We all know the importance of a good beauty and skincare routine and yet there are certain cardinal sins that I know I am guilty of committing, and I bet a lot of you are too! See how many you can tick off the list…

 

Not cleaning your makeup brushes regularly

How often should we be cleaning our brushes? Experts say once a month at a minimum, twice a month for any brushes you use around your eyes. Hmmm, not sure I can remember the last time I cleaned mine, so it’s time I got the baby shampoo out and got cleaning. On the plus side, cleaning your brushes regularly means that they last longer, shed less, and give a better finish to your makeup, as well as harbouring far less bacteria.

 

Top tips for brush cleaning:

• Don’t bother with a proper ‘brush cleaner’, baby shampoo will do the job fine. Just dribble some into some hot water and lather it up
• Don’t submerge your brushes fully, you’ll risk dissolving the glue that holds the handle on. Just swoosh the brush head around and watch that grime fill your sink
• Don’t let your brushes dry on towels – this can encourage mildew. Just use a piece of kitchen roll
• Don’t underestimate how long it can take for your brushes to dry out – there’s nothing worse than going to put your blusher on and finding the brush isn’t dry!

 

Keeping products past their use-by date

When should we bin our makeup? As a beauty product hoarder I find it very difficult to part with makeup, but the guidelines are as follows:

 

Lipstick – 1 year

Eyeshadow – 2 years

Blusher – 2 years

Eyeliner – 1 year

Mascara – 3 months

 

I’m a big lipstick wearer, so I probably don’t have an issue with getting through a lipstick in a year, but eyeshadow is a different story! I’m a big fan of MAC’s eyeshadow cases and I have to confess I have no idea how old most of the shadows in there are as I depotted them all at different times.

 

Overplucking eyebrows

As a teenager I always felt that my eyebrows were far too thick and bushy, so I took to them with the tweezers and was amazed at the difference it made to the overall look of my face. Unfortunately, as the years went on I got more and more carried away and my eyebrows seemed to be well on the road to disappearing. If you’ve ever tried to grow your eyebrows in you’ll know what a difficult job it is. I’m currently trying to resist the urge to pluck and leave the job to the professionals - it’s proving really difficult!

 

Sleeping with your makeup on

This is the ultimate beauty sin, but I know when I was younger I would regularly do this after a night out. This leads to blocked pores, bacteria build up, dirty pillows, and an ‘interesting’ look to greet you in the mirror the following morning. If you know that you’re likely to skip this key skincare step, leave a pack of facial wipes on your bedside table – they’re not great for your skin, but they’re a lot better than sleeping in your makeup (and your pillows will thank you too!)

 

Forgetting to moisturise your body

We put so much focus on our faces with our beauty routines that it’s easy to forget about your body, particularly once we hit winter and your legs start to wonder what daylight ever looked like. Make it part of your skincare routine to give your whole body and good slathering in moisturiser as soon as you step out of the shower. I love Soap and Glory The Righteous Butter and Aveeno Body Moisturiser.

 

Are you guilty of any of these? What are your worst beauty sins?