Remember the joy of breaking out new make-up?
Whether its a new compact powder, foundation, eye-shadow, or blusher, it slid on effortlessly and your skin looked really, really good that day. But with all good things, it didn’t last very long, did it?
After a few short days, you wonder - was it real? Or did you just dream of that one great make-up day?
And before you lose all hope, you buy another new set and its dejavu all over again.
No, you’re not loony. There’s a very simple reason behind this phenomena.
The secret is: its not so much the new make-up that made you looked so good, but the new, clean applicator that came with it.
All makeup adheres much better to a clean sponge than one that’s caked-up with some use. The caking-up occurs on the surface of the sponge when you combine water (sweat) and oil (sebum) with make-up. Once its caked up, the surface of the applicator becomes very non-porous, and it can’t grab onto the make-up as well as it used to.
So the Tip of the Week is to regularly wash your make-up applicators.
How to do it: Forgo the fancy, overpriced specialty make-up cleansers. A few drops of dishwashing liquid and water works best in stripping the oils. Use your fingers to work the suds in and wash till the water runs clear. Dry thoroughly before use. To speed things up, use a hair dryer.
Why do it : You’ll look better. More make-up will adhere to your sponges or brushes if they’re clean and porous (like new, remember?).
With powder and foundation, this actually gives you a much smoother finish, better coverage, and even coloring. With blusher and eye-shadows, colors will look brighter even when applied lightly.
And with clean sponges and brushes, your make-up will not only look better and be easier to apply, but you’ll also get fewer zits and break-outs since bacteria won’t fester in them.
Woot!