Wash it off! How I clean my makeup brushes

Makeup title

With all the colourful makeup looks I have been creating and rocking over the past weeks, I figured it was time to wash my makeup brushes.  When you have a collection over 20 brushes, sometimes it can get a bit time-consuming to wash every single one of them.  Instead, I’ll just pick and choose my most-used brushes and really deep clean those ones.

I don’t do anything different from what others do already (there’s so many videos on YouTube describing the process to clean makeup brushes). I do want to say that although there are special cleansers for brushes, most times I will just use whatever shampoo I have on hand.  I will occasionally use the Beauty Blender Cleanser, but at $19 a pop, I try not to use it that often for just my brushes.

Dirty brushes

Since I was washing a ton of brushes, to save time, I will grab two or three brushes of the same size and wash them at once.  These three in particular were very dirty and needed a good scrubbing.

under water

Next, run the tips of the brushes under lukewarm water, being careful not to get the water near the part of the brush where the silver part meets the wood.  After time, the water can break down the glue and your brushes could fall apart.  This has happened to me with some cheap ELF brushes, but for my expensive ones, I would not want that to happen.

Shampoo Suds

Next, put a small amount of shampoo on the back of your hands and then swirl your brushes in the shampoo, sudsing them up.  I used a Herbal Essences shampoo but you could use any one or even dish cleanser works too.

If you have really dirty brushes, work the shampoo into the bristles to really get all the makeup built up in there.

Washing off Lay flat

Finally, wash all the shampoo out of the brushes and then lay flat on a towel, with the ends of the brushes hanging off the surface.

And that’s it!  If you have a lot of brushes, this can take a long time, but if you grab two or three of your smaller brushes (like eyeshadow, eyeliner, creases brushes) and do them at once, it does cut time.

Usually I will wash them at night and then let them air dry over night so in the morning I just run my hand over them to fluff them up.

Also, I want to note that there are special makeup-washing brushes out there (like the Sigma “Oven Mitt”), but honestly, I don’t think you need a glove to wash all the makeup off your brushes.

All my brushes

Let me know how you clean your brushes and if you have any tips and tricks!

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Blush Pretty! Rimmel London Stay Blushed! Liquid Cheek Tints

Blush title

It seems like all the drugstore makeup brands are releasing new products and one-upping each other.  If you watch YouTubers and read other beauty blogs, everyone has been buzzing about the new Rimmel London Stay Matte foundation.  I haven’t tried that one yet, but along those same lines, Rimmel London has released new cheek stains, called Stay Blushed!

Available in five flirty shades, Stay Blushed! is a liquid cheek tint that has buildable colour and billed to last 24 hours.  The product is pretty small, 14 ml, but luckily you don’t need a lot, as a little goes a long way.

Two colours Swatches Blended out

I received two colours from the line, 001 Pop of Pink and 003 Peach Flush.  The shades are basically self explanatory, a pink and a peach.  Since I love a sleek, contoured face, I gravitated towards Peach Flush first.

Now when I read “liquid” I was expecting something more along the lines of Benefit’s Benetint, a true liquid product.  These come in a squeeze tube, where the product is more of a mousse texture.  Once you spread it out it does become liquidy.

Size

The directions on the product say to apply this with your fingertips, but I like applying it with a face buffer brush or a stippling brush.  I’ll squeeze a bit on the back of my hand (you don’t need a lot!), dip my ELF Studio Flat Top Powder Brush in the product and then buff it onto my cheeks.  This gives me a nice application with no streaks.

Pop of Pink before

Bare cheeks (just contoured).

Pop of Pink swatched

Bare cheeks (just contouring).

Bare cheeks (just contouring).

Peach Flush swatched

Overall, I was pleasantly surprised with these!  Stay Blushed! left me with the perfect amount of colour, and best of all, yes, they are very long wearing.  When I took these photos, I applied Pop of Pink at 8:15 a.m. and at 6:30 p.m., when I checked on the wearability, it was still very visible on my cheeks. By the time 10 p.m. came around when I washed off my makeup, the product was still there, even after an hour and a half at the gym.  I may not wear it for 24 hours, but this stuff stays on.

