Squeaky Clean, Jellybean!

The holidays are upon us! If your family is anything like mine, you are in constant danger of being blinded by camera flashes. I like to paint up my face before these events, mostly because I'm so pale that I'm almost transparent, and also because it makes me feel extra lovely. Plus, nobody ever warns me before a picture is taken, so I'm usually stuffing my face or picking my nose/teeth/whatever else needs picking... may as well have nice makeup on with a picture like that, right?

Before I saw this video on YouTube a couple of years ago, I had actually never cleaned my makeup brushes; I didn't realize that they needed cleaning! It's actually really important to keep them sanitary, because not only does the leftover gunk give you monster pimples, it can actually cause infections.

On that cheery note, here's my brush cleaning routine:



Specialized makeup cleaners are expensive, so unless you have allergies to these products, grab some extra virgin olive oil and some antibacterial dish liquid. Put equal sized blobs on a plate.



Swirl your brushes around in the middle of the plate, mixing the oil and dish liquid together. It's important to get just as much of the oil as you do the soap because too much oil will make your brushes greasy, and too much soap will dry them out. Mixed together, these ingredients disinfect and condition your brushes (making them clean and soft). It helps if you go clockwise a few times, and then counter clockwise after that. Using the same technique, swirl your brush around in your palm under cool running water.

Clean!



I made this little thingamajig to hang and store my brushes upside down. While they're drying, any excess water has a place to escape instead of staying in the bottom of the brush (where it can grow stinky friends and loosen the glue holding your brush hair in place). I should note that I only use brushes with synthetic hair, and this method works just as well for them as it would on real haired brushes.

So there you go! Pick your nose with pride at your Christmas party, because no matter what they catch you doing when they take that suprise photo, your makeup will be beautiful, and your face free of grime!

Hugs and poops,

Nichole