The real easy real cheap makeup brush DEEP CLEANSE

As makeup tools get fancier and makeup becomes longer lasting, companies have realised more than ever a need for a great makeup brush cleaner that will get rid of heavy stains and eliminate bacteria for the everyday makeup wearer. While I am as thrilled as most by different cleaning tools and contraptions we should first identify the difference between a spot clean and a deep clean and be honest to ourselves when a deep clean is calling.

It's simply a matter that takes a long time, especially if you have a sizable collection of brushes because you have to be meticulous with everyone, it also inevitably is followed by cleaning the bathroom sink, since that too will be filthy after every brush deep clean.

Today I am here to cut out the nonsense and to tell you the easiest, cheapest method around with 1 product that you can get anywhere, yes anywhere (did I tell you that I'm living in China right now?)

Lets get started-

1. Gather all dirty brushes from far and wide
the brush is dirty when the fibers are coloured any colour other than the colour of brush hairs, if they've been used at least once, or if they've been sitting around for sometime without being used (dust is bad too ya'no)

2.Squirt a generous dollop of Johnsons Baby Shampoo into a cup (I use my brush holder because it cleans that at the same time!)
actually, any gentle cleanser will work, certainly no cleaning products you'd use in your house, only ones you would use on your skin- add more cleaning product to the cup as you need it

3.Hold the brush under a warm running tap


4. Dunk the brush head into the dollop of shampoo

5.Work those fibres between your fingers
be firm enough to get in the nooks and between the fibres, but gentle enough not to pull out a single hair if you can help it

6.Rinse

7. Repeat until your hand is raw from cleaning or you have no brushes left to clean (whichever is first)

BONUS BEAUTY BLENDER STEP
It's exactly the same principle except you'll need to dunk and drown that damn sponge in more baby shampoo than you imagine. Work it into the sponge, rinse and repeat until that water runs out the sponge clear. 
Remember: The first squeeze to extract the initial gunk is the most satisfying

8. Tuck your brushes into their little towel bed
I've made a pillow on one side for the handles that is raised so that the water runs out the brush
If your brush is double ended just lay it flat

Leave overnight to dry and thank me, and yourself in the morning !

A moments silence for the brush that didn't make it through this clean today. My Models Own Pencil brush, and he'll be replaced back in the UK

Makeup brushes: The essentials

If you're looking to start out with some makeup brushes it can be a bit confusing, there are so many different shapes and sizes and brands and colours and hairs and fibres!

Here I'm going to share with you what I would consider to be the 'essentials' this is for the face and the eyes because it is true that your fingers, sponges, and sponge tip applicators that you get with some makeup is sufficient. Investing in some brushes is the next slightly more serious step in your makeup collection.

First of all, I will always recommend synthetic (man made) hairs over natural (animals such as ponys and goats) haired brushes, they are more durable, often cheaper and to be honest, kinder. My initial brush set came from BareMinerals which uses only natural hairs, the brushes are good but knowing what I know now, if given the choice I would purchase all synthetic

The brush breakdown:

1. A foundation brush. If you're a liquid user then a flat foundation brush will work a treat. Mine is from Boots No7 range and I used a money off voucher aswell. If you're more of a powder foundation girl then a kabuki brush is the way foward

2. An 'other' powder brush. It will often be called a face brush, or a bronzer brush. Its just flat and fluffy and is a universal tool to apply bronzer, blusher, highlighter and finishing powder.

3. A flat eye brush, this one is fluffy and broad enough to cover the whole eyelid in a shadow easily, but used on it's tip it can get into the crease aswell. It's a universal brush and you will always have a need for it. This is called the 'Contour shadow' brush by Bare Escentuals

4. Finally, the best til last and my favourite brush of all time, my 'desert island' brush is the MAC 224, although there are plenty of cheaper alternatives. This is the mother of blending brushes. It turns a smokey eye that looks like a black eye into a Beyonce makeup look. Where it's bristles swirl, the world is a better place. I use this brush every single day, and I've not found another I like more. It blends a lot, it blends a little, it tones down colours, brightens eyes, softens edges. Gah! I don't know what it's made of, but it must be filled with fairy dust.

The brushes really do the work for me, I don't consider myself to be especially talented over anyone without brushes at makeup, the brushes to me are kind of like cheating because they are so good, it is very hard to go wrong. They erase all mistakes and blend all flaws and I just swirl the handle in a logical way hoping for the best.

It's a pre-Christmas treat!

A nifty new video Super quick, super easy and very useful and practical How to turn your nutella jars into Makeup brush holders or makeup holders in general!



Woohoo for freebie DIY Projects!