We live in the world of both Instagram and DIYs (most of the time these two go together) which makes us being almost unable to resist the temptation to try stuff on ourselves. That’s why I want to share some of my advice with you, which I’ve learned from my own experience. I’m not sure how long this will take to be posted, as I’m not yet clear on all the ten things I want to talk about, this came as a sudden temptation after scrolling through my Instagram and checking out some of my favourite beauty bloggers’ stuff. So, there we go!
- Cutting your own fringe/bangs
I will be clear with this one. THERE IS NO WAY IN HELL that it will look good on you simply because there is no way you won’t mess this up. I tried and I know what I’m talking about. Fringe, although it seems a simply stuff needs a very big expertise, a sure knowledge of hair texture, face shape, the way the hair grows in that area and last but not least a very good quality hairdressers’ pair of scissors and this is just the start. I know the temptation is big. Especially after a traumatic event, such as a breakup. But please mark my words:
- Hair grows back but it takes a damn long time
- Fringes get messed up by self-hairdressers all over the world and trust me, there is no way to make those look right, unless you want to wear a very tight hairband for about half a year until it grows back.
- If you really want to see yourself with a bang or you want a bang very bad, get a fake one. Trust me no wonder everyone goes with those these times. Fringe needs tons of care, attention, a BRILLIANT cut for it to look real good on you and it’s never really in trend either.
- Bleaching your own hair at home
Yes, I must stick with the hairdressing stuff because this is the area where us women tend to mess it up so bad so many times. It’s also very tempting. Brands like L’Oréal are offering tons of self-bleaching stuff ( do your own ombre? Now come on? I mean how likely that you won’t look like totally messed up when you do this? ) there are lots of 100% bleachers too, but please take your eyes off these. Your hair, if not ALREADY BLONDE will not mirror the shade you want. And of course it’s mostly us brunettes who can’t resist the temptation to try blonde out. Your hair will turn orange and red. Because bleaching can ONLY be done well by professional hairdressers who actually know what they are doing ( most bleaching projects severely damage the hair and for a full result you will need to go back at least one or two more times to reach a real light shade. Bleaching is EXTREMELY damaging for your hair. Hairdressers however use products, not available for us, which contain ingredients which would lessen or protect from the damage. So, do not try this at home ever.
- Dying your hair black
This is basically a footnote. Just be aware, once you go black it’s awful hard to go back. You will need professional bleaching for any lighter shade or wait a good 5 years for it to actually grow down. Because this is such a shade. So, think hard and only do it if you are totally aware and willing to stay black. Also, be aware if your hair has been dyed it would react to all shades differently.
- Try to make-up like youtubers/instagrammers do – and expect the same result
First of all youtubers and instagrammers do their work with years of expertise behind them. They use good quality products and last but not least, thanks to the excellent lighting, good pose and filter options, everything looks way better than it would in real life. Also, fact of the matter is, that I know of no youtuber make-up guru who wouldn’t
- Actively use Botox or similar treatments to make all imperfections go away
- Who wouldn’t use lip fillers ( not to mention cheek fillers)
- Who wouldn’t visit professional cosmetician at least once every one or two weeks.
- Instagram and YouTube make-up or the majority of them goes to extreme because that’s what looks good on photos. In reality, we don’t tend to wear so much makeup when we are out on the street.
- You would need to consult a professional cosmetician and a make-up artist to really see what exactly suits your skin and your overall colours.
- Stick with the basics. A mascara, a kohl or eye-liner, beige shades, a good face crème and a foundation that hides most imperfections and a good lip balm coloured or not is enough for a good daily make-up routine. And you won’t end up spending a fortune on products you have no time or affinity to use.
If you choose to go the opposite way, I highly advice you to enrol in a make-up course and learn how to do makeup professionally.
- Plucking your own eyebrows
Let’s be real. If you pluck your eyebrows it will end up becoming way too thin. The reason for that is simple. Those of us who end up wanting to pluck our own eyebrow are those who have or had a very thick eyebrow or even uni-brow. Therefore it’s all logical we tend to over pluck them. And contrary to all the myths and products, if you pluck them enough times, it will not grow back, or even if it would, it will do so only partially. And that’s where you end up having to use an eyebrow pencil on a daily basis. This is me.
- The tattooed eyebrow
This is one of the worst trends ever. Luckily it has mostly died down in most parts of the world (except for my country and Eastern Europe in general). There is no way to get around this, they look unnatural and most of the times, their shape and form is screwed up. And it takes ages for it to fade. Luckily this very bad stuff is now getting changed to a much more natural looking process called microblading. Honourable mention: eyebrow stamp. Please don’t.
