How I wash my Makeup Brushes

 

I think I might be in the minority of people when I say I find washing my brushes an enjoyable activity! I think it’s quite therapeutic seeing all the bronzer, blusher and eyeshadow fall down the plughole and I sometimes even shout into my mum to see if she wants me to wash hers while I’m at it (she only has about three so I’m not as good as I sound!).

Today I thought I’d go through how I wash my brushes and the products I use for a deep clean as well as a spot clean! I do aim to give my brushes a deep clean every week but it doesn’t always work out like that though I try not to go past two weeks as nothing beats the feel of a fresh, clean brush plus you know, hygiene!

Dr. Bronner’s 18-in-1 Hemp Eucalyptus Pure-Castille Soap

This is hands down my favourite brush cleaner! My makeup brushes get such a good clean with this, I run them under the tap then pour a little of this into my hand and swirl the brush around before rinsing. If I’ve got a very dirty brush or a bigger one like a powder brush, I will repeat this until the water runs clear!

The soap itself is very lightweight and takes no time to clean the brushes, I love the scent too, it’s really mild but smells so fresh. It’s very liquidy so can build up a little around the cap but it’s nothing major. My first bottle was slightly larger and lasted me around 2 years and you can see what I thought of it here! I can’t see myself using anything else for a deep clean!

The Pro Hygiene Collection Make Up Brush Cleanser

I picked this up last year as I’d heard a lot about spot cleaning and also because I needed to hit the threshold for a GWP spend on Cult Beauty (priorities!). This has come in handy though for giving my eye brushes a quick clean and sterilising them when I don’t have time for a deep clean. I especially love this for my base shadow and blending brushes as they tend to build up with product quite quickly.

To use, I spray directly onto my brush from about 15cm away while holding the brush over a face towel. I’ll then wipe the brush on the face towel until the excess eyeshadow is off – it won’t look completely clean but it prevents the spread of germs so would be perfect for a makeup artist working on different faces each day and its also suitable for both natural and synthetic bristles.

Makeup Brush cleaner aka Brush Egg

Like I said, most of the time I just use my hands to wash my brushes but I love my fake brush egg for my eye brushes. I got this years ago on eBay and it makes it so easy to quickly clean a few brushes at a time. I pour a little Dr. Bronner’s soap onto the tip of the brush egg then while the tap is running I swirl my eye brushes into the grooves on the brush egg then rinse! Hey presto, clean brushes!

I will then lay my brushes flat onto a towel down on the desk in my room – this is recommended as any water getting into the ferrule could weaken the glue that holds the handle and brush head together!

What are your favourite products to clean your makeup brushes with?

Danielle xx

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My Favourite Makeup Brushes #2

I did a “My Favourite Makeup Brushes” post way back last year and although all those brushes are still in daily use, there are a few more that I use regularly so I thought I would do a little update!

Zoeva 102 Silk Finish Brush (from the Rose Golden set)

I really didn’t like this brush to begin with and it sat unloved in my brush pot because I found it left a streaky finish with my usual liquid foundations. That all changed when I got the Vincent Longo Water Canvas Crème-to-Powder foundation* recently. I found the sponge that came with the foundation didn’t give me enough coverage and my usual fail safe Beauty Blender had the same problem so I dug around for this and it works perfectly! It helps build up coverage and it’s so easy to work into the skin because the bristles are so tightly packed.

Real Techniques Blush Brush

This is a brush that I used to use daily about 3 years ago for blush until I felt it was putting a little too much blush on my cheeks and I switched to an angled blush brush (how many times can I say blush and brush in a sentence). Nowadays, I much prefer this as a bronzer brush and I love it with NARS Laguna and Charlotte Tilbury Bronze in particular!

Real Techniques Duo Fibre Face Brush from the Duo Fibre set

As someone who has a tendency to be a little heavy handed with blush this brush is a godsend for blending! If I have gone overboard it does such good job of helping to fade it a little and make my blush look more natural!

Morphe B8 Badger Deluxe Fan Brush

With my fear of highlighter, this brush means that anytime I apply it, it’s subtle exactly how I like it! The brush is very soft and I would prefer the bristles to be a little stiffer but it does the job and it didn’t break the bank!

