Here is my list of secret (or not so much) beauty hacks and tips which I have picked up throughout my teens and early adulthood. Whether it’s through magazines, swapped tips with friends or been recommend by a beautician you can be assured that these are all tried and tested!
1- Castor oil to stimulate hair growth. Overplucked eyebrows? Want thicker hair? This works, just be prepared for an oily face or head! Make sure to wash out the castor oil out of your hair very well. I read somewhere that using conditioner first then washing shampoo is the best way to get it out. I’ve heard coconut oil also works for hair growth as well as so many other things (make up removal, moisturising as well as cooking, but that’s not a beauty hack).
2- Sudocrem for spots or blemishes that may turn into spots. It’s also great for sunburn which I only found out last Summer! Apply a light layer and then leave on the desired area to set in, washing hands afterwards.
3-Moisturiser on top of foundation! GREAT for Winter dry skin, when you don’t have the courage to go make-up free, you risk your skin to become even more dry when applying foundation over it. Clinique’s Moisturiser Surge solves this problem exactly. It’s so light and not at all thick that you can pop it over your foundation and have hydrated skin all day long.
4-Bobby Pins always sliding out of your hair? Spray hairspray onto the pin and make sure that the ridged side of the bobby pin goes against your head, they stay in so much easier!
5-Shampoo or Handwash for cleaning your make-up brushes! This saves so much money and as long as it’s not too perfumed, this should be gentle and good enough to wash off the product, and then be used to apply make up on your face. I have very sensitive skin and this doesn’t irritate me whatsoever. I simply wet the brush or sponge then wash and massage the shampoo or handwash into it, rinsing as I’m washing out the residual product.
6- Eyeshadow application. I mostly use my fingers rather than a brush when I apply eyeshadow, unless I’m trying to be a bit more detailed. It seems to pick up colour better to transfer onto my eyelids. I only tend to do this for nudes/browns/orangey colours though, a smokey eye is definitely best applied with a brush!
7- Cotton Q Tip for all eye make up in general. You can use the edge of the Q tip to create an eyeliner flick. Simply rest it diagonally at the edge of your eye and draw a line against the Q tip with your eyeliner. This is great because you can then dispose of it straight awa, without worrying about cleaning the tool. If you make a mistake, dip another Q tip into some eye make up remover and rub away, dry with the other end and leave it for a couple of minutes to set before re-attempting.
8- Foundation always should be applied from the centre of your face out. I start with my nose onto my cheekbones, up onto my forehead and then blending this out onto the edges of my face. This will stop so much product being used and avoid having the dreaded “foundation line”.
9- Bronzer should be applied in a number 3 shape, from your forehead, curved to the apples of your cheeks, then curving back down to your jawline. This is a tip I got from a make-up artist and it gives a more natural glow!
10- Nail varnish smudged? If your nails haven’t quite set and you’ve smudged your nail varnish a great hack is to wet another fingertip on the opposite hand, then gently smooth over the smudged nail with your fingertip. This will get rid of the messy appearance and you can then apply a new, thin layer of varnish to correct it.
11- Tights ripped? Spray hairspray on the either end of the ladder or apply nail varnish over it and it will stop the ladder from getting bigger!
12- Concealing dark circles should be covered with a triangle shape not a semi circle. This makes it blend so much easier and something about the triangle makes the light reflect upwards.
13- Spilled foundation or eye make up on your clothes? Use make-up remover on your clothes. It actually works so well. Failing that, baby wipes will get anything off!
14- Black eyeliner all over your eyes makes your eyes appear smaller (black is slimming after all). You can apply white or nude eyeliner on your lower waterline to make your eyes looker bigger.
15- Cut your legs whilst shaving? Pat baby powder over your legs and it will stop the bleeding quickly.
16- If you don’t have shaving cream you can use conditioner as an alternative.
17- Spray perfume behind your knees and inside of your elbows as well as your wrist and neck. Perfume lasts so much longer on these areas!
18- To get a straight parting brush your hair part quickly, rather than trying to be slow and precise. It seems to always work out better when you do it quickly. Just comb or brush from the front of your hairline back in one motion.
19- For loose waves hold the curling wand horizontally, for tighter curls hold your curling wand vertically. This makes sense when you think about how the curl falls when you release the strand of hair from the wand.
20- After applying make-up, always check your make up by a window where there is natural light. This gives a better perspective and shows you instantly where you need to blend your make-up!
Let me know if you do any of the above or if you have any beauty hacks to share!
Natalia Talks About 
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