We are seriously thinking pink these days, after our fancy new packaging of last year, we wanted to seal the deal! It’s not just Wednesdays - we’re delighted to have you using pink every day of the week!
Your pink COM is just as handy when it comes to cleansing as your blue. Simply remove your pink COM from its matching resealable case, and admire it for a moment. Then, soak it in warm water, and squeeze the excess out.
Starting from the centre of your face, glide your Cleanse Off Mitt in small circles from your nose outwards, paying particular care to your eyes and the area around your nose. This will effectively remove any makeup that you’re wearing - even mascara, and it’s false lash friendly, too!
When you’ve gotten all of your makeup off with just the COM and warm water, or cleansed your bare face of any product, old SPF or excess oil, it's time to wash your COM.
You can wash your COM once in the sink with antibacterial hand-soap between machine washes at 30 degrees - just be sure to hang it up by the hook to dry it off properly!
It’s a new year, and a new you *cough*, and time for a new COM too.
Our pink Cleanse Off Mitt will be available only from the cleanseoffmitt.com website and from certain stockists, and for a very limited time - only while stocks last. You can grab yours at the same January-friendly price of €6.50, too!
You can also get yourself a snazzy Pink Weekend Pack too from our online store, which consists of three pink COMs! Ideal for sorting yourself out for Friday, Saturday and Sunday night cleansing without breaking a sweat!
We’re pretty sure that a pink COM is a great remedy to January blues, too!
]]>We're doing our best to become greener (but not meaner) as time goes on - it's definitely a work in progress, but we're definitely on it. And so, here are our sustainable gift ideas for Christmas 2019 - let’s enter 2020 with a bit of eco-pride.
If you’re looking to support an Irish business (and cut down on the air miles of your gifts, too), then The Little Green Shop might be a great stop! This is an online shop which stocks non-toxic, ethically produced goods and gifts, and works to reduce the amount of plastic goods which they sell. There’s a whole host of products available online fin skincare, beauty, children’s toys, and household goods. If you’re looking for inspiration, we’re big fans of their selection of reusable bottles and their cute shopping and tote bags.
The Kafe Cap Vacuum Insulated Bottle would make a cute gift for the coffee lover in your life - leak proof, spill proof and a cosy home for your coffee. Ideal for slipping into your bag for college or the gym, and even fits in a handbag for work - very, very handy.
If carbon emission reduction is on your mind, then consider Orange Complex. Orange Complex is another online store, and they’re based in Kildare, Ireland. They’re invested in sustainability, eco-friendliness, and stylish goods. They have a whole Christmas Present collection, with bits and pieces to fit your budget.
Their homeware products are particularly cute, particularly the rCup Reusable Coffee Cup - useful for any beverages (and will probably save your giftee a bit as you can often get reductions in price from cafes if you BYO reusable cup) and comes in a range of colours! Also the best bit is that it’s fully recyclable!
Bear in mind, in line with their eco-friendly mission statement, Orange Complex does not offer next-day shipping - instead, your order will take 5-7 days to arrive. This is to avoid delivery vehicles carrying less than a full load and to reduce the number of vehicles on the road. So if something catches your eye, be sure to order in plenty of time for Christmas!
The KindThe Kind has opened a pop-up shop on 13 Fade Street, sharing the premises with the eco toy company, Jiminy.ie - two eco-friendly companies for the price of one! You can order online and pick up for free from their premises if you wish, or take a wander inside to survey the goods.
If you’re looking for a sustainable gift for the dudes in your life, the Black Safety Razor might be a cool choice. It’s a nice alternative to the disposable razor for the man looking for a close shave (or to indulge his Sweeney Todd pre-murder fantasies). Since men spend an average of 45 days of their lives shaving, having a nice razor would be a good investment and would cut down hugely on the amount of disposable razors any clean-shaven fellows might end up chucking out over the course of their lives.
They have a whole range of Christmas goodies in stock at the moment, but they are selling out fast!
If you’re looking for an experience rather than a physical gift, and your giftee has an adventurous spirit, then we have an idea…
WildAwake.ie wants to bring us back to nature by aiming to “rekindle environmental and cultural resilience through the (re)learning of ancestral and traditional skills in nature”. This site offers classes, workshops and walks all across the country to help teach you foraging skills, or ethnobotany, Forest School classes for teaching you how to enjoy and thrive in the wildest bits of the country, as well as the Phoenix Forest School for younger nature enthusiasts. It’s certainly a unique gift, and their focus on sustainability and eco-friendliness is pretty stellar.
Evolve Beauty Products are sustainable and made in small batches in Hertfordshire in England. They recently moved into what they call an ‘Eco Studio’ which was designed to be eco-friendly with low energy lighting and 100% wind-powered! They’re a nice alternative to buying the same old stuff for your beauty-prone pals looking for something a little bit fancier.
Their Lip Treat with Organic Cacao and Orange is a lovely gift for anyone with dry lips, but it’s suitable for everyone - perhaps ideal for a pal who might like to do some lip-locking under the mistletoe - and it’s totally vegan and cruelty free!
