Happy Tuesday! Seattle is so sunny and gorgeous today. I cannot wait for spring to come as I heard spring is one of the most gorgeous seasons here in Seattle! Meanwhile, I hope you are staying warm and productive wherever you are since winter is still here! So let’s keep the happy thought as better warmer days will come! For today’s post, I am sharing with you 5 fashion and beauty tools that I have used and loved them for years. They are not so secretive per say, but I feel like I don’t talk about them nor have not shared them on the blog before. They are not only affordable but also so useful, easy to use, and get the job done effectively. I hope you will find some useful information and definitely let me know if you give them a try.
1. 100% Boar Hair Hair Brushes
If you have damaged and frizzy hair like me, try these 100% boar hair brushes. I can assure that they will change your hair forever.
My hair got so damaged after that one time when I desperately asked my hairstylist to bring my hair color to the lightest shade possible last year. She already warned me with such dark hair, it should have been done in more than one sessions and slowly lift them lighter through out the years. But she did it for me anyways. The session took nearly 3 hours, and I walked out feeling pretty happy about them. You can see my hair color at the time, here and here. But it quickly went downhill, literally just after a month. It would get so dry and brittle. Every day as I woke up, my hair would knot around each other and was a pain to manage. I gave up on how high maintenance my hair was and had my uncle dye it back to black before summer ended. He chopped off most of the split ends, did a keratin, and an Olaplex treatment which took 4 hours trying to bring my hair back to its surviving state. I also tried so many conditioning treatments and masks and even bought a silk pillowcase to sleep on and help with the tangles and breakage. Up until about two months ago, as my boyfriend and I were browsing Walgreens, he just literally picked up these two boar hair brushes and told me to try and potentially replace my tangle teezer brush. And to my surprise, they significantly reduced my hair’s frizziness and smooth out my hair so effectively. After the shower, I often ask my boyfriend to brush my hair since he can see and brush my hair from behind better than I can. Make sure to take your time if you have thinner and damaged hair as this brush can pull and rip off a lot of your hair. But you’ll be surprised that brushing hair can feel very meditative and relaxing. It has changed my hair texture and its integrity so much ever since!
Boar Bristled Brush Benefits: Boar hair brushes are not recommended to use on wet hair (breakage) nor blow-drying and styling, but they are the perfect everyday brushes to tame, smooth, and rid your hair of tangles. I find the round brush works best with wet hair although it causes breakage. I need those curly dead ends out otherwise they would knot and make my hair really difficult to style. Since these are made from 100% boar hair which is known to carry its own natural oil or serum, it ultimately coats and conditions your hair. Through time, it helps repairing dry hair, reduces frizz, and adds shine. If you have curly or textured hair, it will loosen the curls and brings out the natural texture of your hair. I usually apply some Morroccan oil on my hair prior to brushing and styling, and that definitely has helped in bringing my hair back to its healthy state that it could ever be.
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2. Nippies Skin – Nipple Concealers
If you have been looking for a bra to wear under any backless tops or dresses or something like nipple tapes that don’t slip or slide, look no further!
I have got to say that these were one of my proudest fashion discoveries in 2017. These Nippies, as I’d like to call them, are made from an advanced Invisifeel™ silicone. They form and curve on top of your actual boobs with ultra-thin edges that stick and blend seamlessly into the skin. The outer silicone is matte to ensure no flashback when wearing sheer tops. These nippes are available for 2 versions (adhesive and non-adhesive), 2 sizes (size 1 for A-C cups and size 2 for D+ cup and up), and 3 skin tones (light, medium, and dark), washable and reusable up to as many times as you can maintain them. In the summer time, the worst thing that you want to wear is the thick padded undergarments/bras that add an extra 10 degree and discomfort level to your body. Especially on the weekends, I’d totally opt for a non-bra or minimal undergarments like a bralette or these nippies, depends on what I wear that day. I found out about the brand and immediately ordered two – medium shade size 1 with adhesive, one for me and one for my best friend.
