(This is my best oops/shock/horror face!)
Rule Number 1: Clean your make-up brushes regularly.
I'm not the best at doing this. In fact, i'm terrible. I belive you're meant to santise your brushes on a daily basis after usage, and shampoo them at least once a week, but I just...don't!
I do wash/shampoo them when I think they need doing, and I do "spot clean" them with baby wipes, but to be honest I don't have the time to do them regularly (and quite frankly i'm lazy!).
Touch wood, i've never had any skin/eye infections or serious problems, and I figure as long as it's just me i'm using my brushes on, and I use them in the same areas each day, i'm not being too naughty!
2. Throw away your mascara after 3 months
I think this is a pretty wasteful "rule," and whilst I realise it is as an act of caution to prevent the build up of bacteria in the tube (and thus stop nasty eye infections), I often find that mascara is better once it dries out a bit anyway.
Whilst you might not have a problem replacing your mascara every 3 months if you use a very basic, cheap brand, the vast majority of highend and highstreet mascara brands start at approx. £8.00 upwards, and therefore it's a very uneconomical rule!
Unless a new brand of mascara catches my eye, I plan on carrying on using my mascara until they've dried up or ran out (for as long as it takes!) before buying new ones.
3. Wear high-factor sun protection every day
I would consider this one of the more serious "rules" which I am guilty of not following, as I realise that by not applying suntan lotion (particularly to my face) I have no-one but myself to blame for premature wrinkles, sun spots, not to mention the risk of skin cancer!
However sometimes applying moisturiser, suntan lotion, primer AND foundation/concealer can just be a bit too much for my skin, and therefore i've come to rely on moisturisers/foundation which contains an SPF or some form of sun protection.
I would however like to find a good, lightweight facial suntan lotion which doesn't leave skin greasy or oily, as at the grand old age of 23 I realise I need to start taking care of my skin, so if you have any recommendations please let me know.
4. Get your hair trimmed every 6 weeks
As you might have noticed from some of my photos, this rule definitely does not apply to me!
Again it is partly due to time constraints (and the lazy factor on my part), but also getting your hair cut can be a costly business (last time I was in the hairdressers it was around £36 just for a bit of a trim and finish), and one which I don't think it entirely necessary as long as you take care of your hair.
I condition my hair every time I wash it, use leave-in conditioner and try and let it dry itself as often as possible, and do go for maintenance trims when it just gets out of control. But for the moment I like having long mermaid hair - not to mention spending my money on other things!
5. Never brush your hair when it's wet; always comb
I like to think i'm lucky enough to have pretty resiliant/strong hair which, despite frizzing and being on the dry side sometimes, puts up with most of the things I put it through!
My hair is naturally curly and REALLY thick, which I think automatically makes it stronger than fine/straight hair types. The downside to this however, is that it can get really, really tangled, and so it's not really an option to let it dry without brushing it out first, and whilst I do get some shedding, it's literally a few hairs at a time - and i'm still left with plenty on my head!
6. Never pick spots in order to prevent spread of infection and scarring
I'm not someone who squeezes spots, but rather waits until they are nearly completely dried out and a bit "scabby" then I pick the scab part off. Lovely. I have no explanation or reasoning for this (compared to other people who have said they squeeze spots to get rid of the pus etc), it's just something I do, and thankfully i've not been scarred as yet!
7. Use heat protectant before drying/heat styling hair
Another hair sin I am guilty of - i'm surprised I have any hair left!
Whenever i've tried to use one of these, i've just found they leave my hair feeling greasy, not to mention a sort of film/residue on my straighteners!
Like I said above, I appear to have naturally strong hair, and don't actually heat-style it more than about twice a week, therefore I think I can get away with not using this.
8. Use cuticle cream/oil
My worst bad habit used to be biting my nails, but I seem to have progressed from this to picking the skin around my nails instead, which quite honestly looks atrocious.
I usually go to get my nails done every 2-3 weeks for some TLC, and it's during this time I rely on Lee-Anne to sort out my cuticles for me! I really need to get into the habit of applying cuticle cream, but sometimes I just can't be bothered!
9. Never pull/drag/wipe round the delicate eye area
I do try my best to be careful round my eyes (particularly as i've noticed "fine lines" under my eyes, gah), but there are times I am guilty of scrubbing at my eyes, either with a wipe or muslin cloth, or rubbing at them when i'm tired. I also tend to "pull" my eyes out slightly when applying eyeliner to my upper lid.
I've just recently ordered myself some of the famous Bioderma Crealine H20 cleansing solution which I hope will help stop me rubbing at my eyes with cleanser, but we shall see!
10. Don't use baby/facial wipes to remove make-up/cleanse
I think everyone is guilty of using face wipes to quickly remove make-up at one point or another.
Sometimes, when you're really tired or, ahem, drunk, facewipes are ideal for a quick clean of the face when you don't want to spend ages faffing about cleansing!
I don't use them on a daily basis however, as I really notice the effect on my skin when I don't cleanse properly.
11. Always take your make-up off before bed
This is probably one of the more common-sense beauty-rules, and I do try my best to always take my make-up off - especially because I HATE waking up with "panda eyes". But, like i've said above, sometimes i'm just too tired, and before you know it i'm in bed and have fallen asleep!
However I don't think the odd occasion is bad for your skin, in fact some make-up types (mineral for example) contain ingredients which can help your skin while you sleep.
So there we are, i've exposed my beauty sins!
What do you think? I'd love to hear what beauty rules you break.
Melanie
