How I Clean My Brushes

Hey Lovelies!!!

So, I'm going to start off by saying that last week, after posting my blog post, I kind of redesigned my blog a bit. Let me know if you guys like it. I'm obviously planning to do more, but until I finish it and figure everything out, I'll have to make do with what I have to choose from.

Back to the post... Today, I'm going to share with you guys how I clean my makeup brushes. A couple weeks ago, I posted my makeup brush collection, so I figured this would be a good post to follow up with. Funny story, I was actually supposed to post this last week, but I was home and I left my baby shampoo back in my dorm room... GET WITH THE PROGRAM MEG!!! But it's all good because I did the amazing Beauty Scenario Tag and it got great results, so no complaints.

Anywho...

I've heard many different things that you can use, whether you make or buy it, to clean makeup brushes. And this is just my personal preference to use. My favorite is using Johnson's Baby Shampoo. It's gentle enough and makes your brushes stay nice and soft and still cleans them perfectly (plus I love the smell). Before I used baby shampoo, I actually mixed together anti-bacterial dish soap and extra virgin olive oil. The combination of the two got the brushes super clean (took the bacteria out) and also kept them super soft from the olive oil. I tend to prefer the baby shampoo, but either will work just fine!

Here's a little travel sized bottle of the baby shampoo. I always get some of these when I'm at Target because they're so cheap and they actually last a pretty long time for such a small bottle

To clean the brushes, here are the steps that I take:

♥ Get a little bit of water onto the brush (NOTE: make sure the brush is facing down so no water gets into the bristles and glue. That will cause the glue to dissolve and the brush will fall apart)

♥ Dip brush into cleaner

♥ Rub around in palm to get a good lather

♥ Rinse off (NOTE: make sure the brush is facing down so no water gets into the bristles and glue. That will cause the glue to dissolve and the brush will fall apart)

♥ Continue previous steps until there is no remaining soapiness or makeup residue. The water should run           clear when you rinse it

♥ Rub in a circle on a paper towel (lightly) to get out any excess water

♥ Lay brushes flat on a paper towel with bristles hanging over the edge of a counter/table

Here's what it will most likely look like at this stage

♥ Reshape brushes after they have dried for a while by lightly rubbing on the paper towel or in your palm

So, that's basically it. I try to clean my brushes once a week, although it usually ends up happening every other week.. I have found that it takes about 12 hours for my biggest, and densest brushes to dry completely; each brush takes a different amount of time to dry. And I typically stop clean my brushes after each use, which keeps them a little cleaner for longer. If you don't know what I mean by spot cleaning, I mean that I basically get out as much extra makeup product from the brush as I can after each use. You can even buy a spot cleaning spray to spray on a paper towel to get even more extra product out of the brush.

Here's a before and after:

The Real Techniques are awesome at showing the before and after because of the white tips. It's super easy, especially on the blush brush to see the makeup on the brush and then just the white tips.

I'd love to know how you guys clean your makeup brushes. What do you use and how often do you clean them? Let me know in the comments! It's almost the end of the month already! Crazy, right?! And you know what that means... I'll be posting my February Favorites right here, on my blog, on Friday (February 28). So keep an eye out. I'll also have my regular post next Sunday. And as always, stay beautiful!!!

♥♥♥

My (Pathetically Small) Brush Collection

Hey Lovelies!!!

I've been wanting to do a blog post like this one for quite some time but felt slightly uneasy about it because of my lack of brushes. I still have very few brushes but they work for my everyday makeup look, which is basically all that I wear while in college. I have intentions to expand my brush collection, but since I'm in college, with no proper job and very little money to spend, it may not be for a while... :( I feel like sharing my collection with you, however, because I love most of the brushes I use and want to share my opinion to those of you who are looking for one.

And before I begin my post, I just wanted to point out that I'm in school until the beginning of May. I will continue to do at least a post a week. However, for those of you who follow me on Instagram or have found me there (@megsmaquillage), the posts on there will probably be much less since taking #ootd especially is very difficult in my dorm room. However, I'll try my best to get a few photos up every once in a while. And if I buy some stuff (which could be rare- #brokestudentprobs), I'll definitely be posting and Instahaul! But still, go follow me on Instagram!!!!

