Tag: Beauty

5 Amazing Beauty Hacks This Free Tool Is THE BEST For

Published on by Lee3 Comments

If there’s one tool that every beauty lover should have in their glam room, it’s a spoolie. I know it may not look like much, but it’s an MUA’s secret weapon as it has SO many different uses: from taming brows and flyaways to plumping your lips and fixing your lashes. If you’re not familiar, a spoolie is the small mascara wand that you can find on most beauty counters, or they’re often included in brow kits, but that definitely doesn’t mean you should limit them to your brows. Here’s I use my fav beauty tool for a whole range of hacks….

To tame flyaways

There’s nothing worse than when your glossy blow-dry gets caught in the rain – or exposed to the desert heat. To combat frizz when you’re-on-the-go and keep flyaways at bay, make sure you have a spoolie in your purse at all times – I swear, it works wonders! As the brush is so fine it’ll smooth down any baby hairs and leave your hair looking silky smooth. For maximum impact, spray your spoolie with hairspray before combing it through your hair to get ultimate hold and shine – do this almost every morning!

For brows

There’s arguably no better brow tool for taming your brows than a spoolie! For ultimate hold, coat your spoolie with a little hairspray, and for thicker looking brows, brush your brows upwards up until you reach the arch and then brush the brows toward your hairline.

Extra hack: For longer lashes and brows, dip your spoolie in castor oil and then brush it through your hair. Castor oil is bursting with protein and fatty acids that can strengthen hair, making it the ideal remedy for extending the length of your lashes and brows.

For false lashes

One of my all-time fav hacks transforms a $2 pair of lashes into super luxurious, natural looking lashes. Just grab a spoolie and any drugstore lashes, and brush the lashes outwards, in horizontal back and forth motions. This will separate the lashes, making the lash strip appear fuller. Even, if you’re not a fan of falsies and you’re a die-hard mascara fan, if you run a clean spoolie through your mascara-coated lashes, you’ll separate each lash, getting rid of any clumps and again, making your eyes look more dramatic.

For your lips

This hacks only takes 30 seconds, and it’ll give you THE softest lips: just apply your fave lip balm or oil ( like to use coconut oil as it’s super hydrating and tastes delicious too!), then, using small circular motions, brush your lips gently with your spoolie.

For your nails

Using a spoolie to remove stubborn nail polish is basically a two-in-one nail treatment, as it gets rid of any stubborn polish while also gently buffing your nails. Just dip your spoolie in nail polish and buff away – the fine bristles are ideal as they’re able to access the cracks and crevices of your nails.

Let me know if you guys have any other amazing hacks you do with your spoolie in the comments.

DIY SUNDAY: This Is Our Secret To Longer Lashes

Published on by Lee1 Comment

This DIY is the secret to longer lashes and fuller brows. I swear, within weeks me and my fellow BLB SQUAD noticed a difference! If you try this hack morning and night, you’ll have lashes Bambi would be proud of and brows to rival Cara Delevigne. This has to be the easiest DIY in BeautyLeeBar history – it’s literally one ingredient – Jamaican Black Castor Oil (JBCO) but been referring to it as a gift from the beauty gods! It’s literally bursting with beauty-enhancing vitamins that’ll stimulate growth, making it the perfect remedy for short lashes and sparse brows. You can even use the oil to combat acne, PMS and insomnia… intrigued? Here’s everything you need to know:

What Makes Jamaican Black Castor Oil SO Magical?

Chances are, you’ve already heard of castor oil, but it’s unlikely that you’ve been introduced to its more powerful sister –  Jamaican black castor oil. So don’t get confused between the two, because JBCO is a lot more potent, thanks to the unique extraction process. Unlike regular castor oil, the seeds of JBCO are roasted and ground, then the powder is mixed with water and slowly boiled on a wood fire. The oil is completely natural and isn’t diluted or altered, so the nutrients and vitamins pack a great punch.


Source: Tropic Isle Living

For your lashes and brows: Castor oil is rich in omega-6 and omega-9 fatty acids, as well as ricinoleic, all of which will help stimulate growth, leaving you with longer lashes. It also contains beauty-boosting vitamin E, that’ll not only boost growth but it’ll leave your lashes looking thicker. We’re currently using the Tropic Isle Living Jamaican Black Castor Oil, $8, as it’s 100% pure JBCO and is hand processed from pure wildcrafted and organic beans, so it doesn’t contain any nasty chemicals and is potent AF.

