The Best Things I've Learned From Beauty Bloggers
Beauty bloggers come under a lot of flack from pretty much everyone. Sometimes it's even from our own community which always hurts just that little bit more. And it's not just because I'm a blogger myself but long before I was writing my own content. I read predominantly beauty blogs and I owe so much to them, I've learnt so much from those girls sharing their thoughts on products and I'm going to share some of my favourite lessons I've taken away from beauty bloggers.
LOVING BEAUTY DOESN'T MEAN YOU'RE VAPID
This is the biggest and most important lesson that I can take away from my time in the beauty blogging world. For so long I was almost embarrassed at just how much I'd fallen in love with beauty products and the entire community. And whenever I shared this with people they'd always give me the same sort of look like 'oh right...'. Just because you care about how you look, what skincare you're using or even what lip balm you apply at night. It doesn't mean you're an image-obsessed fool with nothing else going on in your mind. Some of the most intelligent women I know online and in real life all have a penchant for beauty products and there is always room for both.
THE DOUBLE CLEANSE
For years, I used to use a face wipe to get rid of my makeup, apply a moisturiser and that was it. I shudder at the thought of it now although my skin was never in terrible condition it never felt it's best. And even though it took me a while to get into the double cleanse and properly understand it the difference it's made is incredible. It's something that's so obvious but properly cleansing your skin means all the other products that you're applying over the top are much more effective.
OILS CAN WORK FOR OILY SKIN
When my skin was super oily I couldn't imagine anything worse than applying more oil to it. But sometimes that can be the best thing for your skin as it creates balance. And oils come in so many different formulations and textures that they don't have to be slippery and tacky which is what you would usually expect them to be. Oils are such a big part of my routine now and I wouldn't be without them as they've made such a big difference in my complexion. The key is to do your research and find someone who has a somewhat similar skin type to you.
LIGHT LAYERS
Every time I hear or type the world layers I can't help but think of Mary Berry. But when it comes to applying base products & nail polish working with thin layers is the best way to go. When my skin was going through a really bad patch all I wanted to do was pile on the highest coverage foundation I could find [Estee Lauder Double Wear]. But hiding away under thick heavy layers of makeup never works well. It never sets down properly and even with a powder, it still transfers onto your clothes, phone, boyfriend, dog or anything else near you.
HIGH END ISN'T ALWAYS BEST
Before I started blogging I never bought high-end makeup as I just simply couldn't afford it. However, I did always believe that those luxe counters meant the makeup was always superior to that in the isles of Boots and Superdrug. And of course, now I know that's not the case and sometimes the high street can offer much better products than the high-end brands. This is something that's true for the majority of things in life. Just because something has a high price tag it doesn't mean it's automatically better.
LEAVE YOUR EYEBROWS ALONE
As a teenager of the 90's and early 00's it's almost obvious that my eyebrows did not go unscathed when we all decided that it was the in thing to pluck them into a very small strip. And I'm pretty sure that my brows never quite recovered as even now they have a real hard time of growing even though it's been a long time since I touched them with a pair of tweezers. The thing about plucking is that it's hard to stop once you get into the habit of it and even if you don't mean shape them into a thin pretty much non-existent line then you'll probably end up doing so anyway.
DRY SHAMPOO
Because I used to wash my hair on a daily basis. Dry shampoo wasn't something that I ever needed but when I started on my journey to cut down on hair washes it was definitely something I needed. And even though I don't think anything will ever actually replace the feeling of freshly washed hair as that's quite a big ask from any type of product. A good dry shampoo is such a game changer in anyone's routine. They've come such a long way from the days of turning your hair a brilliant shade of white in one spritz too. Now the formulations are pretty much invisible, which is a great new if you've got darker tresses. Even on the days, I don't need them to make my hair feel fresher I love them for adding a little bit of grit to my otherwise slippery tresses.
What are the best lessons you've learnt from beauty bloggers?
R x
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