Washing your makeup brushes is essential but that doesn't mean you have to look forward to it. I know, I really don' t look forward to washing them. Honestly, it's not the washing part that bothers me, it's the waiting for them to dry.

Spot Cleaning

You can spot clean your brushes with a quick makeup brush spray cleaner and swirling the brush on a paper towel. ELF makes an affordable cleaner that I like to bring on vacation. I do like to spot clean my brushes but it doesn't compare to a good thorough cleaning. This will do between washes, but don't think that's all you should do. Deep cleaning will show you how dirty your brushes actually are.

Color switch (Review Here)

A color switch is usually found in a tin-like container and will allow you to swirl your brush on the rough sponge material to remove any leftover shadow from your brushes. If you're not sure what this is, check out my review linked above. Again, this works between deep cleanings but should not replace it.




Brush Cleaning Mat

I recently purchased this Quo Cosmetics mat that suctions to the sink and the different textures really help to wash the brushes. You can find these mat at different retailers. I purchased mine on clearance for 5$ at Shoppers Drug Mart. Normally, I swirl the brush into my hand or I use a small brush egg to clean my brushes. The brush egg is really too small, and annoying to use your hand. I don't feel like it either of those options does a great job washing my brushes.

Cleanser

I also use this Quo Cosmetics Solid Brush Cleaner for both my brushes and beauty sponges. This soap is very gentle on my brushes and smells fantastic. It's not too fragrant, but just nice. When I go to use my clean brush, I get a nice hint of the soap. I do recommend a solid cleanser, the mess is minimal and they last for a long time. Many brands have solid cleansers available. If you don't have this I recommend baby shampoo. It's worked great in the past.

Drying

I also recommend having backup brushes, if you can. If not, this can be troublesome. I know I drag my feet when it comes to cleaning my favorite brushes because I don't want to wait for them to dry. Eye brushes don't take long to dry, but some of my denser face brushes can take days! Those face brushes, I like to have backups. Then I have no excuse to not to clean them.

I lay my brushes out to dry with the ferrule pointing down. I don't want water to stay in the ferrules and possible loosen the glue. I usually put them on a towel and roll up the towel to leave them on an angle.

That's all I have for today on this topic. When I started writing this, I didn't think I would have anything to say...

Do you have any additional tips or tricks?