Jam Art Factory is an independent gallery based in Dublin. It boasted art from local and international artists, prints, sculpture, mugs, and gifts of all kinds. It’s got a really cute range of prints based on Dublin pubs, and you can shop through themes online - and they ship internationally.
They have a lovely range of jewellery, and our fave would be the hand-painted Bear Origami Wooden Necklace made with partially vintage materials. They can even giftwrap and add a note when you buy it online - a very cute, unique gift!
Hip, vintage clothes make great gifts for the discerning giftee! Our two top shouts are Lucy’s Lounge and Nine Crows.
Lucy’s Lounge is a wonderland of bits and pieces and vintage madness on two storeys in Dublin’s Templebar. It’s also home to a lot of local artisans, giving you the chance to buy a huge variety of gifts from local businesses. The basement level is a treasure trove, and the items may be pre-loved but you never know what you might find waiting for you.
Nine Crows are extremely sustainably minded, as most of their stock is unworn ‘dead stock’ which never went into production, or is reworked from previously existing pieces.
They have a thrift shop store as well as their vintage store in Temple Bar - and in Nine Crows Thrift, it’s rare for items to cost over €20, making it friendly on the purse as well as the environment!
Why not take their advice and grab one of their silk scarves to wrap your gifts in? That’s a gift within a gift, very reusable, and friendlier on trees, too (plus you seem like such a glam Santa, goals).
Just take a hot min. That’s all you're going to need. Any more and it’s a bit silly - but we’re kind of shook. First of all, we’re loving the Pretty In Pink vibes. Second of all, on Wednesdays, we might wear pink, but our COM is wearing pink 365 nowadays - iconic.
Not only is our new COM packaging reusable, and resealable, and perfect for travel or play, but it’s also here for a good time and not a long time, because by 2020, we are COMmiting to having fully biodegradable COM and packaging. It's an ideal time to learn how to cleanse with the Cleanse Off Mitt.
You should always rinse your COM before you use it for the first time. Then, when it’s time to get cleansed, you should run your COM a bath. Warm water is best for ideal usage of the COM. Make sure the water is the correct temperature, and make sure your COM is completely saturated. Squeeze it out a little bit before you slip it onto your hand - cooling water running down the sleeves of your pajamas is a horrible feeling at the best of times.
Just your COM + Water: all you need. Slip the COM over your hand, and starting from the centre of your face, gently run the mitt in small circles over your skin, and watch any makeup which you might be wearing disappear. It might seem like magic, but actually it’s just science. The microfibre COM works by employing the tiny microfibre hooks to scoop product, pollution, dead skin cells or even an excess of oil out of your pores. Either way - with just warm water and your friendly, neighbourhood COM, your face is about to be cleansed.
Your COM hasn’t done its night’s work, however. You can use it to perfect your double cleanse if you have the inclination. You COM’s also perfect for cleansing with whatever product you like to use next. You can use the clean side of it to massage the product in, and help you to make sure you’ve gotten it all off your skin post-cleanse. We are anti-splash-and-dash, because you’re too important and grown to soak your own bathroom.
Straight after use, you should clean your COM in the sink with soap in order to get the heavy makeup marks out and avoid staining it. Then, you can pop your COM into a 30 degree celsius wash. If you want to, you can wash it with a bar of soap or liquid soap to get another use out of it before it has to go in the washing machine. As long as this soap is antibacterial and suits your skin, you’re good to go. If you have three COMs on the go, it means that you could almost go a week without having to machine your set if you want to. We like to throw them in the machine throughout the week so we’re not stuck, however.
Stick your COM back into its reusable bag (preferably dry, but if this isn’t possible, be sure to leave the bag open to allow it to dry fully before you close it up again!). With the new packaging, your Cleanse Off Mitt can slip into your gym bag, your weekend bag for sleepovers, or your case for any trips which you might have planned - and stay nice and clean!
So there you have it, COMverts, and now you know all about how to cleanse with the Cleanse Off Mitt. Just like a celeb going back to their old home town, COM might look a million dollars, but it’s still the same COM we know and love. It’s staying #humble, even if it’s looking fire.
You can get your hands on the COM, COM 3 pack, 7 pack or even a 20 pack here!
]]>Now, even the packaging for the Cleanse Off Mitt is resealable and reusable. We’re COMmitting to using sustainable, biodegradable materials for the COM and its packaging by December, 2020.
We’re big into our plans to #binthewipes, for lots of reasons - for your skin, for your wallet, and for the environment.
Have we convinced you to stop, swap and roll over to our store to order yourself a COM? Brilliant. One small step for you, one giant, COM-shaped leap for nerdkind and our planet at large. But we’re not content to stop there.
It’s not just the wipes that have us looking at our vanity tables in shame. There’s plenty of bits and pieces that we have lying around which aren’t very eco-friendly, so we’ve had a think. Here’s a few ideas for swaps that you could make to reduce single-use items in your beauty routine.
If you’re anything like us, you need to kick a path into your shower, crammed with bottles so that the whole place sounds like a bowling alley in the wake of a strike if you make one false move with soap in your eyes.