- Tattooed lips
Unbelievable or not, this used to be a big trend a few years ago, at least in my area. Lips are one of the very sensitive areas of your face, where if something changes for the worse, it’s instantly recognizable. And the fact you can’t even wash it up makes it all the worse. If you have small lips try a very modest filling and if you are not content with the color of your lips try a very modest tinting/coloring process that’s not exactly a tattoo, but it will still give some color to your lips.
- Asian eye-enlarging contact lenses
Asians have smaller eyes than other races do. This is why there are tons of beauty regime, especially those which target the eyes looking much larger than they actually are coming from Asia. One of this trends include the eye enlarging contact lenses. But apart from these looking good on camera, there’s a good reason you can almost always only see them on camera. First of all they look fake as hell and the lighter they are the faker they look. Second of all, they look scary in real life. Third of all, you can’t wear most of these for longer periods of time. And last but not least, you have a strict as hell cleansing and disinfectant routine because eyes are very-very sensitive. There are many stories circulating here and there on the effects of putting in a contact lenses that’s not totally disinfected or was not disinfected the right way. Product quality issues should also come up here. And we must take great care of our eyes. So, steer clear from this one, unless you can guarantee the safety of your eyes.
- Face contouring
This is another trend that looks great on camera with the perfect lighting. But in real, unless you exercise this a thousand times, use products of impeccable quality and with great care, you will simply look like someone whose face has been contoured. No wonder most people who do this on YouTube are professionals. The worst case scenario is to try to use bronzer for contouring. These things are so easy to mess up. Plus this routine takes a long time, even if someone is experienced in makeup. I would advise everyone to steer clear of contouring or enrol in a professional course if they want to really learn how this is to be done. And even when you learn it will still look that your face is contoured in real light. Sad but true.
- False eyelashes
Trust me, on most photo you see, the models are sporting fake eyelashes which are put on by someone who knows what she or he is doing. Or at the very least, they have exercised how to deal with them for years, but the former is much more likely. These only look good when they are put on and worked together by a good makeup artist. False eyelashes which you can get to buy at a regular store are practically good for nothing, they are like hair bleaching products, which you should steer clear from. Fake eyelashes will look fake and they are a real struggle to measure and put on professionally, unless you are a pro and you are dealing with the dead expensive high quality eyelashes which still look fake. My tip for you, if you want to have longer eyelashes is the following:
- Get a good mascara: they can actually really help if you choose the correct one and learn how to apply this correctly.
- Book an appointment for a professional eyelash extension: this is when a pro will place eyelashes one by one and glues them in between your real eyelashes. These are often made from material that looks and feels just like your own eyelashes and can reach a dramatic effect.
Finally I’ve managed to end this list and the good news is, I have done this in one go! I will follow this up with another Top 10 on what to do as far as your beauty regime goes. However I cannot finish this blog with a couple of honourable mentions of stuff you should be very vary of or steer clear from altogether.
Honourable mentions:
- Homemade hair and face remedies: these look always better than they are. I tried one and it was a hell of a struggle to get it off from my hair. In terms of hair remedy stick with simple stuff (I follow up on this in my next blog). Also count on allergic reactions (and a lot of mess in your kitchen and bathroom) and absolutely do not use any fruits containing citrus in them on your face. If will burn your skin and your eyes out.
- Hair capsules
- Products promoting big hair and hair growth have become excessively popular. However most will not do nothing for your hair and some can even further damage it. I will be honest. I almost ended up buying the sugar-bear hair capsules, simply because they have a GREAT marketing. But if we stay on the scientific side, there is absolutely no written guarantee by any medical professional stating that the product is any good. Other capsules may and do contain stuff you may be allergic to. For instance taking one type of hair vitamin caused my hair further loss or my nails have suddenly become very prone to break! Chemistry is no joke. Read the Amazon comments well before buying any products. The other MOST important thing is which you must keep in mind: if you do take your regular dose of vitamins and eat nutritious food, your hair will be ok. And if it won’t, you ought to visit a medical professional to find out what’s causing your hair loss.
- Blind faith in coconut oil: this is another one I really wanted to touch on. Coconut oil is nowadays advocated as the duct tape for your beauty and health. However as for its outer use, it may either work of don’t. I’ve tried it and cannot show any visible results. Some with oily hair should avoid using it on all costs. As for using it as a body crème: it stinks and it melts very fast so it’s a struggle to keep it in a shape to use it for body or hair.
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