I hate washing my brushes. I know…it’s essential for a great beauty app, but I hate doing it. Maybe it’s because I have a lot of brushes and it tends to take me about an hour to go through the process of cleaning all my brushes and sponges. Whatever the reason, no matter how much I don’t love the process, I do believe it’s vital. I have a mix of high and low cost brushes that I use. Some that I’ve purchased and others that have been gifted to me – but I’m obsessive about all of them. And for that reason alone, I take my brush cleaning sessions seriously. Today, let’s get down to the un-glamorous conversation about the best (and most accessible) tools and cleansers to keep your brush collection clean.
Brush Cleansers
(From left to right: The Brush Guard gel, Real Techniques gel, Parian Spirit spray, Ricky Care Backstage On Set liquid)
Full disclosure all of these were gifted to me by the brands. Hands down, I prefer gel cleansers to sprays or liquids. I would say specifically when it comes to cleaning foundation, creamy concealers or gel liners from your brushes, these are very thorough and effectively draw product out of your brushes. And in turn, they also thoroughly clean your other eyeshadow/highlight brushes and blending sponges. Don’t taze me because I know that Parian Spirit is an MUA cult favorite, but I wasn’t a fan and am not a fan of liquid cleansers.
Especially for my foundation and concealer brushes, I had to follow up both Parian Spirit and the Ricky Care with either The Brush Guard or Real Techniques gel. I feel that liquid cleansers are probably better for daily use whereas I only clean my brushes once a week. Especially because I wear a full face, that’s a lot of foundation and concealer buildup in the course of a week. The gels effectively penetrate the brush heads and I just have more confidence that they offer a total cleanse.
Textured Cleansing Surfaces
(Left to Right: Dual sided textured silicone cleansing mat, dual sided hand mitt, multi-textured slip on tray, textured cleansing cup & drying cup)
Full disclosure, the circular mat and the mitt were purchases from TJ Maxx and Amazon respectively, while the hot pink slip on tray from Real Techniques and the cup set from The Brush Guard were gifted to me by the brands. Of the four, my favorites are the two I purchased. I find that both of them offer more diverse textures to tackle any size or shape of brush you may come across. Plus the flat nature of these cleansing tools makes it easier to clean oval brushes. But the real winner for me is the flat mint green circular mat. My issue with the mitt is that since I’m constantly having to slide my hand in and out of the glove to thoroughly rinse my brushes, I eventually end up getting water in the mitt. It takes forever for the inside of the mitt to dry.
Now as to the Real Techniques and The Brush Guard cleansing tools: Although I like that these are available as full kits (cleanser + cleansing surface) so you have all your tools in one place, I do feel the surfaces are a little limited. Especially in the case of The Brush Guard’s textured cup, if you have very big kabuki brushes or any of the Artis ovals (or Amazon dupes), you’re going to struggle to clean them with The Brush Guard’s cup.
The Verdict:
If you’re a daily brush cleaner (kudos to you!), then you may find that liquid cleansers are effective. If you’re like me and clean your brushes once a week (or God forbid, less…) then gels are a better bet to ensure a thorough clean. In terms of surfaces, Any of the above will be fine for you if you’re using more traditional brushes that don’t have unique handles or overly large brush heads. However, if you’re an oval brush user or have very short kabuki brushes, you may find that The Brush Guard in particular is a trickier surface to use.
For more info on any of the above official brands I outlined, check out their websites below:
The Anti Bridezilla 