Hey Guys,

So I know for those of you who follow me on instagram (@aminaali_mua), this post has been a long time coming, and I've finally managed to sit down and write it. A couple of months ago I purchased a few items from eBay and then went ahead and purchased some more, so this is a little round up of some great finds, all of which are under £6, if can you believe it?!

The first thing I need to talk about is this fantastic ring light. No it is not going to give you the effect an actual ring light does, but they cost around £200, are 10x the size and I don't have that kind of money! What it does do is enhance the pictures I have been taking. It is a great little gadget that adds radiance to any photo. It has three light settings and I paid a little extra for this particular one because it is rechargeable. I would 100% recommend this!

I first heard about this set on Safiyah Tasneem's blog in her eBay brushes under £5 post (click here), She hadn't reviewed them herself, but had linked to them. What stood out to me about these were that they were natural hair and when 'MAC dupes' gets mentioned I had to try them for myself. Overall, they are decent brushes. They pick up product well and blend eyeshadows nicely. The range of shape and size make them great for creating different eyeshadow looks. However, the brushes were a lot less dense than I anticipated. To the point where there was literally a gap in the ferrule. Because of this, I think the fall out of the bristles will be quite high and don't think they will last very long after regular washing. However, for now, they do the job.

3. Silicone Brush Cleansing Pad - (£1.23)

Hey Guys,

I thought I would do a post on what I use for my 'everyday' make-up. That's if I choose to wear make-up, as I love going make-up free as much as possible. So this post will include some staples in my make-up bag especially for the upcoming summer months.

If you read my blog regularly, you should know by now that I love a dewy and glowing look, and the products I use for my base reflect this. For my skincare routine click here but for everything else keep reading. Once moisturised, I have been applying The Body Shop Instaglow CC cream in Peachy Glow. This is the perfect corrector for my skin and also contains SPF20 which is a bonus. It seems to even out my skin tone and gives me that glow I love. I also apply the NYX Dark Circle Concealer in Medium under the eyes. If I feel my skin needs that extra coverage I tend to apply MAC Face and Body foundation. This foundation is very light weight and perfect for that 'no make-up' look. It's the perfect foundation if you don't have problematic skin. I don't usually set my foundation with powder as I like to emphasise the dewiness. I make sure I brush the foundation over the under-eye area too and then conceal using Maybelline Fit Me Concealer in shade 20. You may have heard about this concealer before but I can't emphasise enough how fab this product is. It is the perfect creamy texture and gives very good coverage!

When it comes to eyebrows I'm a total 'Benebabe'! I love my Benefit brow products. I use the Goof Proof Brow Pencil in 5 and it's just so easy. The shape of the pencil is a diamond so you get one really sharp side for outlining and then a slightly wider side for filling the brows. It's self sharpening, you simply twist it up, and it also has a spoolie on the other end to keep those brows tamed. I set my brows with the Ready, Set, Brow Gel as they have a habit of falling downwards. This stuff is strong. They don't budge all day, which leaves me feeling great, as I am kind of lost without my brows!

Moving onto the eyes, at the very least I will curl my lashes and apply mascara. But the question is which mascara?? Long gone are the days where I literally had one mascara and would replace it when I was finished. I now have about five but I tend to go for L'oreal Miss Manga when I want a bit of drama as it adds a lot of volume, or Lancome Hypnose when I want a more natural fluttery look.

For blush, I can't stop using my L'oreal Infallible Blush Paint Palette in Ambers. It has every colour I need for whatever mood I'm in. It made an appearance in my Spring Favourites post (click here) and I haven't stopped using it since! It smells amazing too. My everyday highlight is always Mary-Lou Manizer from The Balm Cosmetics. Actually this was just my everything highlighter until Huda Beauty's 3D highlight palette came out (click here for post). However now I tend to use it more for everyday! It's the perfect gold and suits my skin tone so much. I love that it's not too obvious.

Finally, we come to the lips. My favourite lip pencil that I use most regularly is Spice by MAC. I always apply Sebamed SPF 30 Lip Defence to the lips. It contains Vitamin E and Jojoba oil and just leaves your lips soft and ready for whatever you want to put on top. Most of the time I wear this on it's own and blend the liner into the lip for a super natural look. However, when I want a bit of colour on top, I love wearing L'oreal Infallible Lip Laquer in Gone. It gives a really natural looking finish on my naturally darker lip tone. Occasionally I will set my make-up depending on how long my working day is going to be. I really like the Gerard Cosmetics Slay All Day Setting Spray, as your make-up really does last all day. That and it smells beautiful! They have a whole range of scents too. It just finishes of the make-up routine perfectly.

I also just want to touch on brushes. For my everyday day make-up I always use Real Techniques. There's something about these brushes that oozes good quality and they're decently priced. I use the expert face brush to apply foundation, the contour brush for contour or highlight and their blush brush for blusher. These are a great set to start with and will last you a very long time!

It's actually quite surprising to see all these products together as I didn't realise quite how much I am applying to my face! These are all products I have used almost daily and would highly recommend. Feel free to comment or ask any questions below.

Amina xx

Hi Guys!

So one of the things I hate most about make-up is cleaning my brushes! Oh I long for the days when I didn't use them (shock horror! Yes there was a time I used my fingers and those eye sponges that come with eyeshadow). However I soon found brushes were the way to go. So I would clean my brushes once a week. Big deal right? But then I decided to  become a Freelance Make-up artist and this brought about a whole new wave of make-up brush cleaning. Cleaning your brushes regularly is so important because the bacteria inside them can cause spots and all sorts of nasties on the skin so  you need to do it regularly (at least once a week) and obviously after each use on a client if you are an MUA. So this post is going to go through what I do to clean my brushes and also review some products I have been using lately. 

Cleaning for me is a two stage process. Firstly, I spot clean with The Pro Hygiene Collection Make-up brush cleaner (£10). By this, I mean when using my client brushes I always carry an anti-bacterial spray with me that will clean the brushes on the spot. So if I had to use a brush on more than one client at the same time or if I wanted to use the brush on a different colour I would clean it on the spot. Out of habit, I have now begun to spot clean my personal brushes before I give them a thorough clean. So all this takes is spraying the brush and then rubbing it on a paper towel in order to remove the majority of the product. It makes the next step so much easier and quicker.

The brushes you can see in the picture above are from Blank Canvas Cosmetics. I was lucky enough to be sent these to try with the Sebamed and I have been using them daily. I use the F22 brush (£13.35) for my everyday look to really buff my foundation in for a natural finish and the F20 brush  (£13.35) with my full coverage foundations for more of a flawless airbrushed finish. They are good solid brushes and I love how weighty they are. I also had no fallout when cleaning them which is also a good sign of quality.