DIY: How I Wash My Brushes

I don't know if this comes off as a little big headed telling you how I do this? I'm by no means a pro at anything to do with make up, but I just thought I'd share how I take care of my beloved Real Techniques brushes because I would have liked a post like this when I first got them. 

I want my brushes to last as long as possible, but also know that it's important to clean them to avoid bacteria building up and various other obvious reasons. So that meant I needed to buy a brush cleaner. This was a whole new world to me and to be honest I kind of grudged the idea of spending money on one. I mean there are much prettier things to spend your money on, right ladies?

Fortunately I learnt that baby shampoo is gentle but effective enough to clean your brushes, before I forked out on a fancy pants cleaner. I expect the ingredients are pretty similar really. I bought good old Johnson's baby shampoo. 

Cleaning the brushes is dead simple, I literally just use lukewarm water and a little of the shampoo then brush the brush about (if that makes sense!) in the shampoo in the palm of my hand. I just keep rinsing the water away and brushing about until the water runs clear. 

That's it! You need to be careful not to get water in the ferule if you can help it so for this reason I try to keep my brush bristle end downwards while washing and also when they're drying. I don't know about other brands but if I wash my RT brushes at night they're always dry by the time I want to use them in the morning. They clean up really well, like new almost and they smell nice because of the shampoo. 

I know other people have different ways and it's all about what works for you, but this is how I do it and it works pretty well.

Lauren x

Real Techniques Core Collection Review

Hello lovelies,

It seems ages ago now that I told you I'd finally bought the RT Core Collection set. Before buying it I read several reviews (thank you blog land) and couldn't find a bad word said about it, so here's another by someone who's been won over by these brilliant brushes.

L-R: Buffing, Pointed Foundation, Detailer and Contour brush.

The Core Collection Set

The set is one of a few by Real Techniques and consists of four brushes which are designed to help you achieve a flawless base. The brushes themselves are all made from synthetic taklon bristles that feel incredibly smooth and very soft on skin. They're also very light to hold because of their aluminium handles. The brushes come in a black case (great for travelling) which doubles as a stand.

Contour Brush
At the moment I don't pay much attention to contouring (although I should because I know it can make such a huge difference) but I do use this to sweep highlighter in a few places and it's really good. It picks up a lot of product so I have to remember not to be heavy handed and to blend.

Pointed Foundation Brush
I don't use this brush much, purely because I prefer to apply my foundation with the buffer to really blend it in. If you like to use a proper foundation brush then this one is excellent quality and it's definitely a fall back for me.

Detailer Brush
This is quite a small brush that looks like your typical eye shadow brush. I hate the doe foot applicator that comes with my concealer so I use this instead for slapping a good amount on under my eyes or over spots.
This gives me a lot more control over how much concealer I want to apply and where I want it. I often feel like I'm painting with this brush. Being a detailer, it's just the right size for under eye patch ups and for covering pesky bits of blemished skin. Rather than just blobbing the product on in a thick lump, this allows you to spread it thinly or build it up.

Buffing Brush
This was the one that drew me to the collection, I was after a brush that I could use to apply liquid foundation and I'd narrowed it down to the expert face brush or this one, which is only available as part of the set. I weighed up my options and decided that spending a bit extra to get 3 more brushes was too tempting not to do.
This is the main brush I use. I put a few blobs of foundation on my face (cheeks, chin and forehead). Starting with my cheeks I start spreading the foundation around using circular motion and just do this repeatedly on the different areas of my face until it's all covered.
I also use this after applying my blusher. I like to just give a quick couple of sweeps over the blushed area to ensure that it's blended in well.
I can honestly say I don't know what I did before I had this. It just makes it so much quicker and easier to apply my foundation and the effect is excellent. I never used to feel like my make up was applied well but now I have this I don't even need great light to do my make up as I can be totally sure that it's all blended in well and I've not got the dreaded streaky make up look!

Overall
As I've said I was only really after the buffing brush, but now that I've got this set I'm really impressed with the general quality of the brushes and how well they work. I definitely get the most use out of the buffer and detailer, with the least used being the foundation brush.

There's more info about how to use the brushes on the Real Techniques website.

I bought my brushes from Amazon for just under £20 but they're also available at Boots and several other online retailers.

Lauren x