If this is all a little bit too familiar, it could be time to think about reducing the amount of single-use beauty products in your life and opting instead for a shampoo bar. You can get all sorts of snazzy formulations. For long hair, short hair, thin hair or otherwise - there’s a shampoo bar out there for you.
The most well known are from the one and only Lush, doing their bit for eco-friendly cosmetics and cruelty-free products. Their shampoo bars come in an extensive range, which all smell divine (no surprises there). You could choose a metal tin for transporting them with you wherever you go, or a cork container - even better for the environment. A perfect pal for your COM on the go.
Along a similar vein, there are more options than the bar of soap that’s been crusted onto the side of your bath for ten years. Cleansing bars can be composed of delightful ingredients and do great work for your skin, as well as being very eco-friendly, low on packaging, and lasting longer than the traditional liquid body washes! Gallinee Cleansing Bar is a gorgeous soap-free option for those who might want to avoid soap itself but still give themselves a sustainable cleanse.
If you’re worried about the potential for bacteria or germs from using solid cleansing bars, there’s little need for concern. It’s important to consider how you store your bars in order to avoid real nasties - make sure you’re not storing your cleansing bars in a puddle of water, for example. Try to keep them drained and dry between uses.
You could also lather up the bar for about 30 seconds before you wash yourself with it, but most germs will be washed down the drain as soon as you apply water to the bar. If you’re using a COM to help your cleansing bar along, use a clean one each time!
Depending on the mask in question, plenty are biodegradable due to being made of biocellulose, but the packaging is pretty single-use which isn’t ideal. There are ways around this issue, however, while still getting your mask moment.
There are completely biodegradable options, like the Liberty London AROMATHERAPY ASSOCIATES Hydrosol Sheet Mask Set, at a slightly higher price point - but both packaging and lace face mask are fully biodegradable.
You could consider buying your face masks in bulk, as this is more eco-friendly. Buying in bulk cuts down on packaging and also air miles, if you think about it. Holika Holika Pure Essence Morning Mask Pack Green Tea contains 30 masks in one package, which is a bit of a dream.
You could also think about reusable options. The Add-on Beauty Dry Mask - Hydra Protect can be reused four times and stored hygienically in its carry case.
Solid scent might seem something from Victorian times, but it’s a really good way to cut down on single-use plastic in your beauty routine. If you’ve already made the switch from aerosols to roll-on, solid deo without the plastic container is just one more move. Lush is out in front again, with their plastic-free concoctions in the form of solid bars or deodorant powders.
There are other beauty and self-care bits which you could also consider replacing or rethinking, just by taking a look around your bedroom and bathroom. What about replacing your toothbrush with a more sustainable and compostable bamboo version, such as the Humble Brush? Or to cut down on your single-use plastic reliance - what about swapping to an Organicup or washable sanitary pads?
Your Cleanse Off Mitt can be the start of a great, green journey towards reducing single-use plastic and single-use beauty products in your life. Fresh-faced and eco-aware - not bad for a humble COM.]]>The key to double cleansing is in the name. In a double cleanse, there are 2 steps: removing makeup (with your Cleanse Off Mitt) and a more thorough cleanse. You use your Cleanse Off Mitt to take off your makeup so that your cleanser can get to your skin without there being anything in the way.
Number 1: your skin is cleaner. Easy-peasy, lemon squeezy. Using the Cleanse Off Mitt removes all visible makeup from your skin but if you are a makeup-wearer, there are possibly still traces of makeup and an accumulation of oils in your pores. Traces of makeup + accumulated oils = possible breakouts. When you follow up with a more traditional cleanser, you ensure that absolutely everything is off your face!
Makeup and oils aren't the only things on your face when it comes to skincare routine time. When you walk around outdoors (and indoors too, depending), you're essentially walking through a big cloud of pollution. We cannot guarantee that a double cleanse helps you at all when it comes to pollution and your skin but logically, it has to be more efficient than a single cleanse in this respect.
The second step of your double cleansing routine is usually your treatment step. Your cleanser may have active ingredients, such as salicylic acid or glycolic acid, or be enriched with vitamins or emollients, for example. Your cleanser will be much more effective when it can cleanse and work into your pores without having to remove your makeup too! It is kind of like why you hoover before you mop - your floor will be cleaner if you mop without hoovering but it MAY not be the most effective way to do it.
When we say cleanser, we mean a wash, a foaming cleanser, a gel cleanser, a cream cleanser or whichever one suits your skin the best. The cleanser you should be using depends on your individual skin concerns and your skin type. If you have oily, acne-prone skin, your cleanser will contain ingredients that break down sebum and control oil. If you have dry or dehydrated skin, your cleanser will be packed full of things that will pump your skin with moisture and help your skin to keep its own moisture in.
Step 1: Wash your hands with antibacterial soap. If you have bacteria on your hands and you don't wash them, you just transfer that bacteria to your Cleanse Off Mitt AND your face. Not ideal.
Step 2: Rinse your COM in warm water, wring it out and pop your hand in it.
