Makeup Revolution V Real Techniques - Brush Cleaning Tools

Brush cleaning day, usually Sunday, is one of those chores that I huff and puff about having to do. It is one that only I have created and therefore only right I clean the brushes. Having read some horror stories in the media about infections from dirty brushes, I have embraced this chore much more regularly than I used to, but I still dislike doing it intensely and as soon as someone invents a self-cleaning brush, the happier I will be. In the meantime, anything that I can use to make this chore a bit more exciting will capture my attention and currently there are two items that have done just that. The Real Techniques Brush Cleansing Palette and the Makeup Revolution Pro Cleanse Brush Tool. 

The Real Techniques Brush Cleansing Palette, which you can find in Superdrug for £12.99, look a bit like a soap dish, maybe that was the intention, who knows but it is beautifully bright pink so you can’t miss it and it makes the task of cleaning brushes so quick and easy it is much less of a chore. Using it is really simple, you just need to wet your brush, add some brush shampoo, whichever one you use and then rub the brush along and around the little knobbly bits a few times and you are done. Inside the dish there are some different sized knobbly bits (I am sure they have a proper name) and they are for different sized brushes, so no brush is left unclean. 

Makeup Revolution, not one to be without something funky have their Pro Cleanse Brush Tool, which again you can buy online or via Superdrug for just £4.99 and this little gadget works similarly to the Real Techniques dish. Bright purple in colour this time, it is designed to fit over your fingers this time and instead of having knobbly bits, it has groves and they work in the same way and are different sizes are different brushes. Again you need to wet your brush, apply your brush shampoo and swipe the brush backwards and forwards along the grooves, as you do so, you can see all the makeup ‘stuff’ that has been lingering on there run off into the sink and within seconds your brush is clean and ready to be left to dry.

So there you have two tools to help you clean your brushes and they both have plus points and both have minus points.  The dish for Real Techniques is pink so that is always going to be a hit, but... tend to find myself cleaning the dish as much as the brushes, given the amount of dirt and grime and stuff that comes off the brushes, I don't want it lurking in the dish when I grab my next brush, so I wipe the dish clean with an anti-bac wipe after cleaning each brush and start again. The Makeup Revolution Tool fits over your fingers and doesn't get the chance to grab onto any gubbings off the brushes, it has long since run off into the sink.  The knobbly bits for Real Techniques are brilliant and do help with the cleaning of brushes and it does speed up the job, the same for Makeup Revolution, but with Makeup Revolution, i'd have liked a few more smaller grooves for my smaller brushes please.

All in all, both tools help make the job of cleaning brushes quicker, easier, less of a chore and worthy of owning and whilst I am a fan of both, Makeup Revolution is a third of the price and is worthy of purchasing for a hassle free, faff free brush cleaning tool.

You Beauty Box - February 2016

So last month I mentioned that You Beauty Discovery Box was undergoing a makeover and I was a little apprehensive to see the outcome as it is a subscription box that I absolutely love getting.  Well, I shouldn't have worried because it is still brilliant. It still costs just £6.95 per month and is amazing value for money.

This month we have three extra treats and they are quite possibly the best treats I have ever had from this box. Starting with a 40ml tube of the cult classic Elasticizer from Philip Kingsley in Geranium and Neroli.  A sachet of Real Techniques Deep Cleansing Brush Gel, of which I am a huge fan and a 10ml tube of Vita Liberata Self Tanning Moisture Mask.  Plus because the box has been relaunched, also included within the box is an exclusive travel-sized Mascara from Eyeko, which as a mascara fiend, I am excited to try.

The product choices for this month gave a choice of items for Bath & Body, Make-up, Haircare or skincare and I chose from Bath & Body and Skincare as my choices.

Anyone who reads my blog will know that I like to champion bath salts, so I was delighted to see some Mauli Himalayan Healing Salts. Do you ever have those days where you are left feeling fatigued, irritable, off balance and as though nothing you try and do goes right? Well the vital synergy of Mauli's multi-layered healing Himalayan pink salts, infused with 13 exquisite therapeutic oils and laced with soothing powdered rose quartz combine to help powerful nutrients and depleted minerals better absorb into the skin to release toxins, soothe aching bones and offer a sense of greater wellbeing.

The second product is Dr. Organic Dead Sea Mineral Bio-Plasma Mud Mask. I am a huge fan of Dr. Organic and this is a product I have never tried. It is described as being an oil regulating, detoxifying and anti-aging bio-plasma face treatment. On the surface it is an organic pore cleansing facemask, deep down it is a bioactive deeply replenishing face-lift. Organic Dead Sea Mineral salt and Dead Sea Mud have a long history of skin purifying and health promoting properties. In combination with our proprietary blend of bioactive, natural and organic extracts, including clinically tested bio-plasma (arginine ferulate) this cell detoxifying and anti-aging face mask penetrates deep into the pores of the epidermis, effectively removing excess oil and impurities whilst stimulating new cell regeneration.

This box has a retail value of over £25 which is three times what I paid for it and I think it is just amazing value for money and I still love the fact I can choose which products I want to try, epecially when more often than not, the product is a full sized version rather than a travel or sample size.

What do you think to this months box? 

Are you a subscriber to You Beauty?

Lush Mechanic Soap

Soap is never the most exciting product to talk about, until it comes to Lush of course. The Mechanic Soap has been something of a saviour of late and has really helped my poor over-worked hands.

Bright purple in colour and decorated with a silver spanner, there is no missing this soap in any Lush store. It also smells just amazing, not at all manly and can be used by either sex. Using pumice powder for exfoliating, this soap, when used in warm water, creates a lather of bubbles and when you rub your hands together, you can feel the pumice working its magic. Add to the pumice is Rosemary which works as both and antiseptic and anti-inflammatory. There is also fragrant Orris Root, Bergamot Oil, Ylang Ylang Oil and Fair Trade Vanilla Absolute to create the amazing scent and Fair Trade Olive Oil to hydrate and soothe your hands leaving them feeling soft, smooth and moisturised.

Unlike other bars of soap that I use, this one is exfoliating, making it perfect for dry hands that need a bit of help removing dead skin or for just giving them a good deep cleanse to remove any ingrained dirt, or in my case printer ink which has got into the grooves of my skin. This has to be one of the longest lasting soaps that I have ever had, ive been using it for months now and it never seems to get smaller.

This soap is perfect for exfoliating and cleansing your hands and it is still available at Lush for £4.95.

A Burts Bee's Giveaway

Don't you think it is amazing when you read about companies who do something more than their brief? Companies who go that extra mile to make those less fortunate than ourselves better off? 

Send a Cow are a UK based charity, help thousands of families in Africa. By helping those families to grow enough food to eat, sell what they grow and develop a small business that lasts.  Farming is no longer enough for a family to just 'get by' if we want to offer hope for generations to come and that means by having their own small business, their income begins to grow and with that increased income are opportunities.  Those opportunities give families a chance to invest no only in farm improvements, new livestock and equipment, but also in their children's education, something many of us are lucky to have but perhaps take for granted.  

Finally, we have the brilliant site known as Bath and Unwind which is one of my favourite websites for browsing when I need inspiration for gifts because they have an amazing selection of products to choose, from an amazing range of brands.  As a beehive has been donated to Africa in my name via Send a Cow and the lovely people over at Bath and Unwind have very kindly gifted a Burt's Bees Naturally Bee-utiful Collection Gift set in keeping with the Bee theme, for one of my readers to win, all you need to do is complete the Rafflecopter widget below. 

a Rafflecopter giveaway