Jamie Westenhiser's Blog: Cleaning your make up brushes...

One thing I dread the most...cleaning my make up brushes! Something that NEEDS to be done atleast once every couple of months. My normal routine is one by one rinse them in the sink with luke warm water then set to the side. Then get a plastic cup, squirt a nickel size amount of Johnson's and Johnson's Baby Shampoo in it then fill it half way full with luke warm water. Take brush and swish it around for a bit, I like the plunger motion best (up and down like plunging a toilet...not that any of us have LOL) especially for the bigger brushes the smaller ones you can just swish around back and forth, do this for 10 seconds or so then rinse in sink with luke warm water until you see no traces of any make up. Gently squeeze out any excess water then lay flat to the side on a towel or paper cloth. I do each brush with a fresh cup of baby shampoo mixture, reason why I hate it, takes a while! For the small eye make up brushes I'll do 2 or 3 in a cup and wash together. Sometimes when I'm done I will take each brush and squirt some brush cleaner in the bristles (I use MAC's brush cleaner) and you'd be amazed how much more make up comes out, even after cleaning them and rinsing till the water was clear oddly enough a squirt of the brush cleaner and more make up appears ; / then again give them each a rinse with water, gently squeeze out excess water and set aside laying flat to dry. You can just use either one method of cleaning, I just do both for some reason!

IF your brushes need a little extra TLC when done cleaning and before drying them, fill the sink up with luke warm water and squeeze a dime size of conditioner in it (hair conditioner) take your hand and swoosh it around then dump all of your brushes in the sink and let them sit for a minute or 2 then rinse and lay flat to dry.

My new FAVORITE thing I recently bought is from Sephora. It's their Daily Makeup Brush Cleaner, it's a spray! After every use just spray 3-4 sprays on the brush and wipe on a lint-free cloth (I use a paper towel). I am in love with this stuff, wish I would have had it sooner. Makes cleaning your brushes a breeze ; ) This is a MUST HAVE item!!