Step 3: Working outwards and downwards from the centre of your face (for lymphatic drainage), swipe the COM across your face gently and use the same side to remove your eye makeup too.
Step 4: Rub an acorn-sized amount of cleanser onto your face with your fingers for 60 seconds.
Step 5: Do the COM Roll - flip your Cleanse Off Mitt over to the other side and remove your cleanser thoroughly using the mitt.
Et voilà - you've done the COM-certified Double Cleanse Routine that all of us here in Nerd HQ do each night. COMsider yourself part of the family!
Rome wasn't built in a day and looking into the sheer amount of things you could start doing to get your skin healthy can be daunting... Where is your skin fairy godmother when you need her? Well, why have one skin guide when you get a whole team of them here at Nerd HQ?
Gone are the days of SPF covering your face in a greasy, white film - it is 2018, folks, and we have options galore as to how to protect our skin. There are traditional creams, gels, powders and even tablets.
It's said that 90% of the ageing process is caused by extrinsic factors, such as pollution, smoking and, you guessed it, exposure to sunlight. When it comes to ageing (or anything skin-related), it is always easier to prevent. While we're on it, this doesn't just go for the signs of ageing but for skin cancer and melanoma too. Skin cancer is prevalent in Ireland, diagnosable in 1 in 6 men and 1 in 9 women over a lifetime.
Your skin is exposed to harmful UVA and UVB rays all day, everyday unless you spend your days in a cave with no openings. This is why SPF is a COMmitment to make now rather than later. Our top affordable SPF pick would be the Avène Cleanance Sunscreen SPF50+. This baby comes in at €20.00 and will last you months. It glides on and dries slightly matte, making it ideal as a makeup primer.
We get it - when you get home from a long day, all you want to do is swipe across your face, get rid of visible dirt and move on with your bad self. The reason that we advocate for using the Cleanse Off Mitt in a double cleansing routine is because the Cleanse Off Mitt will remove your makeup and oils from your skin but following it up with a traditional face wash or cream cleanser will completely erase any buildup from pollution and truly cleanse the pores.
If you're using active ingredients in the rest of your routine, as in ingredients like salicylic acid or vitamin A, you want these ingredients to penetrate into the skin properly. If you have residue left on your skin from your makeup, sebum or pollution, these products may struggle to get in. It is like popping your serum into your hand and pouring half directly down the sink.
"Stop picking" is the type of advice that even some of us in Team Nerd used to ignore. You're trying to clear the pore to get rid of the spot, so what's the harm in doing it manually? Fact: no good can come from picking a spot. Yes, it won't have a head...But you have pushed it further down into the skin thus spreading bacteria, you have spread more bacteria across the surface of the skin, you've made healing time longer and you've increased the chance of post-inflammatory inflammation (marks) and scarring too.
Ditch the picking and work on the source of the spots instead. Swabbing those suckers with salicylic acid, cleansing thoroughly and keeping the skin hydrated will keep them at bay. We've swapped out baring our claws for Waxperts Wonder Pads (€9.99) and our skin has never felt better.
There's a reason "part-time skincare" isn't a phrase bandied around often. For results, prevention and protection of the skin, you need consistency. That means using your cleanser morning and night (or as directed), not just popping on a bit of serum when your skin is dry, taking your supplements as advised everyday and not giving up on a product after two weeks if it hasn't worked wonders.
The average skin cycle is 28 days. This means if you're trying out a product, you need to give it at least 28 days to see if it will work with your skin. You aren't getting any of the benefits from your possibly costly cleanser, SPF or serum if you aren't using them consistently - so if you're trying to save money by scrimping on usage, you really ain't.
Your gut is your inner skin! It is believed that sugar spikes insulin levels thus leading to excess oil production, which can lead to the formation of spots and AGEs (advanced glycation end-products) which attack collagen and elastin, the part of the skin that makes it plump and taut. Keep sugar to a minimum... The odd bar of chocolate will not be completely detrimental to the skin but it's best to keep it as a non-daily thing.
Eating water-rich fruit and vegetables, like cucumbers, tomatoes, broccoli and watermelon, help to hydrate the skin from within and keep it in good condition! Omegas help to boost the skin's barrier, the part of the skin that protects it from environmental damage, and locks in moisture, so make sure to get them in however you can - this means plenty of fish, avocado, nuts and seeds.
However, if you're not eating five pieces of fish a week, supplements may be the way to go to get those omegas. Team Nerd loves Advanced Nutrition Programme Skin Omegas+ (€36.00).
Picture this: it's 3am, you've just gotten home, demolished a little bit of everything that was in the presses whilst barely keeping yourself awake and pour yourself into bed. You've left your makeup on but one night won't do any harm. Not true, unfortunately. Leaving your makeup on over night can cause congestion that will take days to get rid of or even months if you are prone to getting long-lasting marks from spots.
Your skin doesn't breathe but it does need time to repair itself without being smothered by makeup. Leaving your makeup on your skin at night can get in the way of its natural processes. No surprise on our favourite way to remove makeup... Of course, it's the Cleanse Off Mitt.
