"Spring cleaning" my makeup brushes

After a hiatus of not attending wedding dinners and function, I sort of neglect my full set of makeup. Was rushing to makeup for a dinner last night and to my horror, all my mascara dried up except one. Lol

Then, when I came back, I realised my makeup eye remover is about to finish. Sigh... Too busy to work to take the time to doll myself up except the basics. I guess it "spring cleaning" my makeup will be the next task ahead.

Anyway, I felt bad for neglecting my poor brushes which will unintentionally harm my skin! I quickly gave them their bath this morning... ;) Here are my dear brushes being left out to dry like the laundry.

I love it that I've already found tools and the right "washing solution" for my brushes. I remembered previously reading about the synthetic brush bristle vs, natural brush bristle, what solutions to use, the best review for makeup brushes review, etc. Honestly, Bobbi Brown makeup remover was raved about then and when I decided to buy it - out of stock! Hmphh!

So in the end, I bought Make Up Forever Brush Cleanser and Johnson's baby conditioning shampoo as my HG cleaning tools.

Why 2 types?

The Make Up Forever Brush Cleanser is alchohol-based which I generally don't like the smell and avoid especially for skincare products. I only use this for hard-to-wash makeup eg my eye liner gel. I spray onto a tissue and use it to wipe my brushes. Sometimes, I spray into the white containers and dip the brushes longer to remove the remaining residue.

The rest gets treated like baby hair with Johnson's baby conditioning shampoo! ;) Obviously, the method is different: I pour a little baby shampoo into the container and fill it with water. Then I swirl my brush inside until it cleanses all the makeup as shown below. The water will change according to your makeup colour.

I swirl it the second time in clean water to make sure everything is out. The water should still be clear like this:

Notice how ideal the containers are for cleaning my brushes. The white containers were cover for some spray can or something which I kept.

A towel is important to wipe dry the brushes and to let it dry. Notice that I lay the brushes with the handles higher than the bristle to avoid the water to flow back to the handle just by rolling one end of the towel. The water can run down in to the ferrule and loosen the glue holding the brush together over time.

From left to right: Daily brushes: Elf powder brush as my daily blusher/powder brush, the Bobbi Brown eye brow brush, Events: Stila eye liner brush, BeautiControl powder brush (when I don't want to use same brush earlier), my portable brushes: small blusher brush (bought online), the faceshop eye brow brush, Elf professional eye shadow brush, eye shadow brush (I bought somewhere.. can't recall) and BeautiControl eye shadow brush.

Soon, my brushes will be fresh and clean; making my skin happy too!

And a final note, how often do we have to wash the makeup brushes? I think it varies with the usage. Makeup artist have to wash after every usage to avoid passing bacteria from one person to another. Some blogs and sites recommend once in 2 weeks. Some say they wipe clean it with bacteria-wipe then deep cleanse washing (like what I've just done) once a week or so. What about you?

Since I don't make up that often... I wash once in a month except for those I use all the time. Lol

Do's and Don'ts for Make-up (to increase lifespan)

A little reminder on how we should treat our makeup. We forget that makeup is exposed to germs when it is opened. If we don't take good care of makeup like how we care for food, we will be putting on makeup filled with germs directly on our skin! Imagine that!

There are a few general rules to follow closesly to minimise torturing our skins and potentially making it sensitive, prone to break outs.

• Keep it clean by cleaning your makeup brushes. It is like the eating utensils that you use to feed yourself. You will only use clean fork and spoons.

• Not sharing is caring. Sharing your makeup is unsanitary, as it transfers infectious bacteria such as staph, conjunctivitis, yeast, and fungus.
• Keep it cool. Store makeup in a cool, dry place. even when you are travelling. Direct sunlight can alter the preservatives in your makeup.
• Stay dry. For liquid makeup, use disposable applicators, such as Q-tips, and give your sponges plenty of drying time so as not to encourage bacteria.
• Clean your makeup bag. When was the last time you even wash or clear out your makeup bag? It could be collecting bacteria and transferring to your makeup brushes, makeup and ultimately to your face.

• Think storage How you keep you make-up will determine how long it will last. To make sure your lip gloss lasts for a long time (as well as with other products), keep your make-up in a cool and dark place. Don't leave them out in the sunlight because some of the important ingredients can break down.
• Keep oxygen out This is the number one enemy for your make-up. Make sure the lids and caps of all your products are kept secured when not in use. Leaving them in the open will result in oxidation.
• Opt for powder Powder-based make-up usually lasts longer that its cream-based counterpart. All cream make-up has a lifespan of one year. Powder varieties can last up to three years if you use them approprietly