Essential Oils for You and Your Home

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acne, anti-inflammator, antibiotic, antiseptic, antispasmodic, antiviral, anxiety, babies, bathroom, blisters, burns, chemical ingredients, chemists, chest balms, cleaning products, clear, compresses, couple of drops, dab, dandruff, diffuser blends, direct use, environment, essential oils, eucalyptus, family, floors, fridge, gingivitis, head, heady scent, health, home, humidifier, immune boosting powerhouse oil, inhalants, insect bites, lavender, lemon, Lemon essential oil, less drying, lifestyle, lift your mood, light clean scent, massage blends, muscle massage oils, natural goodness, natural menthol, pillowcases, purify, Relax, rubs, sedative properties, shake, shake off, shower gel, skin, sleep, slumber, smell, smell amazing, soap, steam inhalation remedy, stings, stubborn stains, sunshine, super popular ingredient, supermarkets, Tea Tree Oil, totally natural, universally loved, warm water, young children

Essential oils not only smell amazing, but they are totally natural and can be used on your skin, for your health and in your home.

You can create massage blends, inhalants, rubs, compresses, diffuser blends and cleaning products that won’t harm you, or the environment but could lift your mood and boost your senses.

We have looked at some of the most accessible oils out there and hope you’ll find one that suits you and fits into your lifestyle.

Lavender
This is one of the most universally loved essential oils and for good reason. This immune boosting powerhouse oil can be used as an antiseptic, antiviral, antibiotic and antispasmodic. It helps with sleep or anxiety issues due to its sedative properties. It can be used for treating burns and blisters, insect bites and stings. You can find it in most chemists and supermarkets, and a little goes a long way. You can help the whole family relax by adding a couple of drops to the bath, and if you dab on pillowcases, the heady scent could help ease you into slumber the natural way.

Eucalyptus
This is a super popular ingredient in chest balms and muscle massage oils because the natural menthol helps you to breathe easily and relax again. To make your own steam inhalation remedy, add one or two drops of oil to a bowl of hot water. Close your eyes, inhale deeply – draping a towel over your head to trap the steam – and say goodbye to your stuffy nose and painful sinuses. You can also add several drops to a humidifier to clear the air at home or work, but we would suggest you avoid direct use with babies and young children. You can add to a tissue or item of clothing to help keep your head clear and focus straight.

Tea tree oil
Tea tree oil is antiviral, anti-inflammatory, it can be used to deal with gingivitis and helps shake off dandruff. It is also a gentle way to treat acne and is less drying than more common chemical ingredients. Simply add a couple of drops of oil to half a cup of warm water, shake well and apply to your skin with a clean cloth and let the natural goodness soak in. Not only is it effective on your skin, but tea tree oil can also be used to purify your home and can be added to soap, shower gels and even your surface cleaners to give them a boost.

Lemon
It might be the middle of winter, but lemon essential oil can bring a little sunshine to your life whatever the time of year. Adored for its light clean scent, this essential oil is perfect for homemade cleaning products as it is naturally purifying and can clear away stubborn stains and freshen the air. You can use lemon essential oil to freshen up your fridge, clean your floors, put a little on the carpets in your car and it will make your bathroom smell so much better than ever before.

What’s your favourite essential oil and how do you use it everyday? Let us know, we are all ears and open to new ideas.

Team Pure Beauty

Clean up your make-up act

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Baby shampoo, bag, bar, base, bathroom, beauty staples, bin, brushes, change colour, clear, cool, cream-based foundations, crumble, dark, day, die, dry, dry naturally, dry up, evening, eye, eye infection, formula, G&T, game over, gentle liquid soap, good to go, life is busy, light reflecting particles, lip liners, lipstick, make-up bag, Mascara, mix, nail varnish, prone to clumping, Pure Beauty, re-infection, replaced, shake, share, sheer, smell, smoothly, SPF, synthetic, tip, winter

We use our make-up bags every day, often more than once, but how often do you clean it and clear it out?

Made you think, didn’t we?

The reality is, life is busy, time is short and with a G&T with your name on it at the bar, you don’t want to spend your time sorting out old mascaras, but you need to.

Today we are looking at just how long you should keep your beauty staples, before throwing them in the bin and replacing them with something shiny and new.

First things first, take everything out of your bag, clean and dry it and if it has seen better days, buy a new one. This is also the perfect time to wash your brushes. Baby shampoo is brilliant for natural hair brushes and a gentle liquid soap does the job for the synthetic ones. Brushes really can be a breeding ground for germs, so wash them once a week to be safe. Rather than storing them in the bottom of your bag, keep brushes tip up in pot and allow them to dry naturally.

Next, sort out the products in front of you and anything that you haven’t used for a while, that is past its best or has had the top left off, should be replaced. It is also worth noting, if you’ve had an eye infection it’s a good idea to throw out make-up that could cause a re-infection. Oh, and if you want your stuff to last, don’t store it in the bathroom but somewhere cool, dark and dry.

The shelf life for foundation changes depending on the formula, but generally cream-based foundations last between six months to a year, and if there’s an SPF it tends to be less. Always pay attention to how your foundation looks and feels on your skin and if you notice that is starts to change colour or smell, it is time to ditch it. Also remember, as we head towards winter, you might want to swap your lighter sheer foundation for a stronger base but go for a product with light reflecting particles.

Ideally a mascara is good to go for around four months. After this time, they tend to become dry and prone to clumping, and using the same brush over and over can increase the risk of eye infections.

We all tend to have a different lipstick in every bag, ones for day, others for evening and ones we never even wear. This is totally fine but just make sure you keep them clean and if you come across one that is past it’s best, chuck it away and use another one. Oh, and don’t share them!

Eye and lip liners can last up to three years but it is likely you will use them before that, or they will dry up and crumble. Again, don’t pass these around on a night out and at the first sign of dehydration, bin and buy a new one.

Nail varnish is one of those products that never seems to die, but shake it and if the colour doesn’t completely mix or the varnish is too sticky to apply smoothly, it’s game over.

Got a tip we have missed, then get in touch and let us know.

Team Pure Beauty