Ban.do's L.A. vibes are perfect to brighten up your loved one's January and who doesn't need a travel mug for bringing that green tea on the go? This Rose Parade Thermal Mug costs only €12.95!
This lip balm is our office go-to as it is, by name and nature, ultra-nourishing and so it is ideal for these blustery Winter months. If that's not enough, "rêve de miel" means "dream of honey"... awwww. It is €12.00, which is a bit above the average lip balm price, but we can testify that it lasts absolute yonks and it is so good that the user will actively try not to lose it.
Stuff their stocking with Spritz O'Clocks on the go! The travel size Lotion Yon-ka is key for the friend who is always awaitin' skin hydratin', whilst still being a busy bee. It can be popped into car doors, handbags, manbags or just on to one's desk. Full of essential oils, it is a wellness retreat in a can for €17.50.
It smells fantastic, it's completely natural and it is Irish! The Human+Kind Orange Body Wash is a steal at €7.95 and it is a definite upgrade on the overly-sensitising, fragranced body washes of times gone. It is the citrusy shower friend that all will be happy to find on Christmas morning!
If someone were to ask any of Nerd HQ what they'd like to receive the most of, we would all say sheet masks. We can't get enough of them, especially the Seoulista Instant Facials. Choose from Charcoal Detox, Brightening, Correct & Calm or Super Hydration. Each mask costs €8.99.
Not only is the Pukka Cleanse Tea deliciously fennel-y and minty but it gets your skin glowing from within and it smells better than most scented candles we know! As a bonus, it is only €3.45 per box.
Spritz No. 2 on our list... okay, but you can never be TOO obsessed with Spritz O'Clock. However, this is a Spritz of a different breed. The Anthelios Invisible Fresh Mist is an SPF that can be applied before or after makeup which makes it a game-changer in light protection. It is so handy for SPF top-ups throughout the day and it is only €14.99 for a 75ml bottle.
TanOrganic is not just a sunless tan, it is a skin tan. Not only will it give your glow-loving pal a bronze sheen, but it will nourish and hydrate their skin at the same time. Now, that's a concept we can get behind. The oil is €24.99 and glides on like a cream never could. Oh, and it is Irish too!
A mini cleanser is the stocking filler to get for those frequent flyers, mini breakers and gym goers in your life and the Dermalogica Special Cleansing Gel cleanses all skin types without stripping the skin. Not only that but it goes excellently alongside the Cleanse Off Mitt. The 50ml cleanser goes for €13.10!
Surprise! Of course the Cleanse Off Mitt is our must-have stocking filler - it is the best accompaniment to a cleanser, any other skincare product or, well, anything. Everyone of all genders, ages and skin types has to wash their face, so why not give the gift of easy, skin-friendly cleansing this Christmas?
Everyone is a special effects makeup artist these days... however, some people don't want to pay special effects makeup prices to complete their look. Non-toxic does not equal skin-friendly and PVA glue should NEVER be applied to the face.
Why? The colourants, dyes and other ingredients found in non-skin products have not been tested on skin, so you are more likely to react to the wide array of ingredients... nobody wants to be left with blemishes in real life because they were creating a blemish illusion!
Make sure to only use brands that you have researched or heard of, like Snazaroo, to avoid any nasty ingredients.
While on this note, do not use craft glitter in lieu of face glitter! The difference is that if craft glitter can get into your eye, it can scratch your cornea and leave you in serious pain... Look for glitter marked as "cosmetic glitter".
Sharing is caring, right? Not necessarily... When it comes to face paint, you are much more likely to spread bacteria from face to face due to the application method. Unless you disinfect the face paint pan after every swipe, your face paint becomes a petri dish in no time!
For the acne-prone, this could spell absolute disaster. Stick to tubes when buying face paint as it is the most hygienic option, as there is no "double-dipping"!
Most reputable face paint brands contain antibacterial ingredients in the product to stop the spread of bacteria anyway but it is always good to be on the safe side.
Skin-friendly face paint should not cause any irritation to the skin but it is hard to tell which brands clog pores and which don't! We here at Nerd HQ find that after using face paint our skin is definitely more congested than before...
However, considering Halloween is only one night, the possibility of clogging is something that can be overlooked but you should definitely be ensuring it is completely and absolutely removed before you hit the hay.
The Cleanse Off Mitt removes face paint gently and fully on its own but you should follow up with your regular cleanser to make sure that not even a smudge of it is left on yourself.... with the added bonus of avoiding long-lasting pillow stains!
If the face paint being used is particularly stubborn, add a little bit of coconut oil to avoid any rubbing on delicate young skin.
Liquid latex is essential to pulling off a semi-realistic wound, but you can end up pulling off more than just a fabulous costume!
Liquid latex is a cosmetic adhesive - its entire purpose is to stick to the skin. Unfortunately, because of this, it also sticks to the vellus hair (AKA the fine, thin "peach fuzz" that is found all over the body).
