What's the weirdest way of cleaning your beauty blender that you can think of? I'm pretty sure using a microwave is going to be on a list somewhere. The other day, I was browsing the internet as you do and I came across an article on Cosmopolitan of a new beauty hack which I felt needed testing. This is the third beauty hack test I've done and you can read the others here (shaving your legs with conditioner) and here (Korean nail bracelet). They were both really fun to do and I've been on the hunt for more hacks ever since.

You may have seen it buzzing around on social media or know what I'm talking about but for those who don't, there is apparently a new beauty hack for cleaning your beauty blender by putting it in the microwave. 


BEFORE….

A few beige marks here and there. The lumpy bits are just wet btw.
During this experiment, I probably paid more attention to my beauty blender than I’ve ever done before. I have a bit of a guilty confession; I've never washed my beauty blender before. I know it's gross and you're probably picturing a very dirty sponge but it's not that dirty and I'm washing it now. It had a lot of foundation and concealer marks and my once vibrant orange blender had turned into a faded beige sponge.

DURING….

Following the Cosmo article, I added a little bit of Fairy liquid to a mug and filled it up halfway with cold water. I *metaphorically* kissed my Beauty Blender goodbye and dropped it into the mug, placing it in the microwave for a minute.

As I watched it spin around, I realised how weird the whole thing is. The only use my microwave fulfils is heating up food; so when it pinged the first time, I was expecting something delicious and edible to come out. Not a mug of dirty water with a semi-clean orange sponge floating in the middle.


Since the first attempt didn't work successfully but you could see a lot of colouring had come out. I tried it for the second time after changing the water and when it pinged the second time, you could visibly see a difference. 

AFTER…

As I'm a little impatient, I reached for my kitchen tongs to retrieve my blender since the water was really hot. I waited for the blender to cool down before I gave it another squeeze and a little rinse. The sponge had a few permanent stains from what I assume is just mascara/ eyeliner but apart from that, the sponge was almost as vibrant as the day I bought it. Well... almost.


I've used the blender since the experiment and it works just as well. Although, I have noticed it's lost its firmness so it might be time to buy a new one. 

With that said, the beauty hack is a PASS but I'm not sure if I'll be running to the microwave with my beauty blender again any time soon. It seems is bizarre putting something that's not food in a microwave.

What are your thoughts on the hack? Yay or Nay?


Love, Aoife x

It is currently one of the most prestigious events in the fashion calendar; London Fashion Week. All over the city are catwalks, talks and special events as part of the one-week festival held in the capital. So it’s the perfect time to take advantage of connections and become a part of it! (In other words, a lot of googling to find open-to-the-public type events).

In celebration of Mulberry’s Spring/ Summer ’18 collection launch, they had taken over Spencer House in central London for the weekend (17-18 Feb) to host ‘Beyond Heritage’. From what I found online, they had a quite a few workshops and presentations over the weekend including talks from Stylists and presentations on how to style the new collection with Vogue.

It was a beautiful sunny day, like a preview to summer, and I went along with my close friend Saskia. We were welcomed into a gorgeous stately home and led through the house, out to the back, where Mulberry had completely taken over the back garden. There was a gorgeous giant pink wall with flowers that ran from one end to another. It was beautiful and we made sure to take lots of pictures!

After being ushered into a room, we sat down on those benches; the ones you only see during fashion week. Around the room on the other side were mannequins wearing the Spring/ Summer collection. All the pieces were bright and beautiful, capturing the essence of Summer. And there were quite a few pieces I could see myself wearing.

They had a talk on with LA born stylist duo Brit + Kara, from Elkin and editorial direction Hannah Almassi from Who What Wear UK. It was really interesting to find out more about the world of styling and I picked up a few styling tips from them too!


They highlighted at the beginning there’s a misconception that styling is a glamorous job when it’s actually harder than it looks and there’s added pressure as you become in charge of someone’s image, their brand.

They made comparisons between LA style and British style, exclaiming “you’re too cool for us!” Pointing out how trends don’t really work that well in the UK as every girl is individual and has her own unique style of dressing whether it be classic, punk, posh etc. In Britain, we have a lot of timeless pieces in our wardrobe whereas, in LA, it’s more based on trends.


After the talk, we had the chance to look around the house, which was stunning! In one of the rooms upstairs, they had a few ladies who make some of the bags for Mulberry and I got the chance to ask a few questions I always wanted to know.

It was a very eventful morning and I spent the rest of the day, hanging out my friends. Being a part of the LFW festivities was really fun and an absolute dream. I’m off to the London Fashion Week Festival next weekend, so it’s not over yet!


Love, Aoife x

Looking good is something that is important to all of us. It’s the way others view us and it impacts on the way we see ourselves too. I like to think that I always look some level of presentable when I leave my house in the morning. When you look good, you feel good and that’s all we really want out of life. Right?

The other day I was chatting with my friend about the key to looking good. We each raised a few points and agreed with a lot of them. It inspired me to write a little blog post about it. So here are my tips and tricks on how to make sure you’re always looking good:

#1 Wardrobe. Having a good wardrobe is key! When you own a wardrobe full of lovely clothes, you’ll find that even when you decide to “chuck” something on, you’ll look good every time. And if you only take one thing away from this post remember it’s about having good foundations. Once you have that, everything slots into place. (I have a post coming out soon with some wardrobe essentials so stay tuned for that!)

#2 Confidence. Everything nowadays comes down to confidence and it has a right to. Confidence is the one thing that has the power to change everything. You have to feel confident in the clothes you wear in order to look good. Remember it isn’t the clothes that wear you, YOU wear the clothes. So feel confident in them and own it!

#3 Make Subtle Changes. This is more of a way to upgrade your outfit which in turn keeps you looking good. Switch up your look by making subtle changes, it can instantly change an outfit and look a million times better. Add a thin belt to a dress or tuck in the front of your shirt/ jumper and it’ll make the biggest difference, trust me. The shirt trick is a great way for jumpers to look less frumpy and it flatters every body shape, too. I’m always doing this!

#4 Contrast. I love a little contrast in everyday life; it brings so much to the situation and this case, the outfit. When I get ready, I usually have one item that’s fitted and another which is looser. This helps to round the outfit and saves you from looking too much of one thing, arriving at a nice balance. Skinny jeans and a loose shirt is a good combo, especially if you tuck in the front of the shirt. You can use contrast with your shoes, going for a structured shoe with a loose outfit etc. And even with your bag, choosing an unlined tote to go with a structured outfit.

So those are just a few of my tips and tricks to always looking good. I’ll post a part 2 in the coming weeks. Feel free to leave your own tips and tricks in the comments below.

Love, Aoife xx