today's post will show you how I clean my makeup brushes. This method is quite time consuming but by the time you are finished I can guarantee your brushes will look like they have never been used! 

I use Johnson's baby shampoo to clean my brushes. It's cheap and works perfectly. I have tried some brush cleansers and wasn't too impressed so I always end up going back to this.

Firstly, you just want to place some warm water in your sink mixed with a small bit of the Johnson baby shampoo.

Then place your brushes into the water and let the soak for 10 minutes.

While they were soaking I just grabbed a cleansing wipe and cleaned my brush belts and brush holders so that I would not be putting my brushes back into a dirty environment again! 

This is what remained after I took my brushes out :p gross! 

You then just want to rinse out your brushes individually.

Place a small amount of the Johnson's baby shampoo onto each brush.

Rinse out the shampoo under warm water.

You then want to soak your brushes for another 10 minutes in the warm soapy water.

Once you take your brushes out, take a cleansing/makeup remover wipe and work the brush back and forth on the wipe to remove and excess residue on the brush.

Fold a towel up like this so that you can place your brushes here to dry over night.

Dry off your brushes with a separate towel and reshape each brush back into its original shape. It is so important to reshape your brushes so your brush can dry back into its natural shape! Lay your brushes out on the towel , standing each brush up against the folded part. Leave them there to dry overnight.

That is it guys. That's how I clean my makeup brushes! It does take a lot of one but it's so worth it. The more often you clean your brushes, the less time it will take you to clean them ;) hope you enjoyed reading this post! Talk to you all soon!

Stay positive, stay healthy, stay fashionable! 

Love from,

The Teen Barbie xox

Updated Skin care routine! <3

Hey girlies,

So as promised I am doing my updated skin care routine in today's post! I have always been one to struggle with breakouts. I could go 2 weeks with perfect skin and then about 3 weeks where I wake up to a new spot everyday! That's just how life goes I suppose ;) My current skincare routine is affordable and effective. I still do get breakouts every now and again but if I keep up with my routine they disappear!

This is an overview of my skincare drawer. I have plenty of different products in here that I like to use every now and again as sort of 'luxury time' for my face ;) and I have some products that I barley ever reach for. The products I am showing you today are the ones I find cheapest and most effective! :)

This is my current skincare routine to date. It consists of eye makeup remover, a cleanser, a toner, a moisturiser, a spot zapper and a lip balm.

I was walking through tesco the other day and I just randomly picked up these cotton pads. They are the weirdest looking cotton pads I have ever seen but they are probably my new obsession :p They are so big that they are almost like a mini face cloth! They remove so much product at once. When using cotton pads it is so important to always dampen them otherwise they will drag the skin.

Step one is to remove all eye makeup. The eye makeup remover I use is the Simple kind to eyes nourishing eye makeup remover cream. I think an eye makeup remover cream has always worked best for me. This is a great eye makeup remover as it is not too harsh on the eyes, suitable for most skin types and  just manages to remove everything. I'm not sure how good this product is at removing waterproof mascaras as they are just something I detest in the makeup industry so I never touch them! I just place a small amount of this on two damp cotton pads. I press the pads over my eyes very gentle for a few seconds and then start removing the eye makeup. You need to be very gently around the eye area as it is the most delicate area of the face.

Step 2 is cleansing the face. The cleanser I use is the strictly professional cleanser for sensitive skin. If you are someone who does makeup on a lot of people like me then I definatly recommend you buying skincare products for sensitive skin. Products for sensitive skin can be used on all skin types so it just saves you having to purchase 2 or 3 different cleansers to carry around with you in your kit. Overall this is an amazing, cheap cleanser. It removes makeup from the skin perfectly and never stings or irritates the skin. I purchased this in Hennessy's hair and beauty supply which is a beauty suppliers here in cork. I just place a small amount of this cream on my finger tips and work it all around my face avoiding the eye area. You want to concentrate working this into your skin more on areas you have blackheads or breakouts.

Step 2 is using a toner. The toner I use is simply just rose water. You can purchase this in most pharmacies or beauty supply stores. I don't think I will ever be able to change my toner. Rose water is just such a cheap product to buy, lasts ages and I absolutely love the way it makes my skin feel. It Is so gentle on the skin and smells amazing. I just place this on a damp cotton pad and work it all around my face to remove any excess makeup left over after our cleanse.

Step 4 is to moisturise. I recently picked up this moisturiser in Boots. It is the Boots Botanics hydrating night cream. This moisturiser is amazing. It is so gentle on the skin and doesn't sting or irritate my skin which a lot of moisturisers can do. I just place a small amount of this onto my finger tips and work it all around my skin. You only need a very small amount of this as our skin can only absorb the first layer of a product so any excess moisturiser is a waste and will make your product run out faster.

Step 5 is an eye gel/cream. Usually I would use an eye gel after I moisturise but I am currently out of this product at the moment. I would usually just place a 'p' sized amount of this and pat it very gently around my eye area.

Step 6 is your spot zapper. This step is completely optional and depends on your skin type. I use the lush grease lightning spot treatment. The smell off this is amazing. I just squeeze one pump of this onto the back of my hand and dab a bit of the product onto every spot around my face.