Your vellus hair helps to protect the skin against extrinsic stressors like harsh weather so it is important to keep it intact. Remove liquid latex using warm water and a cleanser to loosen the bond between the latex and your skin and its vellus hair.
Face paint can really take it out of the skin! Even if it it skin safe, it can be very drying and leave the skin looking dull and even a bit flakey.
Bring it back to life with a product formulated for sensitive skin like Declaré's Gentle Cleansing Powder, which can be used on both adults and children. If your skin is in need of hydration, reach for the hyaluronic acid!
At the end of the day, as long as you are using brands that are well-known and committed to skin safety, your skin will survive the night! Happy Halloween from everyone at Nerd HQ!
]]>What is a life hack? Simple - a life hack is something that makes your life a little bit easier, whether it's using something for more than one purpose or using something for a purpose that is not the most traditional. We've compiled a list of the absolute favourite Nerd HQ Life Hacks...
Runners are the most practical of all shoes; FACT. Thankfully, they're becoming more and more acceptable in the work place. So now, you're wearing your Nikes/Adidas/New Balances/Pumas in the office, to the gym, at home and on the sesh. Let's be real: they're probably not smelling the best.
Don't fork out money on expensive sprays when you can life hack the smell away. Add two tablespoons of baking soda to five drops of an essential oil of your choosing, mix it together, and shake it into the inside of your shoes.
Leave it overnight and hoover it out in the morning et voilà, the box fresh scent is back!
Pleather scuffs so easily. You get a brand new pair of shoes, you're feeling fly, about to leave the house, and you see the tell-tale flap coming off your shoe, exposing the dirt-grey material beneath. You're already late... what are you going to do?!
Easy peasy - just gently remove the flap and colour over the mark with black permanent marker. Is this a classy life hack? No. Is it practical? YES.
Oo-er... we mean your bedroom drawer. Well, technically, also your other drawers. You know the little cottony scented pads behind the foil doors in magazine perfume ads? Most people swipe it on themselves and chuck them out straight away. You wouldn't think you're being wasteful, would you? Newsflash: you are!
Pop them directly into your underwear drawer, other modes of storage or your freshly odour-neutralised trainers. It'll gently scent your clothes, leaving you smelling divine all the time.
Blotting paper is a fairly frivolous expense to many of us. We are oily as a chip pan and we want to be able to instantly blot it off without completely re-applying our whole face, but we don't want to spend 20 euro for a pack of 50 for the privilege.
A very simple blotting paper hack is to separate toilet paper and dust it very lightly with mineral powder to soak up any excess oil. We recommend splitting the toilet paper layers whilst wearing gloves so as to avoid transferring any bacteria. You can keep your DIY blotting papers in an old mint tin.
We are not openly advising you to steal from hotels. However, when you're going on an in-country mini break, bring full-sized shampoo, conditioner and shower gel, as you are not restricted on liquids. Then, save the minis you're given for when you can't bring as many liquids as you'd like! Ta-da - this one is maybe the easiest to do and will save you trying desperately to funnel slippery stuff into tiny tubes.
Everyone with a narrow face who is not blessed with the gift of perfect vision understands the struggle of trying to find glasses that fit your face properly. This leads to your glasses slipping down your face all the blimming time.
Take medium-width hair bobbins and wind them around the end of the each leg at the bend, as shown in the picture. That's all there is to it! The bobbins will keep your specs snug to your face so that you can live your life without the hassle of pushing them up all the time. Bliss.
The Cleanse Off Mitt is a mitt of many talents. On top of using it the classic mitt-to-skin way, you can use it as a pre-cleanser before a traditional cleanser OR apply your cleanser directly to the mitt to save time! Ta-da, super clean skin!
The Cleanse Off Mitt makes your life easier and saves you time. Hack your skincare routine!
There are so many affordable skincare brands nowadays that there are really no excuses!
Of course we're going to say Cleanse Off Mitt (€5.95) - it's cheap and easy in the best way. If you keep your Cleanse Off Mitt for the recommended three months, it works out at just under €2 per month AKA cheaper than your wipe habit.
The humble cleanser is the cornerstone of your skincare routine. Biofresh's Yoghurt of Bulgaria Sensitive Probiotic Ultra Mild Facial Wash Gel (€11.95) helps the skin to create helpful skin bacteria (and you'll know all about this, Biomed students), thus balancing the pH balance of the skin. When your balance is good, you're less likely to get spots, rosacea flareups or dry patches.
Serums aren't just for boujee older ladies. In fact, we recommend to swap a traditional moisturiser for a serum as unlike moisturisers, serums can penetrate much deeper into the skin. The Ordinary Hyaluronic Acid 2% + B5 (€6.80) is extraordinarily cheap. Hyaluronic is holy grail, hero ingredient stuff. It hydrates your skin intensely to keep you looking fresh even when you were knocking through a big bag of cans the night before.
SPF
Yes, you may feel as if you're young and so your skin is indestructible. Unfortunately, this is simply not true. Technically, your skin will start to age from 25 onwards. However, sun damage now will show up later. We love La Roche-Posay Anthelios Invisible Fresh Mist SPF50 (€14.99) as it is light and easy to mist on before and after makeup.