DIY Lash and Brow Serum:

First of all, make sure you double cleanse to guarantee that all your eye makeup is thoroughly removed – you’ll be surprised at how much mascara you take off with the second cleanse. Then, soak a cotton bud ( use these amazing tiny micro buds from Amazon, $7) in castor oil, then brush through your lashes and eyebrows. Massage your brows to ensure that the castor oil coats each hair. Do this every night before you sleep, and you’ll notice a difference in about three weeks – don’t worry it won’t transfer onto your pillow, it’ll be absorbed into your lashes within 10 minutes! If you’re having a makeup-free day, then go ahead and apply it during the day as well.

P.S. Jamaican black castor oil isn’t just great for your lashes; here’s how to maximize on its powers:

For your skin: Jamaican black castor oil has both anti-inflammatory and anti-fungal properties, which means it’s great at soothing existing and preventing further breakouts as it kills acne-inducing bacteria. All you do is massage a small drop of oil onto cleansed skin, then gently remove the oil with a washcloth soaked in boiling water (make sure you let the cloth cool a little before using it)!

For your health: Jamaican black castor oil also has some major health benefits and is used as a natural remedy to cure insomnia and to relieve menstrual cramps. For instant pain relief, massage the oil onto your skin – either to your lower abdomen or your temples. The oil is packed with anti-inflammatory properties and can even help detoxify the body.

Let me know if you’ve tried castor oil for your lashes and brows in the comments below.

This $4 Cleanser Will Make You Ditch Makeup Wipes… FOREVER

Published on by Lee22 Comments

While I totally understand the appeal of makeup wipes, your skin doesn’t benefit from using them… At all. In fact, a lot of people (derms included) say you should ditch them entirely as they’ll dehydrate your skin and do a poor job of actually cleansing. Here’s where the Garnier Micellar Oil-infused Cleansing Water, $4, comes in to save the day! This uber-affordable cleanser will remove every last smidge of makeup while providing your skin with a surge of moisture. It’s basically a boujee micellar water, and I am obsessed with how it’s transformed my skin since. Here’s everything you need to know:

Why you’re going to love Garnier Micellar Oil-infused Cleansing Water

Okay, so you guys have probably heard of micellar water – it’s the beauty junkie’s staple for a reason. If you haven’t, I’ll give you the 411: Micellar water is made of tiny balls of oil molecules called micelles, which are suspended in soft water. The micelles are made of surfactants, which act as a magnet to attract makeup, dirt, and sebum, lifting impurities from the skin without stripping away natural oils.

This cleanser combines micellar water (yay) with antioxidant-rich argan oil making it even more hydrating. If you have oily skin, dw, it’s not bad for your skin. The oil will combine with any excess sebum (the natural oil your skin produces) and surface impurities, so when it’s removed all of those nasties are removed along with it. Plus, argan oil’s packed with fatty acids and vitamin E, which will plump your skin and strengthen its natural barrier, preventing future moisture loss.

I love it because it leaves skin feeling silky smooth and you don’t have to spend ages rubbing at your eyes to get rid of those last traces of mascara. The gentle formula’s suitable for all skin types; in fact, it’s ideal for sensitive skin as you’ll avoid removing any natural oils. Also, the cotton pad literally glides over your skin, so there’s no need to tug and pull, as you do with wipes.

To put it bluntly, it’s not only a total badass at removing makeup – including waterproof mascara – it’ll give your skin a major hydrating hug as well.

How I use Micellar Oil-infused Cleansing Water

Morning: Shake well before use to combine the oil and the micellar water. Soak a cotton pad in the cleansing oil and wipe away any makeup or dirt from your skin. You don’t need to rinse it off, as the formula draws out impurities and the oil locks in moisture.

Nighttime: I use this as the first and second step when I double cleanse. For the first step, we pour the cleansing water into our palm and rub our hands together until it lathers. Then massage it into my skin and rinse with water. After this, I cleanse again using the technique outlined above. This will ensure all of your makeup is removed, as well as any dirt, or pollution that’s sat on your skin throughout the day. Recommend following with toner and your usual routine – make sure you’re layering your products in the right order!!

Shop it here, $4.

