I can hardly believe that tomorrow is the end of January already! However, I also somehow feel like we are already five months into 2020! Haha! Anyone else feel the same way?!? Although I love the tinkle and warm glow of Christmas lights, there is just something magical about them, I also love that feeling of refreshing and organizing the home after the holidays. This is the first year, in many years…. that I decided to refresh my makeup brushes. How many of you have makeup brushes from years ago? I know my Mac brush I’ve had for at least 20 years! When a brush is good (cleans well, performs well & holds it shape) why get rid of it?
This year I decided some of my makeup brushes needed to be retired and replaced. So, I thought I’d share some of the brushes that I retired and why I chose the ones I did to replace them. Have you retired brushes from your collection or do you just continue to add to it?
Left (retired), Right (refreshed)
I must admit, although I found it easy to separate out the brushes I wanted to retire; I had a hard time throwing them out!….. but…. I did! In going through my brushes I noticed some similarities in the brushes I decided to retire. The brushes were all made by Elf, bareMinerals, or EcoTools. I’m definitely not saying these brushes are bad, as I’ve had them for awhile and they worked but they weren’t performing the way they did when I initially purchased them (they weren’t cleaning up very well or were more stiff then I remember them being).
The brushes I replaced the retired brushes with were made by Real Techniques, It Cosmetics, and Sigma. My goal is not to replace my brushes that often. So, I did a lot of research and looked a lot of reviews before purchasing brushes. I know there are other brushes at much higher price points that are also highly rated but those are not in my budget.
Brushes I added to my collection (from L to R):
RT (this brush came in a set, I use it for bronzer- excellent, especially if you are fair skinned because it lightly applies a product so you can build it up and not look like a pumpkin 😉 ), RT (I use this to apply setting powder to my face), Sigma (I use with my highlighter), It Cosmetics (I use this to apply my foundation), RT (I use with my blush), & RT (I use to lightly dust setting powder under my eyes).
If you’re wondering… what about eyeshadow brushes? I have this eye brush set from Amazon and it’s amazing! (Also a great dupe for the Sigma eye brush set 😉 for a fraction of the price!)
How often do you clean your makeup brushes? I have to admit, I maybe clean mine once a month! I really need to get better about cleaning my brushes regularly. When I do clean them, I always use my cleaning mitt and this brush soap.
In the beauty community that I’m part of, I’ve heard so many women rave about this soap for cleaning their makeup brushes (which is super affordable under $5!) but I haven’t tried it yet! One reason I do not clean my brushes as often as I should is because of how long it takes for them to dry. However, I did recently try a different technique that I thought I’d share in case you haven’t tried it… I used my blow dryer to dry them the next morning after washing them! So, now I really don’t have an excuse for not washing them 😉 on a regular basis.
Do you have a favorite makeup brush line that you like to purchase your brushes from?
What is something different that you refreshed this year in your home?
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