Love for Brushes

[AMK721]

I'm developing a love for brushes of all kinds.  I bought a few higher end brushes and they are amazing.  They are incredibly soft and my makeup glides on like a dream.  There are so many interesting shapes. I am really interested in creating a beautiful brush collection.  Show your brushes and share any cleaning and storage tips and let us know which ones are your favorites.

[IndyQT317]

Does anyone own brushes from a Smith brand?

[michelleshops]

I do @IndyQT317 and I really like them.  I have the following brushes: small quill crease, bronzer, eyeshadow finishing, foundation & small arrowhead.  If I had to pick one, it would be the eyeshadow finishing brush (the flat one) I use it to blend out the undereye area and find the size perfect.  It's super soft and easy to use.  I also like the quill crease brush and the bronzer brush although I use it for highlight.  I think they're all nice.  I do notice a bit of shedding on the bronzer brush when I wash it but nothing concerning.  I also use a drop of brush conditioner on the goat hair ones every 2nd of 3rd wash to keep them nice and soft!  I have not used the foundation brush and I find the arrowhead a little too soft/floppy for me.

[Mrose251]

Thank you @michelleshops. I’ve been interested in trying their crease brushes but I haven’t seen a restock in months. Maybe one day I‘ll just get lucky and run across it. 

[merryferry]

I got the Jaclyn hill brush set ... the first one but i think that there need to be some more face brushes with that set... any recommendations for reasonable good brushes

[SportyGirly125]

@merryferry Brands that make good face brushes are Japonesque (Ulta has sells on the brand all the time) and Real Techniques that are on the more affordable side.

[CookieGirl1]

Does anyone use a cleansing oil for brushes?  I received a couple of DHC cleansing oils in some recent subscription boxes but I honestly never use cleansing oils so I was trying to think of a good way to repurpose them.  

[AnneMCC]

That’s exactly what i do with unwanted face cleansers. I have used face oils for cleansing. Sometimes i use it as a double cleanse, a soap based cleanser first, then the oil.

[eshoe]

@CookieGirl1 I used to use Dr. Bronner’s for my brushes but I’ve been using a bar cleanser lately. I’ve tried that DHC cleanser on my face, it’s good, not sure how it would be on brushes. I would check the ingredients first. I found a DIY with only natural ingredients mix to clean my brushes that included lemon juice. Wish I would have considered everything beforehand, it ruined many of my Chanel brushes that survived numerous Dr. Bronner’s cleanings! No more DIY’s😉

[Jlkanak]

Wayne Goss are the softest nicest eyeshadow brushes I’ve tried omg love!!

[eshoe]

As the weather has changed, my brushes aren’t drying out as quickly as they were in the summer. I’m finding the thicker, denser natural hair brushes have a bit of an odor toward the middle where they are attached to the metal part of the handle. I would appreciate any tips, as it’s taking a couple of days for some of them to dry and I need to be able to use them. The odor does go away, but I can’t imagine that it’s good for them. Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

[Luvstravel]

@eshoe, I'm glad you brought this subject up. I usually blot my brushes on a towel and then leave them on a towel to dry. I liked the idea of the hanging tree, so just purchased one. ( Never thought of smelling my thicker brushes after drying!)

[Luvstravel]

@eshoe, you are great about washing! I get to mine about every two weeks, but with my shift work, that's 8 workdays, so I guess I'm good. And if my days off fall during the week I'm usually resting at home (no make up days)

[eshoe]

Makes complete sense, @Luvstravel. I use mine 5-6 days a week. With the Surratt sale I picked up a few more brushes so have some wiggle room in the eyeshadow area. No makeup days sound good to me!

[eshoe]

@Luvstravel, I bought the same exact one (with a different name, but the same tree). I’m looking forward to using it next week. I didn’t have some of the denser brushes last winter so wasn’t prepared for this. I wash them meticulously every Sat/Sun, so I knew it had to be the weather, rather than a buildup. Let me know how you like yours, I’m looking forward to my weekend cleaning!

[Jlkanak]

After I wash my brushes I lay them on a clean towel and fold the towel over and apply firm pressure to blot out excess water. I do this on a new dry spot of the towel 2-5 times till it doesn’t leave a lot of moisture then I lay to dry with brush in the air, not touching anything. It helps if u have air circulation from a fan etc. To get rid of smell and sanitize u can add one drop of bleach to washing water and rinse very well. Don’t overdo it a teeny amount is all I want to avoid damage. With natural fibres you will want to use a good hair conditioner after cleaning and soak them in a bit of water with a drop or two of conditioner. Otherwise the natural bristles may be a bit “fried” or frizzy and damaging. Also rinse well so you don’t have residue. Hope this helps.

[Mochapj]

@eshoe there are 2 things that might help with this a little during the washing process.

1) after I am done washing my brushes I always use a microfibre cloth to help shape the bristles which does shape them but also has the added benefit of wicking away excess moisture

2) I always dry them upside down. I picked up a cheap brush tree off Amazon a few years ago for less than $10 and it disassembles into 3 flat pieces for storage. It's got rubberized holes to keep the brushes from sliding through and tends to help the water not stay into the bundling and ferrule

hope that helps!

[danielledanielle]

Definitely! I dry & reshape and have a similar tree I got from Amazon. It costs less than ten bucks, I think.

[eshoe]

Thank you, @Mochapj. I will use both of your suggestions. I dry mine flat on a towel. I recall someone here using one of those drying trees, I forget the brand, I think it started with B. I’ve seen them a few places so will look into one right now!

[danielledanielle]

Here's the one I got: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01FA9354I/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o02_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

[SportyGirly125]

 chikuhodo brush set. This is the most expensive brush set I have. I got it years ago on Beautylish. It’s so pretty I still haven’t used it yet.

[CookieGirl1]

@SportyGirly125 Those are so pretty!