12 things that you should not be doing
Getting ready in the morning, preparing for a good night’s rest, and going through our usual beauty routines have become almost second nature to us all that we often do not notice the mistakes we are making. This is a list of beauty blunders: common bad habits. Take note to see if you are doing anything that needs to stop, right now!
Chipped Nail Polish
Leaving chipped, cracked and peeling nail polish on your nails looks very untidy and unprofessional. When they’re chipped, take the polish right off.
Biting your nails
Chewed-on fingernails are a definite no-no. Aside from the fact that they look incredibly unappealing, it's a result of a nasty habit that is very unhygienic.
Sleeping with make-up
This is very, very bad for your skin. Your complexion will surely suffer. Leaving your make-up on over night will clog your pores and dirty your sheets!
Oily Hair
Matted, stringy, greasy hair is not (and never will be) in. Take a shower or touch up with dry shampoo!
Touching your face
While at work, in public transportation, at the mall, or anywhere for that matter, many of us don’t notice how often we touch our faces with dirty hands. After touching filthy surfaces like: elevator buttons, hand rails, cash, or grocery items, be sure to sanitise your hands! Do not handle your face with un-clean hands, this will give you acne, contribute to blemishes and can get you sick.
Sharing make-up
This is not a good idea, ladies. Your type of skin is different from anyone else’s. The oils and bacteria from your skin should not be mixing with that of your friends. Sharing products (e.g. brushes, eyeliner, mascara, lip products) that have had contact with your skin, mouth or eyes is not hygienic and can contribute to bad complexion or infections. Be very cautious, especially with the eyes!
Bad lighting
Make sure to have good lighting when doing your make-up! This means, bright light (preferably a mixture of white and yellow) that is pointed towards your face. The best light source of all is sunlight.
Dirty make-up brushes
Many of us forget to clean our trusty brushes, but it is an absolute must! They gather dirt from our faces and the air, putting it all right back on our make-up products and back onto our faces once again! Leaving our brushes unwashed for prolonged periods of time allows the bacteria build.
Pro tip: Using soap and water alone, will not thoroughly clean the make-up off. Use a cleansing agent with oil, or simply add coconut or olive oil with soap to effectively squeesze all product out from the brushes.
Let it rest
During the morning rush, we often put foundation on without letting the primer rest. We then apply more layers of make-up on top of foundation before letting it set, and the cycle continues. This practise can contribute to caking, cracking, and mixing of components within the make-up that prevent them from settling perfectly.
Forgetting your neck
Put some powder or foundation and bronzer on your neck too! If you miss the neck, the difference between your face and neck will be quite visible, when light or photography flash catches you.
Testing foundation
It is always a battle to search for the perfect shade of foundation. Swatch after swatch, tester after tester, it never ends! Persuasive sales ladies, make-up artists and friends may try to help but finding our exact shade is always a struggle. One common mistake is testing colours on our hands or arms. Be sure to test on your jawline or face as your skin tone on different areas of your body is different. This is often why many women end up buying the wrong shade.
Old make-up
I know we love our make-up goodies and its often super hard to let go of our favourites. Keeping make-up past its expiry date is not good for your skin or health. This is especially true for eye products, like mascara or eyeliner. For more information, read our story on the standard shelf life of make-up items.