How to clean: I run the nippies with warm water to get off any dirt and sweat remains, especially on the sticky parts. Then I let them dry on the bathroom counter and put them back in their original box that they came with. Don’t worry, these are made from silicon, and they can adhere themselves to your boobs using your own body heat. Sounds kinda cool, right! In the summer, it could get sweaty inside, but that didn’t really bother me at all. I often forget I have them on which is great since I hate wearing bras that I have to worry about them falling off or unflattering show themselves without me knowing. I have had mine for about a year now, and they are still going strong.
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3. Portable Steamer
One of my biggest pet-peeves is seeing people wearing new clothes with folds and creases on them, especially fashion bloggers in photos or videos. Do not! I mean people probably don’t care so much, but that is just a fashion detail that really gets me every time.
I used to own a standing steamer bought from Amazon but could not seem to justify transporting it 2000 miles away when I moved out west, so I left it to my cousin in Minnesota. I found this tiny portable hand-held steamer and loved using it ever since. It is so light and easy to use. All I need to do is to fill some water up to the level instructed and plug it in, it heats up the water (to its boiling point) in the matter of minutes. I usually turn it on and get my clothes hung-up somewhere, and it is ready to be used almost right away. I find a fill of water like that steams about 2 to 3 garments. There will be hot boiling water spillage if you overfill the reservoir, so be careful! One thing to note that don’t expect your clothes to be perfectly creaseless and crisp as a regular iron can do, bring those to a professional dry-clean or have an iron in addition to it.
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4. Threads & Needles
Yes, threads and needles, literally!
Many of you might not know that I used to work at my aunt’s tailoring shop for about 4 years during my college. It’s funny seeing people would just bring in a shirt or a pair of pants with loosen or missing buttons and would pay $5 just to get them tightened or put back on. I’d think to myself, ‘WHY?’ There are tons of tutorial on Youtube teaching you how to do basic hand sewing, and it is not difficult to go out and get yourself some threads and needles in case of emergency. I always have these around the house as I know for sure they always come in handy. I used to go shopping for designer clothes and altered them myself at my aunt’s shop. It could sometimes be a dress that fit me weird or a pair of jeans that were too loose around the waist, and they were too cheap to pass. So I bought them regardless to either resale or wear after a few adjustments. I surely took the full advantage of having an access to a sewing machine and working there at the time. And I have learnt to always have some needles and threads around the house in case of emergency. And I am telling you, you don’t want to spend $5 to get just a button sewn on or dealing with a hassle of wearing your clothes with holes in them.
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5. The Beauty Blender
The original beautyblender® is the secret of all of good-looking and well-blended makeup looks that everyone is aware of its existence ever since.
I knew about the concept of using a wet sponge to evenly apply makeup ever since I was little. Basically, the idea of using a sponge to apply makeup is not new, but the beautyblender® shape and whatever it is made of have really revolutionized the makeup and beauty industry. Beautyblender® is the name of the beauty sponge and is also the name of the company founded by Rea Ann, a celebrity makeup artist in 2003. This little egg-shaped sponge has won Allure’s Best of Beauty Award for the fifth time in 2013, and the 6th time for its newest invention, the micro.mini. It shortens the makeup application process, applies any cream and liquid products so evenly, and is so simple to use.
How to use: Dry or wet. I’d prefer using it wet for a more natural blended foundation and concealer application. Prior to use, I just run some water over it under the sink and squeeze out excess water.
How to clean: Beautyblender® makes two cleanser versions: liquid and solid soap. I own the Solid Brush Cleaner from the Sephora brand and find it is the cheapest solid soap option out there that works amazingly and doesn’t dry out my hands. I use it to clean all of my makeup brushes as well, so it’s definitely a must-have to clean all of your makeup brushes and the beautyblender® sponge.
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Hope you’ve found some cool tools to start incorporating them into your everyday life. I am a firm believer that if you take a little more time to do everything and do it with care, it will make a difference in how you feel and how you look that day! And having great tools that aid in that process is the start! Hope you’re having a fantastic day and thank you so much for reading!