Unfortunately I haven’t seen these yet in stores, but keep a lookout!  They should be retailing for $6.99 in Canada, depending on the store of course.  These are great for year-round wear because the liquid formula keeps your skin hydrated in the winter and waterproof in the summer, so pretty much the best cheek product ever ;).

Also, one more thing….  I will be travelling to Toronto this Sunday to attend a Grammy’s screening party with Procter & Gamble and Beauty United!  I’ll be with my other Beauty United gals from across Canada live-tweeting our favourite looks from the show and giving away prizes.  Make sure you follow me (@shaynawiwierski) to join in the fun and win some amazing P&G Beauty products!

Are you excited to try out Rimmel London’s Stay Blushed! Liquid Cheek Tint?

Please note, I was sent this product from PR. All opinions are my own.

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Incredigel? Sally Hansen Salon Gel Polish Starter Kit

Title

I have wanted to try out the Sally Hansen Gel Polish Starter Kit since it first hit stores a year or so ago.

I previously reviewed the Instagel Strips a couple weeks back, which is the gel version of the Sally Hansen Salon Effects Real Nail Polish Strips (same as the regular version, you just cure these ones with a gel topcoat and LED lamp).  I absolutely loved those and love my Sensational Gel Manicure Kit so I had high hopes for this one.  Plus, Sally Hansen products have never really let me down in the past.

I hate to say it, cause Sally is my ‘gal, but this kit was a huge letdown.  Don’t get me wrong, I love the packaging, the assortment of gel colours, even the fact that it comes with an acetone remover, but the biggest downfall for me about this was the fact that the gel polish peeled off the next day.  For a product that claims to last two weeks, one day of wear is not gonna do it for me, considering the kit retails for C$69.99.

Set

The Sally Hansen Gel Starter Kit comes with an LED lamp, a base coat, your choice of polish (it comes in three colours – Wine Not, Red My Lips, and Shell We Dance), a top coat, 10 cleanser pads, acetone remover, a cuticle stick, and a buffer.  You basically get the same stuff as the Sensational kit (the Sensational one comes with a bottle of cleanser and pads, but no acetone remover), but the Sensational one also has a gel primer which is applied right before the base coat.  Maybe it’s this extra step that makes the polish last longer, I don’t know.

Steps

Applying the polish is a little more timely than a regular manicure.  You shape your nails then buff them. After, you wipe away any dirt or debris with a cleansing pad.  From there you apply a layer of the base coat, cure it for 30 seconds, then apply two coats of the polish, curing each coat for 30 seconds.  Finally, apply a layer of the topcoat and then cure that for 30 seconds.  The final step, rubbing away any tackiness with a cleanser pad, leaves your nails dry and super shiny.

I received the kit with the Red My Lips colour, but I actually tried it out with Red Zin, a blood-red shade.  I absolutely love the colour and the finish, but hated the fact that one nail peeled off the next day.  I was fine with that, I just redid the one nail, but then two days later, multiple nails came off.  Not cool, Sally Hansen, not cool.

nails

I’m thinking maybe if you cure the polish for a minute each (the LED lamp shuts off after 30 seconds, whereas the Sensationail one shuts off after a minute, beeping after 30 seconds), the polish would last longer.  I have had no issues with the Sensational kit with wear, and honestly, a LED lamp is an LED lamp, the only difference between the two sets would be how long you cure the polish for (30 seconds for Sally Hansen versus one minute for Sensationail).

Overall, I didn’t have the best experiences with this kit unfortunately.  I would spend a bit more an invest in a better gel set (the Sensationail one retails of $89.99 at Shoppers but they often have a sale on it).  I really, really wanted to love this set because I love Sally Hansen products, but when the actual nail polish lasts longer than the gel, there’s a problem here.

Have you tried the Sally Hansen Salon Gel Polish Starter Kit?  Leave me a comment below if you have, I would love to know how it worked for you!

Please note, I was sent this product from PR.  All opinions are my own.

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