I spend so much time thinking about what products suit my skin type and Googling recommendations of the best ways to care for my skin that I feel I am guilty of forgetting the universally helpful, oft-neglected stars of the show. The humble beauty tools.

my photo photo aa_zpseb9d2227.jpg

Looking after my skin for the past year now has been my trusty Clarisonic. This weird little "electric toothbrush for your face" type gadget seems to have taken the beauty blogging community by storm, and it has my vote. I have the Mia which is the smaller one and I love how it makes my skin feel. Since I started using it I have noticed that my skin is clearer, I suffer less frequently from breakouts, and I feel like the products I apply after absorb into my skin much better. On nights when I can't be bothered to Clarisonic (yep, using it as a verb) I find myself reaching for my Emma Hardie cleansing cloths. If you find yourself (understandably) not wanting to shell out the $$ for a Clarisonic, I highly recommend looking into some good cleansing cloth options. These ones are one half muslin cloth, to remove traces of dirt, make up, dead skin cells, whatever else finds itself onto your face during the day... And one half microfibre, the polishing cloth for your skin, if you will. I also like that they are white as there is visible evidence that they are doing their job. I like that in a product. My tweezers made the cut to the list, not because these ones are particularly amazing, although I do like them, but because we all need to de-fuzz now and again, don't we..? I have particularly outrageous eyebrows that, if not tamed, could scare small children. I try to avoid that if possible. 


And of course what beauty tool post would be complete without some make up brush mentions. I narrowed it down to these two as they are the two I use most days. Both were purchased at Sephora on my last US trip. The numbers have worn off unfortunately, but basically, I use one for blending in liquid foundation and one for blush/bronzer. I suggest investing in a few brushes that work best with the types of products you use most frequently. I love my Sephora ones but if, like me, you don't have them readily available I suggest sussing out Real Techniques or Sigma for some similar alternatives. 

my photo photo aa_zps3f0727c0.jpg

Now my collection of hair care tools is intentionally brief. I have been trying to avoid heat styling lately, Winter is not kind to my hair/skin/nails so I thought I would try and be. My current hairbrush of choice is the Tangle Teaser, advertised as being usable on wet hair, this is supposed to be one of the most gentle hairbrush options on the market. I still try to avoid using it on wet hair but I can attest to it's claims of pain-free tangle removal. Could be useful for mums out there who suffer with teary, hair-brushing traumatised children, I used to be one. Also helpful for big kids like me who just don't want  hair-brushing to hurt. 

Speaking of traumatised children, I remember as a child getting into my mothers velcro rollers one day when she was out, resulting in a situation which required my hair to almost need cutting to free myself from the giant nest of hair/roller I had created for myself. Ok, so I'm not selling them well... Needless to say, it took me some time to re-gain trust in the humble velcro roller, and the technique definitely took some time to master, but now I love them. I have hair that just loves to be as flat as it can be, and unless I give it some oomph, it will happily play dead on top of my head. These aren't really intended to curl, but if you are wanting to inject some body into otherwise lifeless locks, these could be just what you have been searching for. Now this last mention may seem a boring one, but as I walked around my house, deciding which products would make the cut, I found not one, not two, not three, but six of these darn hair claw clip things. In my shower, in my bedside table, a few in my bathroom, I think there is even one in my car... Not the most glamorous of beauty items, but a very useful one. I use them to get the hair off my face before I wash it, while I have hair masks/conditioner in, or if my hair is just annoying me and has to go up. A glamorous beauty post mention? No... A well-loved one? Definitely. 

I'd love to know what your favourite beauty/grooming tools are, let me know below so I can try them out! 

Zoe xx

Categories:

2 Responses so far.

  1. Anonymous says:

    Firstly, I love your new blog! I'm ashamed its taken me this long to comment in it but I've been reading and couldn't be happier for your new start :)

    I must admit I don't spend a lot of time on beauty or hair everyday (just your average foundation and maybe some gloss kinda gal) but for special occasions I am a sucker for makeup brushes! I haven't straightened my hair for about two weeks now which I thought would have made an amazing difference but it hasn't really. My hair is certainly a lot more manageable when it's straight but sometimes I'm just not up for the saga that is drying and straightening!! Xx

  2. Gracie says:

    I love that you have a lot of great beauty tools. I really don't use much (mainly because I'm not sure what to get). I did recently go to Mecca Cosmetica and got some primer, foundation and mascara. As for my hair I have a GHD and hair dryer :) Haha.

    P.S. Thanks for your tips on NY.

Leave a Reply