Posts Tagged ‘tools’

OFTEN OVERLOOKED: THE TOOTHBRUSH

Sometimes we focus so much on what’s new that we forget how many tools we have hiding in the drawers at home. A spare toothbrush comes in quite handy in the hair world and I always keep a couple in my kit. The two best uses I’ve found for this ol’ thing are:

Smoothing down annoying fly-aways + baby hairs around the hair line. Spray a little strong-holding hairspray directly on the bristles of the toothbrush and smooth those little buggers down. On fine hair, I spray it directly on the toothbrush. With thick/coarse hair I usually spray it straight on the little hairs and then smooth over with the toothbrush because with coarser hair you usually need a bit more spray that what you’ll get off the toothbrush.

Cleaning out the vent on your blow dryer is important! Okay, you know when the blow dryer starts getting hotter than normal or even shorts out? It’s probably caused by a build up of lint or dust in the back of your blow dryer. The fan and motor have to work insanely hard and they get really hot if the back isn’t clean + clear. Cleaning that vent out isn’t usually very easy, but with a toothbrush it is! Just run the bristles of the toothbrush back and forth across the metal mesh on back. I like to remove the vent on my ELCHIM dryer, blow the remaining dust particles through using the front end of the dryer, then re-attatch it. The more particles you keep out of the vent, the cleaner it will run and the longer it will last.

What beauty uses do you have for a spare toothbrush? Let’s exchange ideas below!

DIY: MAKEUP BRUSH ROLL

photos/post/design: Kristin Ess

This is by far the most ambitious tutorial we’ve ever done on TBD, but we think you guys might be ready for something a little bit more challenging. This DIY dip-dye brush roll is such a good gift and you can do it in any color you want. I picked white + teal, which is probably not the smartest for makeup brushes but it looks the prettiest! Besides, I’ll probably use it for hair combs, scissors and clips. In order to do this little project you must have/use a sewing machine. I know that sounds a little old school, but it’s time to bust it out and bring it back! If you don’t know how to sew, maybe you collaborate with a friend, mom, aunt, grams… whoever’s got the ol’ Singer. Here we go! (more…)

SHOP TIL YOU DROP 2011

photo by kristin ess, post designed by kristin ess

We’re getting pretty flooded with emails about your upcoming holiday wish lists. We thought we’d help out by making a long list with some of our personal favorites. We’ve also saved you the time of hunting by including the links. Hopefully this will come in very handy for this week of heavy shopping! Or perhaps you should just accidentally leave this list lying around for a particular someone to stumble upon… xo

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THIS OR THAT

photo: kristin ess + thebeautydepartment.com post designed by kristin ess

Kristin wants to know…