Waxperts Wonder Pads (€9.99) were invented to treat and prevent ingrown hairs after waxing. How and ever, they are bursting with salicylic acid to clear up spots, blackheads and excessive oiliness.
La Roche-Posay Eau Thermale 50ml (€4.49) is teeny-tiny, approximately the size of your hand. This means that you can carry it ANYWHERE - to lectures, to the SU and to the sesh. Spritzing ensures constant skin hydration and it's also really nice and makes you feel like a glamorous supermodel a la Gigi Hadid (especially if you shake back your hair while doing it).
If you are to buy everything on this list, it comes in at €54.17 and will realistically last you between 2-3 months. Compare this to your monthly pizza budget and see if you can justify it... but don't go cutting your pizza budget, that's barbaric.
Psst... by the way, our Back to School sale is still going until Saturday... get your mitts on 3 Mitts for €15.00...
https://cleanseoffmitt.com/collections/com-collection/products/cleanse-off-mitt-3-mitts
]]>Makeup can make you feel like the supermodel you've always thought you are on the inside, like Our Qween Beyoncé herself. But bearing that in mind, there are some occasions where you shouldn't be wearing makeup, end of.
We've all heard this but maybe you don't realise how serious this is. Wearing cosmetic (AKA non-mineral) makeup while exercising is a skin sin beyond all others - to be honest, you might as well hand-fill your pores.
Why? Cosmetic makeup sits in the pore, creating congestion. When you exercise, your skin secretes sweat and excess sebum. When these fluids mix with makeup, they can cause irritation and pustules (spots). Yikes.
Holiday season may be over for most of us but it still rings true. If you're lying out in the sweltering heat of Gran Canaria, sweating buckets, the sweat will mix with the makeup you're wearing and clog your pores. On top of that, most people are less likely to properly apply SPF when it means they'll have to touch pre-existing makeup - ain't nobody want sun damage!
When you sleep in your makeup, you're essentially mixing a face-cocktail of old makeup, oils, bacteria from your pillow and sweat. Does that sound like it's good for your skin?! Because it's not! It'll transform your face into breakout central.
Nerd HQ is full of seasoned skincare professionals who've worked in spas and salons in the past - apparently, plenty of people show up to bask in steam rooms and saunas with a full face on. Everyone has insecurities, and for some people, having skin problems can be so debilitating that it's difficult to be in public without makeup on. But seeing as the purpose of saunas and steam rooms is to refresh the skin and draw impurities out, wearing cosmetic makeup (as it sits inside the pore) is like putting a plastic cover over your skin and it traps everything you're trying to get out in the pore.
Unless you're a synchronised swimmer, your face will be submerged most of the time anyway. Even the most waterproofed of waterproof makeup has a maximum water submersion wear time so save yourself the application and go without.
This is the most important time to not wear makeup. Sometimes you want to walk out into the world barefaced and brave, fearless and foundationless, triumphant and sans topcoat!! Nothing should truly stop you from doing that (although, we see the point if you are a makeup artist as your own face is like a walking portfolio). Your face is your face and your skin is your skin, with its own ecosystem and landscape and we will always encourage everyone to embrace the beauty of nature. So what if the sides of your nose are red or you've got a spot that should have its own passport? Beauty is in the eye of the beholder - be your own beholder.
For all of your makeup removal needs, whether for before the beach or before the bed, reach for your Cleanse Off Mitt - the skin-friendly and affordable makeup wipe alternative!
]]>
Well, here at Nerd HQ, we've already been through it all (and trust us, after school, it feels like you age by the second) and feel like we're in the best position to offer you our tips for getting through the school year with minimum stress.
Your parents fork out money for you to have the privilege of the hardback journal with the school's crest, you little.... To be honest, we all know that you're just going to Tippex-graffiti the front of it and write down homework in front of the teacher who demands you to write it in the journal.
We hate to be Debbie Downers but organisational skills are essential for your life after school, so buy yourself a 12 pack of coloured pens (Staedtler Triplus Rollers are the favourites in Nerd HQ) and make sure to use the journal to your best advantage.
Colour code which essays are for tomorrow and which are for next week, put in the days that you have Gaelic football and jot in when you'll be walking home instead of getting a lift - we never remember our umbrellas until it's too late.
Your P.E. teacher is a fully-fledged adult and even if they pretend they don't, they know that you don't always have a headache/that time of the month. Sometimes you gotta go for it and get your face sweaty. You know what happens to your skin when you sweat under makeup? Bad, bad things. Pull out the trusty blue hero and swipe off that concealer before that beep test.
We're a bunch of dream chasers here in Nerd HQ - we are the people who listened to our parents tell us not to study cosmetology, English literature, history or media studies and made the choice to go against them. Now, we're not saying explicitly to say no to your parents as they tend to be right in the end.
But if Pops is pushing you to do business studies and you don't have space in your schedule to pursue something you're really good at and enjoy, sit down and have a chat with him. Emphasis on chat, NOT shout. Seriously - don't shout.
