Maintaining makeup brushes

There are numerous reasons it's important to routinely take care of your makeup brushes.  

Just a few of my favorites, fresh from a routine shampoo!

US regulations require that makeup artists clean their brushes to reduce clients' risk of contracting diseases like pink eye.  Not only is safety a concern, but the life of your brushes can be prolonged with regular cleaning and conditioning.  If your brushes are dirty with the previous day's colors, you may get a little surprise when you go to apply today's makeup and get yesterday's dark green shimmer instead of today's nude matte!

So, how do you clean your brushes?  I'm sure there are a lot of different approaches, but my favorite one for light cleaning is by MakeupbyTiffanyD.  It's great for a daily "wipe-down" of the brushes.  Simply spray a brush cleaner (such as Ulta's brush cleaner, which is cheap and works quite well) on a tissue or paper towel, then wipe your brushes on the sprayed spot, then on a dry spot.  Use a different spot on the tissue for each brush.

For a heavier cleaning, I use the Well-Cared For Brush Conditioning Shampoo from Bare Escentuals.  I simply squeeze a little into my palm, get the brush wet under running lukewarm water, swirl the brush around in my palm until no soap or dirty water is coming off my hand, then swirl around on a soft, dry towel and lay to dry, shaping if needed.  If the brush is particularly dirty with stubborn makeup, I use eye makeup remover such as bareEyes Eye Makeup Remover from Bare Escentuals before shampooing.  You'd be amazed at how clean those brushes can get!

And speaking of brushes, I've added a new one to my collection... a MAC 217 blending brush!

Gizmo awes in its beauty.

With a white brush as beautiful as this one, I'll definitely need to maintain regular cleanings!  I also got three new eyeshadows from MAC. Swatches, reviews, and possibly my very first tutorial coming soon!