Studio 35 Beauty: Brush & Sponge Cleaner Review

If any of you lovelies out there are like me, you can get stuck in a bit of a rut sometimes with certain things in your life. You know that specific brand of coffee or coffee shop has what you like as far as flavor and ability to perk you up. You know that specific eyeliner has the best formula to stay on through sweat and rain and exciting first encounters with that cute guy at Whole Foods. For me, my rut is with brush cleaner. When I first started wearing makeup 6 years ago, I was introduced to brushes and cleaning from my MAC cosmetics-obsessed roommate. MAC Cosmetics brush cleaner was easily accessible, didn't break the bank and worked quickly. My habit was instantly born.

MAC Brush Cleaner: $15.00

 I was shown how to properly clean my brushes from a MAC makeup artist the day I picked up my first bottle of the MAC cleaner, and have been using the same method ever since:

Step 1: Take a piece of paper towel, fold in half.

Step 2: Squirt MAC brush cleaner on a portion of the paper towel.

Step 3: Take dirty brushes and wipe on wet area of paper towel in a gentle, swirling manner so bristles don't splay until brush in clean. Take dry portion of paper towel and squeeze excess cleaner from just-cleaned brush. 

Step 4: Lay to dry.

 I have used this method to clean my brushes for the last 6 years and my brushes still look amazing. I am proud to say my brushes have kept their shape. It's fast, easy, mess-free, and I usually end up using at MOST two pieces of paper towel per cleaning due to being able to clean multiple brushes on a sheet of paper towel. For the longest time, to my knowledge the only other kind of method to clean brushes was with soap or water. That's how tunnel vision I was with brush cleaner, until I ran out of my MAC brush cleaner 2 weeks ago and I didn't have the money to purchase a new one. I had no choice but to look for a drug store version and the only one I found was the Studio 35 Beauty Brush & Sponge Cleaner. 

 Studio 35 Brush & Sponge Cleaner

This brush cleaner is half the price of the MAC cleaner and more easily accessible than the MAC version since everyone has a Walgreens near them. That's where the pros end. Now to start in with the cons. I have cleaned my brushes 3 times since purchasing this and I'm at the point where I want throw my mostly-full bottle away. The method is much more time-consuming and wasteful. In the time it takes me to clean 5 brushes I could've cleaned 15 with the MAC cleaner. The Studio 35 Beauty cleaner requires water, and this process wastes A LOT of it. The steps to cleaning your brushes with the Studio 35 cleaner are:

Step 1: Wet brush hairs or sponge, then liberally spray on brush cleaner.

Step 2: Massage the cleaner into the rush or sponge.

Step 3: Rinse with water until it runs clear.

Step 4: Gently squeeze out excess water and blot with paper towel.

Step 5: Lay on flat surface to air dry. Do not dry brushes in a vertical position.

You still use paper towel with this product, but now you have to run water for every single brush. This product is not as effective at cleaning brushes either. All 3 times while using this cleaner, I have had to wash some of my brushes at LEAST 2-3 times. If you really can't afford or don't live near a MAC or Ulta or Sephora, soap and water would be much more effective than this cleaner. 

I've hunted down other brush cleaners to try so a post will come soon about my next go on testing out brush cleaning products.

IT Cosmetics Review

Hey lovelies, so this event actually happened last weekend, sorry for the delay in posting! I hope you guys enjoy my thorough (AKA - LONG) review. I'll try to keep it shorter next time. <.3

Below are the pictures from after I got my makeup done at the event. 

Nope, my scalp isn't bleeding - leftover hair dye that won't come out no matter how many times I wash my hair.

Holiday Sets - MAC Brushes

It's that time of year again - you know, that time. The time when companies are rolling out their holiday sets, and if you're someone who works in close proximity to said awesomeness it's like being a kid left alone in a candy store with a credit card. (AKA - Slightly dangerous)

Luckily I have just a wee bit of self-control because I've only purchased one holiday set this year (so far). If you are going to get only one holiday set this year, I recommend the grand pooba of them all: a MAC Holiday Brush Set. If you happen to live near a MAC store, MAC counter, or have a Macy's/Dillard's/MAC giftcard that needs to see some action, go over or call them up and have them set a set aside one of the 3 brush set options they offer while they're still in pre-sale. This assures that you will 100% get a set when they go to regular sale. Each location only gets a certain amount for the pre-sale and sale. They're still in pre-sale right now in-store, but regular sale starts tomorrow - Thursday, October 23rd. If you don't feel like going into a store, they're available on the website here. When Thursday hits, all pre-sale items will go to regular sale, and any brush sets that are left over will probably be snapped up faster than rare beads in a Mardi Gras parade.

MAC isn't only offering brush sets though for this pre-sale; they're also offering eyeshadow sets, lipstick sets, and other accessories. All 3 brush sets are available for $52, and I chose a dual-fiber brush set that comes with 4 brushes. After tax it came out to be $57 and some change. If you're not completely familiar with MAC, you might be thinking "That seems kind of expensive for just 4 brushes, why did you buy that brush set?". Well let me tell you - because just one of those brushes in that set sells for $45 by itself. Add $12 and that gets me an extra 3 brushes. I like that math. 

The other 2 types of brush sets come with 5, yes 5 brushes. While I had my eye on the 5-piece, the 4-piece dual-fiber had the one brush to rule them all - AKA the BIG Dual Fiber Face Brush . The one I purchased my mother for her early Channukah present is a 5-piece black brush set that has synthetic hair on one side of the brush head, and real hair on the other. After some discussion, I learned something really wonderful about MAC - their brushes are cruelty-free. The real hair comes from shaving a horse's belly. No harm comes to the animal, he just gets a little haircut on his belly and then goes on with his day. That made me smile, and I hope it makes you smile too, because all I imagine is a horse with a cute bare belly running through the fields happy after his haircut (I imagine this because I'm always happy after my haircuts - it's like losing 10lbs without lifting a finger)

 

These are the other 2 brush sets available, so if you're shopping for that special woman in your life, or mother, or sister, or awesome boss you want to impress, this is the way to go. Each set has an amazing combination of brushes for a really wonderful price tag. <.3

P.S. - Don't forget to enter my giveaway which ends tonight here