Let me know if you’ve used the Garnier Micellar Oil-infused Cleansing Water in the comments below.

IGNORE Everything You Ever Heard About Pores – This Is How You’ll Make Them Smaller

Published on by LeeLeave a comment

It’s an unfortunate fact of life that we’ve all been cursed with pores – they’re the bain of our lives, here to ruin our makeup! I spend waaay too much time thinking about cunning skincare regimes to get rid of them once and for all, and carefully trying to disguise them with pore-minimizing primers and HD powders. You’ve probably bought products that claim they will shrink your pores and erase all trace of them, well we’re here to get your facts straight with the ultimate tea on pores from skincare expert Dr. Kelly. Here’s how you can minimize your pores in the only way possible, but curb your expectations too – sorry to be the bearer of bad news!

What exactly are pores?
Each pore is actually the opening of a hair follicle. On the face, the follicles are tiny or sometimes even invisible, but there are oil glands that live at the base of the follicle and these can over-grow making your pores bigger and more noticeable. This often starts at puberty, and feels like it never stops!

Why are some people’s pores so much more visible than others?
The size of your pores is mostly due to genetics and hormones. You have no control over your genetics, but there is a lot you can do to help manage your pores to make them look as invisible as possible.

How can we get rid of pores?
No product can permanently shrink pores, but there are some very effective products that do a great job of making them look smaller. The best topical agent for making pores look better is the nightly use of topical retinoids or retinol, which are forms of vitamin A (a natural ingredient). Retinoids do two things: it increases skin cell turnover, which helps improve the overall thickness of the skin, and they increase the purging of oily plugs from the pores – the less packed the pores are, the smaller they look. Salicylic acid is also an excellent ingredient as it exfoliates deep into the pores, which gets rid of dead skin cells that can make the pores appear larger.

If you have large pores, do you just need to accept it and blame genetics? 
Partly, but there are still many measures you can take to help them appear smaller and to prevent them from getting bigger. The most important thing you can do is use sun protection every day. Sun dehydrates your skin and makes the oil glands over-grow, making the pores look bigger. Some people get a tan because they feel it masks the pores and makes them look smaller, but this is a temporary effect, and in the not-so-long-run, it will make the pores bigger, as well as making blackheads and whiteheads worse from the excess oil that plugs the skin.

Will controlling oil with a good skincare regime improve your pores? If so, what do you recommend? 
Ingredients like salicylic acid, niacinamide, caffeine, and retinol can have an excellent impact on the size of your pores. Taking antioxidant supplements like niacinamide, zinc, copper, and folic acid by mouth can also be very helpful as they have powerful antioxidant and wound healing effects. They’re also anti-aging – who doesn’t want that benefit?!

Do natural DIYs actually have any effect?
DIY masks can have a temporary effect, but not a lasting one. Using egg white masks and yogurt masks, combined with honey can be beneficial for tightening pores. Honey has antibacterial and antioxidant properties, and it doesn’t clog pores.

Try: A gentle steam can hydrate the skin and make the pores more receptive to products you apply. Once your skin is soft and hydrated, you can apply a mask of yogurt and honey or egg white and honey for 5 minutes, rinse off, and then apply 1-2% salicylic acid lotion to help exfoliate deep into the pores. Top it off with a hyaluronic acid moisturizer as this will offer maximum hydration without clogging your pores. The result will be radiant, smooth skin.

I also get a lot of questions about the use of alcohol wipes for the treatment of acne and pores, but this does nothing to kill the bacteria that causes acne, it does nothing for the pores, and it only serves to dry out and irritate the skin.

There’s one other alternative for reducing pores: 
The Clear and Brilliant laser is also an excellent and gentle option for an in-office treatment to help reduce the appearance of pores and improve skin texture. I also find it to be safer than other lasers for my patients with skin of color.

Now that you know the truth about pores – aka you might just be prone to having bigger pores – we hope you feel better about your options. Basically, there are ingredients you can use to minimize the appearance of pores, and by using a thorough cleansing routine and non-comedogenic products (that don’t block pores), you can help to make your pores look as small as possible. You also need to realize that your pores look bigger to you than anyone else. Why? Because you spend all day focusing on yours and not staring at other people’s! And yes, most of the images you see online and in magazines have all been airbrushed, but I can promise you, celebs and influencers have pores too!

WHAT DO YOU GUYS THINK?