Zoeva 232 Luxe Classic Shader from the Rose GoldenVol. 2 Complete Eye Set

I've been using this brush to highlight my inner corner and brow bone and really like it! It’s quite stiff and allows you to be quite precise too so is great for applying the likes of the Makeup Geek foiled eyeshadows all over the lid!

Zoeva 227 Luxe Soft Definer from the Rose Golden Vol.2 Complete Eye Set

This has replaced my beloved RT angled shadow brush as my preferred eyeshadow blender brush now! It is the perfect size and just makes blending so easy and I now have three of these babies! I also have a full review of the set these last two brushes came in here!

Anastasia Beverly Hills #12 Large Synthetic Duo Brow Brush

This brush makes applying Anastasia Dipbrow Pomade a doddle! It’s quite a stiff angled brush with synthetic bristles and it gives such a fine line it makes it so easy to apply hair like strokes through my brows! I love that it has a spoolie on one end too which makes it perfect to travel with!

So that’s my updated favourite brushes! I have to add that all these brushes wash up really well even though they are from different brands and I haven’t noticed any of them shedding which is another bonus!

As you are reading this I’m on holiday for my birthday (which is tomorrow!) but I’ll be doing my best to keep up with comments so do leave me one below and let me know if you have any of these brushes and what do you think of them!

*denotes a PR sample that was sent to me. All opinions are my own.

Danielle xx

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Zoeva Rose Golden Vol. 2 Complete Eye Brush Set Review

I needed these like a hole in the head but welcome to my Zoeva brush family the Rose Golden Vol. 2 eye set! I ordered these just before Christmas when I was doing my Makeup Geek order because obviously I needed new eye brushes to go with it and just look how pretty they are! Hard to resist or what?

The set includes twelve eye brushes in a limited edition (although still available) nude and rose gold handled set. Zoeva do not test any of their products on animals and this brush set is made up of brushes with both natural and synthetic bristles. As with all their other sets, the brushes are super soft and wash really well! So, onto the brushes!

142 Concealer Buffer

First up, this is actually the third copy I now have of this brush (also in the Rose Gold Set and Bamboo Vol. 2 set I have!) and I don’t like it so I sold it on Ebay! I found with the others it just moved my concealer round and I ended up with no coverage and I just prefer using my fingers to pat it in! If you have any other uses for this brush do let me know as I have two sitting unloved in my brush pot!

325 Luxe Brow Light

I usually use a much smaller and more flexible brush to apply highlight to my brow but I have been enjoying using this as it has such a light touch! It’s a bit too big to use in the inner corner of my eye though!

227 Luxe Soft Definer

I’m always happy to have another blending brush in my life and this one does a great job!

322 Brow Line

I usually use a Zoeva Wing Liner brush to do my brows if I’m using powder or something like ABH Dipbrow Pomade and from pictures I had seen of this before I got it I thought it was going to be as thin as the wing liner but shorter. It’s actually a lot thicker than I thought but still works really well at giving a precise line and doesn’t look too overdone so I’m really happy with it!

232 Luxe Classic Shader

Another standard brush to pack on shadow with! I actually prefer the Real Techniques base shadow brush when I’m using matte shadows all over as these Zoeva brushes can be a lot stiffer and I can sometimes go overboard but they are great when using glitters as they really press it on!

235 Contour Shade

I was really hoping this would be like the Real Techniques angled shadow brush as it’s my favourite for blending but it’s not as thick and fluffy so I haven’t been using this as often as I would have liked!

231 Luxe Petite Crease Brush

This is another one of my favourite brushes and I use my original Zoeva Rose Golden version every day when putting a darker eyeshadow shade through my crease and in my outer corner! I forgot how stiff it was when I first got it but I like to wash it a few times to separate the bristles a bit so it’s softer for me to use!

221 Luxe Soft Crease Brush and 228 Crease Brush

These are two lovely tapered fluffy brushes great for blending or adding a transition shade through the crease!

230 Luxe Pencil

I have wanted one of these brushes for the longest time! This is great when doing a smoky eye and adding a little shadow on the bottom lash line!

238 Luxe Precise Shader

This reaches places my Luxe Brow Light brush doesn’t so is great for inner corner highlight!

