WEEKLY REVIEW: Brush Cleaners

     So how do you clean your brushes? I have tried MANY things before using the methods

I use now. I advise you to do what works best for you, weather it's for time or money conservation.

For example: Sephora washes their brushes daily with Purity.

The Body Shop washes their brushes with their own Tea Tree oil face wash.

ELF Daily Brush Cleaner $3 -2 0z bottle  (eyeslipsface.com)- As specified it's definitely for DAILY use. It's light and seemingly non toxic. It doesn't harm the skin or make any change in the look/feel or the brushes.

I wish it came in a larger bottle, being that it is a DAILY brush cleaner. Ideally, you could go through an entire bottle in 2 weeks.

It does not work well on brushes used with cream based products or brushes that have caked on powder.

 

Essence of Beauty Brush Cleaner $3-$6- 4.2oz bottle (drugstores, online)- This formula is SO light. It's comparable to the elf cleaner. They mirror eachother. Except, the bottle is almost 2x's the size. Safe for skin and brushes. Just don't use too much on the brush or the product will become foamy on the brush. Approx. 2 sprays on and eyeshadow brush is enough.

 

Cinema Secrets $8- 2oz bottle (cinemasecrets.com)- I got the small spray bottle size, because I wanted the spray bottle. *Side Note* the spray bottle is a GREAT tool to have for brush cleaners. You use less product and avoid soaking the brush in the liquid. 
Especially this one. It's very strong and should not be used on cheaper brushers. It will melt the glue and destroy your brush. Other than that, it cleans amazingly! I spray it a couple times on the brush. Then wipe the brush on a towel until the color disappears. Then I rinse will soap and water. 
To check if I got all the color out, I fan the bristles.
 

 

 

Monda $8- 4oz bottle (amazon.com)- Pretty much identical to the
Cinema Secrets cleaner. I use it the same way.

I don't have a preference for one over the other. This one does come out being the better deal, but only if you buy this size. As the sizes increase the Cinema Secrets gets cheaper. The largest 32 ounce size averages out to about $1 an ounce. These 2 cleaners are great because they can be used for all brushes and cuts through cream makeup.

 

 

ELF Brush Shampoo $3- 4.1oz bottle  (eyeslipsface.com)- This is a very light shampoo. It will clean, powder brushes, but cream brushes are a problem. Instead of using this there are better, less expensive alternatives.











 

Shampoo $.99 and up (grocery & drug stores)- This is a little stronger than the ELF shampoo. It will work or powder brushes, but for cream brushes it will remove the makeup from the surface, but you would still find makeup trapped in between the bristles. If you use this in conjunction with a conditioner, you can soften a brush.

Dawn $1 (grocery & drug stores)- This Is one of my favorite things to was brushes with. It's non toxic, easily accessible and inexpensive. I prefer the Olay blend, but you can use any type you like. For cream brushes I apply the soap directly on the brush and work it in a little with my fingers.

I use it with water to rinse my brushes after I use a spray cleaner.

Biore $8 (drugstores)- I call this the "miracle cleanser". When all else fails I use this cleanser for everything. Which on exactly? Any one! They are designed to cut through oil, so that's why it works for brushes used on cream makeup. I also use it to clean my beauty blender.

Olive Oil $2 (grocery & discount stores)-I bought a small bottle from my local $1 store (and it still cost me $2 lol ) I only use it on the brushes used with cream makeup ( my foundation and concealer brushes) I explained the method in a previous post. I only use this method when I run out of my monda/cinema secrets. The biore works too, but the oil works quicker.

Wet n' Wild Eye Makeup Remover $4 ( drugstores)-I only used this because I didn't want to waste it. As you may recall, I didn't care for it as a makeup remover. I loaded this into a spray bottle and it worked for my powder brushes, but not for my cream brushes. It couldn't even clean my skinny gel liner brush.