Cleaning my make up brushes

I thought that I would do a little post on cleaning my make up brushes so here it is. 

I actually take very good care of my brushes and always have done.  I have a great mix of brushes expensive and inexpensive - As I have said before I don't just buy products because of the brand name - I buy them because they are good products. 

Firstly - I wash my foundation brushes after every single use.  I wash the rest of my brushes after every few uses - Although I do try to keep a certain brush for dark eyeshadow and a different one for light eyeshadow etc - that helps to prevent a mix of colours.
 

I mainly use this MAC Brush Cleanser - Its about €15 or so and it lasts a good while.  It cleans the brushes so well and leaves them nice and shiny.  However every now and then I use a make up remover to clean them - a change is as good as a rest. 

I recently bought this ELF Brush Shampoo from the ELF website -It was only €4 so its good value.  I used it today for the first time and I must admit I was very impressed!  I will be using this one for good when the MAC one runs out. 

Here are the brushes that need cleaning - I have all different makes of brushes as you can see.  In order to clean then I lay them out on a piece of kitchen roll.  Then one brush at a time I dampen the bristles only with lukewarm water.  I am very careful to only wet the bristles as if water gets into the handle of the brush it can damage the glue that holds it all together and then you end up loosing the hairs :( which is not a good look.

I then work a little of the ELF shampoo into the brush head using my hand - I then rinse it until the water runs clear. 

I then dry the brushes with a piece of kitchen roll and leave them on the window sill to dry in the beaming sun. 

Make sure to reshape the brushes and hey presto - Lovely and clean, ready to be used again :)

A brilliant make up brush

I recently came across a  brilliant website ELF (eyes lips face) Cosmetics - after a good look at their website, I felt that the products were quite cheap and I wondered about the quality of same - however I love to try something new, and with such reasonable prices I decided to get a few bits and see what the quality was like, this lead me to their brushes - One product I bought was a Stipple Brush, I think this is similar to a MAC brush.  It was only ,€4 so there is a significant price difference. 



http://www.eyeslipsface.co.uk/product~prodID~227.htm

 I love putting foundation on with this brush, it goes on nice and light, you simply apply it in circular movements.  It can be used wet or dry and for powder or fluids!

Here is what the lovely people at ELF say "This new antibacterial, synthetic haired Taklon brush is softer and more ansorbent and can be used with wet or dry products. Be a professional makeup artist and create a flawless look with this e.l.f. Studio brush!

The layered bristles create a soft airbrushed look that's perfect for applying foundation or adding colour definition to cheekbones or highlighting with soft layers. Use this brush with any liquid or powder face product such as foundation, blush or bronzer to build your coverage from sheer to heavy".

I have used this over the last few weeks and I have washed it and dried it many times - not one hair shed from it, so I would highly recommend it!!

Money well spent!