 

So, back to the brush collection. As you can see, it's very small; only eight brushes at the moment. But those eight brushes work really well for my on an everyday basis. I've changed my everyday makeup quite significantly since my previous post (http://megsmaquillage.blogspot.com/2013/09/makeup-collection-and-storage-dorm.html). And just from looking at the brushes, you can probably tell that I REALLY LOVE the Real Techniques brushes. In case you didn't know, Real Techniques brushes are made by Samantha Chapman is a makeup artist and has a YouTube channel with her sister (http://www.youtube.com/user/pixiwoo) and she makes these amazing synthetic makeup brushes and continues to release more and more brushes and tools and they're just flawless. Go check out the website if you haven't already (http://realtechniques.com/). And for those of you who are new to makeup, they even have video tutorials of how to use the brushes and also makeup looks!

My current makeup brush collection consists of eight brushes. I guess I'm proving that you don't need 100 different makeup brushes to wear makeup! :) I'll give the name of the brush and also what I use it for:

♥ Real Techniques Expert Face Brush- My most recent addition. I use it to apply liquid foundation. And it applies it FLAWLESSLY! It's super dense and SO soft! Highly recommend it to anyone that uses liquid foundation!

♥ Target brand Crease Brush- I actually use this brush for concealer (occasionally, I usually just use my ring finger). It's not the best brush, but it was pretty cheap and I thought I'd give it a try. I would actually recommend getting an elf brand brush over Target brand brushes, it will save you some money and they tend to be a little softer.

♥ Real Techniques Powder Brush- I use this brush for face powder (obviously). It's not nearly as dense as the Expert Face Brush but just as soft. It's really big and fluffy and really evenly applies powders. Again. I highly recommend!

♥ elf Professional Total Face Brush- I use this brush for bronzer (when I wear it). It's decent, especially for the price ($1). It applies a pretty good amount- not too much, not too little. I'm using this brush for the meantime until I get something a little better (Real Techniques Mulit-Task Brush from Travel Essentials kit maybe???). If you're on a budget like myself, this is a pretty good brush.

♥ Real Techniques Blush Brush- I use this for blush, like it says. I really like the shape of this brush. It's quite small but narrow. I do find that right after I was the brush, though, it doesn't really apply a lot of blush and takes a bit of building up to have the color show. Although that could just be the blush I use too. I would recommend this as well.

♥ Real Techniques Shading Brush- I use this brush for an eye shadow all over my lid. I love the shape of this brush, thick but flat, so you can really control the eye shadow placement. It's very soft and quite dense. It's not super flimsy so you have added control over the brush. I really recommend this brush!

♥ elf Professional Defining Eye Brush- I use this brush to apply dark brown eye shadow to my lower lash line. The shape of this brush is perfect- thin and angled. It's extremely cheap ($1) and totally worth it!! I would definitely recommend!

♥ Maybelline Cream Eyeliner Brush- I got this brush with my cream eyeliner and I really like it. It's thicker on one side and thinner on the other, so you can really customize how thick you want your eyeliner. A lot of companies make eyeliner brushes/tools but I like this enough that I'll just stick with this one! I recommend trying this brush along with the eyeliner it comes with!

And here's how I store it all:

The brush holder is an old, used Bath and Body Works candle that got GIYed by following the steps in MissGlamorazzi's video (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jRPvlXJbzGI). It's the perfect size and looks so adorable! It's a great way to up-cycle old candles.

So, there you have it! If you haven't already tried the Real Techniques brushes, I really think you should. You can get them online, at Ulta, Walmart, online at Target, and maybe a few other places... And, just a disclaimer, these are completely my own views and opinions. This wasn't sponsored by Real Techniques or anything like that, I just really love their brushes as do many other people.

Anyways, it's almost the end of January already. I'm going to be posting my January Favorites on January 31 (next Friday) which will have beauty, fashion, food, entertainment, and other categories so stay tuned for that! I'm not sure if I'm going to post twice next week yet or if I'm just going to do January Favorites. Let me know what you think in the comments! As always, I'll see you very soon and stay beautiful!!!

♥♥♥