Step 7 is to apply a lip balm. The lip balm I have been using a lot at the moment is the Rosebud Salve. I have a bit of an obsession with rose scented things as you have probably guessed by now ;) this is literally the best lip balm I have tried. It literally feels like you are applying rose water to your lip. It is so light but has an amazing smell and taste to it. I got this for Christmas but I do know it is one if the more expensive lip balms out there but definatly worth the investment! :) 

Sometimes I might switch up my cleanser a bit and use the L'occitane cleanser. I got this free when I purchased their moisturiser. This is more expensive than the strictly professional cleanser but nice to use every now and again :)

Again, sometimes I like to switch up my moisturiser. This is the L'occitane moisturiser. I am a big fan of this moisturiser. It makes my skin feel amazing! This is definatly a more expensive moisturiser and the pot of this wouldn't be the biggest so I only use this maybe once or twice every two weeks.

Sometimes as a 'treat' to my face I will use kaolin powder. This product is amazing words can't even describe! I mix a bit of rose water into this until it forms a liquid. I then apply it to my face with a brush and leave it to set for 10 minutes. This stuff makes your face feel so tight and numb. I then wash it off with warm water and...Voila! ;) I purchased this in Hennessy's in cork for super cheap! I am gonna apply this mask in a minute as I'm going out tonight and it completely smoothed out your skin so It's a great base for your makeup! 

That is it guys for my updated skincare routine! I hope you enjoyed reading this post. I created a new twitter account if any of you haven't read my previous post and I would love for you guys to follow me @_theteenbarbie. Hope you guys have a great weekend. Talk to you all soon!

Stay positive, Stay healthy, Stay fashionable!

Love From,

The Teen Barbie xox 

UPDATE: Twitter!

Hey girls,

Happy Friday! :) I just wanted to do a quick post to let you guys know I have created a new twitter account dedicated to my blog '@_theteenbarbie' if any of you guys would like to follow me ;) 2013 was a great year for my blog. The support I have had from people has been amazing. Saying that, I have decided that I'm gonna concentrate a lot more on my blog in 2014 with a lot more regular posts. New year, New things..right? ;) I would love if you could follow me on my new account or shoutout my new twitter page. I'd love to chat with you all or hear about any upcoming posts you would like to read on The Teen Barbie. Hope you all have a great day and I will talk to you all soon with my skincare routine :)

Stay positive, Stay healthy, Stay fashionable! 

Love From,

The Teen Barbie xox

Beauty favourites of 2013 <3

Hey girls,

Happy new year! :D I am so glad to finally be back blogging again after so long! My obsession for makeup has grown rapidly in the past year and so has my makeup collection so I have some beauty favourites that I have constanly been using in 2013 to show you guys! There's not an awful lot as I am constantly trying out new makeup products and never stick to the same routine but these are the ones I have used most throughout the year. So let's get started ;)..,

When I first got into makeup about two years ago this was one of my very first M.A.C obsessions and it has stuck with me ever since! I remember stealing this out of my moms collection and falling in love with it ;) There is never a day that I do my makeup without using this product! It is so amazing and makes your makeup simply flawless. I have recommended this to so many people and they all have gone out and bought it and loved it! This is definatly a staple item for me <3

This has been my favourite foundation over the past year. I only ever wear this when I'm going out and I get so many compliments on it! This foundation looks so flawless on the skin and is very long lasting. It is a completely matte foundation so it comes out great in photographs. It never looks caked on the skin which is one thing I adore about this foundation.

The naked 2 palette was probably the best €40 I spent in the past year. I always find use for the shadows in this palette whether it's for a smokey eye look, as an eyeliner or to fill in eyebrows! This is so handy to have in my kit when I am doing someone's makeup. Neutral colours are in trend at the moment and nearly all the colours in this palette are neutral! I am actually considering picking up a few of the other naked palettes at the moment!

This is the rimmel Kate moss lipstick in the shade '03'. This is one of the prettiest nude lipsticks in my kit. It is the perfect pinkey-nude colour! I love using this on people when I do there makeup.

This is the KIKO bloom blush. I got the bronzey shade of this. Unfortunately, KIKO products can only be bought in foreign countries or online. This product is great for contouring along with a creamey concealer two shades lighter than your skintone!

I am a big fan of rimmel blushes but this is by far my favourite one. This blush is in the shade 'Santa rose'. It is the most gorgous colour and It's perfect for everyday or night-time wear! 

My favourite mascara this year has been the rocket mascara by Maybelline. This is a great mascara and has become an essential in my kit. They have waterproof versions of this mascara if they are more suited to you but I personally hate waterproof mascaras so I went for the non-waterproof. 

My last beauty favourite for 2013 has been the dermablend ultra corrective foundation cream stick. I cannot live without this concealer. If my house went on fire tonight this would probably be the one makeup item I'd be sure to grab :p it is a full coverage concealer and just amazing to use on blemishes or imperfections that are hard to cover with a regular concealer. I just recently bought one of these for my sister to try out seeing as I love mine so much. I don't think ill ever be able to go back to a regular concealer after discovering this one!

That is it guys..All my beauty favourite for 2013! I can't believe it is 2014 already! I hope you all found this blog post helpful and I will talk to you all in my next one :)

Stay positive, Stay healthy, Stay fashionable!

Love from,

The Teen Barbie xox