So, hypothetically, you've got a broken door. You can either have a registered professional fix the door for you or you can paint over the crack everyday so that you can't see it. The real solution is fairly obvious, right?
Rather than frantically trying to plaster over spots with thick foundation when it comes to the day of the ball, get a simple skincare routine to fight the cause. We recommend the Acne Out range from Biofresh Skincare, probiotics and switching to fully mineral makeup like Bellàpierre.
Unfortunately for you, we can't be with you every step of the way. But the Cleanse Off Mitt can, for all of your skin needs - whether it's the post disco cleanse or the speedy swipe after school.
]]>
We hope you know your dermis from your epidermis, when you should be wearing sunscreen and why baby wipes are harmful.
You have three minutes to answer 13 questions... fingers at the ready!
Here at Nerd HQ, we've put together our list of things that you need to have (and might forget) for Electric Picnic (and any other festival, for that matter)...
Wellies are the obvious one and they're what everyone thinks of when they think festival. But we mean a real, solid pair of wellies, none of those flimsy, half-length fashion wellies. Of course, being stylish and on-trend is important but what's also important is not going home with pneumonia or gangrene!!!
In the last few years, you shouldn't ever be caught dead at a festival without the obligatory silver-speckled cheekbones. Just be careful it doesn't get absolutely everywhere because you'll be picking it off your jeans for the next seven years - trust us, we know. We adore Wet'N'Wild's Color Icon Glitter Single in Spiked because it's not gritty little bits of pigment, it's more like a soft paste meaning it won't scratch your skin!!!
People who don't bring floor mats when camping are mad people who should not be trusted. Having enough blankets and a sleeping bag are givens but the key to not waking up with a creaky back is the humble floor mat. It doesn't even have to be a real floor mat, it can be a yoga mat or a pilates mat - anything that separates your back from the cold, hard ground!
Who cares about hair looking greasy? It's the feeling of stringy, oily locks that ruins your festival buzz. Who has time to queue two hours for the shower though? Make sure to stock up on more than enough dry shampoo. Kevin Murphy's FRESH.HAIR Cleaning Spray is perfect as it doesn't weigh down the hair like other dry shampoos tend to.
You can put all of your troubles aside for the weekend, but you can never stop the sun. Remember that SPF isn't just for heated sunlight, it's for all sunlight so pack factor 50 for your face and at least 30 for your body in case we get one of those nearly mythical sunny weekends. BrushOnBlock is a mineral-based, powdered SPF that comes in a very portable format making it easy for top ups when you're standing in even the largest of crowds.
There's no point in bringing a portable phone charger if you end up getting water in your raincoat pocket and destroying it FOREVER! Get yourself one of those kind of nerdy waterproof phone pouches to protect your baby, besides, what's wrong with being nerdy?!
You're realistically going to be wearing long-wear, military grade makeup all weekend. Instead of letting your skin suffer by wearing it all night or dehydrating the bejaysus out of it with baby wipes, take your Cleanse Off Mitt and a bottle of water with you. You can remove your makeup from the comfort of your tent with minimal effort, just give your Cleanse Off Mitt a quick scrub in the morning with antibacterial soap and hang it up to dry and it's ready to go again.
I cannot count how many times over the years people have asked me my opinion on using makeup wipes but I can tell you that every time, the answer is: “DON’T!!!”. The world of beauty has adapted so much over the last few decades, especially when it comes to the creation of products for the purpose of ease. Everyone wants to be able to take their makeup off as simply and effectively as possible but makeup wipes come with a price: that price is your skin health.
Makeup "remover" wipes are a bit of a misnomer, as they don't really remove a whole lot. Think of all of the places you are in throughout the day: on the street, in public bathrooms, at the gym, in nightclubs... the list goes on! When you use makeup wipes, all of the grime your skin has gathered from these places as well as your old makeup and natural facial oils are pushed around your face.
Yes, makeup wipes remove some of your makeup but they don't come close to removing all of it! When you leave residual makeup, oils and grime on your skin, all of the debris clogs your pores and prevents products like toners and exfoliators from properly penetrating the skin's upper layers. If you're starting your skincare routine with a wipe, everything that comes after is essentially pointless.
But makeup wipes have other very negative effects on your skin...
Ageing
Dehydration
Sensitivity
Breakouts
If you’ve ever used a makeup wipe (let’s not lie, we all have at some stage), you’ll have noticed that using wipes can take a little bit of scrubbing and rubbing to get it all off. This friction irritates the skin even further!
Just because makeup wipes are a no-go doesn’t mean that all quick fixes are bad for your skin. Our Cleanse Off Mitt is chemical-free, and quick and easy to use. The teeny-tiny microfibre loops gently scoop the debris from your pore. No need to worry if your skin is sensitive, dry, oily or combination, as the Cleanse Off Mitt is suitable for all skin types. For complete skin cleanliness, follow it up with your regular cleanser.
If you want to prevent the signs of ageing on your skin and keep your skin hydrated and clear, keep the wipes for removing coffee stains from your blouses on your way into work and keep them away from your face!!!
]]>