310 Spot Liner

This brush is super small but not small enough for my hooded lids! I tried it with gel eyeliner and it was just a little too thick for me but if you don’t have hooded lids or can get away with thicker eyeliner then I’m sure it would be great! Or if you have more makeup skills ha!

Overall, this is a great set if like me you are looking to expand your eye brush collection! I was tempted by the mixed eye and face set but I’m really happy with the face brushes I have so was glad to expand my eye collection! It’s a totally unnecessary set if you’re not into eye makeup but even though I’m not that experimental with it, I do wear eyeshadow every day! It’s such a luxurious set from the colour scheme to the detailing on the zip and I’m glad to have it in my collection!

I got mine from the BeautyBay website for £56.95! If you like this post you might like my favourite brushes post here or my review of the Zoeva Bamboo Vol. 2 set here! Have you got this or any other Zoeva brush sets? What do you think of them?

Danielle xx

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My Favourite Makeup Brushes

 

I thought today I would share my favourite makeup brushes! These are the ones I use every day and some of them I have doubles for because I love them so much!

Zoeva 106 Powder Brush

Some powder brushes I've used in the past are massive and while I like my powder, I sometimes feel a little like they make my makeup look a little cakey! This one is a great size and works perfectly to spread my powder evenly over my face! I got it in the Zoeva Rose Golden set which is expensive to fork out for but the quality of the brushes is amazing so it’s definitely worth it!

Real Techniques Setting Brush

I never used to use this one until maybe the start of the year when I realised my powder brush wasn't great at reaching under my eyes and my concealer was creasing a little. This brush solves that problem for me! I sometimes use a different powder to the one I use all over my face such as a banana coloured powder to help brighten this area and it works so well, I couldn’t be without this one now!

No7 Blusher Brush

No7 brushes are seriously underrated! This is actually the third incarnation of this brush I have gone through. It was in the first brush set I ever got years ago in a No7 Christmas set and I used it for blusher until replacing it when it got a little too worn looking and starting to use it for contour. I then rebought it a few months ago as they updated the brush line and mine had started shedding a little! This is my favourite brush for contouring as it's quite small but not completely flat so there are no harsh lines and it fits nicely under my cheek bone! It’s really soft so blends easily and it’s probably my favourite brush ever! I've got about 2 to 3 years daily use out of each of the previous versions I've had and while it’s quite pricey for a drugstore brush, if you get them with a £3 off No7 voucher they work out much better!

Zoeva 127 Luxe Sheer Cheek Brush

I switch quite frequently with this brush and a Zoeva 128 Cream Cheek brush depending on what blusher I am wearing but at the time of taking these photos I had just got the Hourglass blush palette (found it in stock online at John Lewis!) and this is the most perfect brush for applying those blushers! I have preferred to use an angled blush brush for the last few years as I feel I can apply my blush much more evenly and this and the Zoeva 128 are the perfect size.

Real Techniques Base Shadow Brush

I actually have two of these brushes, one from the starter set (of which this is the only brush I rate) and one from the Nic’s Picks set. This is by far my favourite brush to apply eyeshadow with. It’s soft, flexible but not too flexible and applies just the right amount of eyeshadow. I wish they would make this available as a single brush because I would definitely pick up a couple more, mine are starting to look a little battered but they still work really well!

Zoeva 231 Luxe Petit Crease

At first I thought this brush would be too stiff to apply a darker colour in my crease but it works perfectly to add a bit more depth to my eyes!

Real Techniques Angled Shadow Brush

This is my favourite blending brush to use, I love that it’s angled! I find it fits my crease better and allows me to blend more effectively! This is another brush I wish Real Techniques would sell separately as I love it so much!

Zoeva 317 Wing Liner Brush

This is another brush I have two of and originally talked about in this post! I use this bamboo handled one for my eyebrows when I’m using powder for my brows or my Anastasia Dipbrow pomade and I also use the one from the rose gold collection to apply eyeliner (usually just a black eyeshadow). It’s not too firm so I get a really natural look when using this!

I generally use my fingers or a Real Techniques sponge/Beauty Blender to apply my foundation so don’t really use brushes for that! Let me know what your must have brushes are!

Danielle xx