We all buy into brush cleaners, hoping that they're going to do the job for us. Trusting that they will make our brushes squeaky clean for us to put those bristles against our faces again. But are they really clean, or do they only look clean? Or can you not get that particular patch of foundation out....?

Up until recently, I've used a concoction of dish washing liquid and coconut oil and honestly I'd be more than happy to stick with that and I still go back to this every now and then. I saw Shonaugh Scott's video, didn't think twice and went straight for it and tried it out.

Magical.

What is it? Using Isopropyl Alcohol 99% to clean your brushes. Please watch the video (linked above) as well!

Firstly, this is what happens when you clean with a normal brush cleaner. I've been told that the NYX Brush cleaner is rather good and got it. I have to say I wasn't entirely impressed, but probably because I'm so used to deep cleaning my brushes with dish washing liquid and coconut oil and having squeaky clean brushes.

Ah I wish my eyes could actually tell if these images are in focus.... Anyway, so you can see I dipped my foundation brush (with a lot of Urban Decay All Nigher foundation; read: full coverage). Dipped in and swiped across kitchen towel - it's removed... some of the foundation and the 2nd time I've dipped in and wiped, the kitchen seemingly tells me that my brush is clean.

But is it? There's definitely some residue product in there and that's a huge no-no to your skin when you want to apply makeup with the same brush again. Literally breeding grounds for bacteria....

So you probably can't see that well because I've slapped filters on my images - promise my next ones would be better taken! I hope it still comes across relatively clear - so you see the kitchen towel indicates that the brush is clean.... until I dipped the brush in Isopropyl Alcohol 99% and got rid of what's stubbornly stuck in the foundation brush. The rest of it just comes right out.

Works for other brushes too and takes the dark eyeshadows right out from your brushes. With brushes that touches the eyes, these really should be as clean as possible. Honestly all brushes should be clean as they are in direct contact with your face. One side of the brush I used I used the brush cleaner and it only really looks clean, but there is still definitely residue left. 2nd row is using the 99% straight away and stripping all the colour from the brush. Dipped again and cleaned on kitchen towel and you can see there really is nothing left on the brush. 

This is a perfect mid-week clean for busy people. Now that I have a schedule, I am using makeup everyday, using the same brushes and it really grinds my gears when my brushes aren't clean. I tend to spray them with the 99% and do a quick clean and let them dry before the next day, then deep clean them (cleaning with baby shampoo after the 99% clean) and dry them over the weekend.

2 things to keep in mind when using 99% alcohol

1. Don't let it near where the glue holds the bristles together. 99% will disintegrate the glue holding them together and one of my poor brushes suffered the fate of that. When the edges are getting dirty, it's a good indication that you need to deep clean them with soap and water.
2. 99% is not a disinfectant. 70% is, but 99% is not. If you need to disinfect, use the 70%. Watch the video :)

That's it for today, hopefully your brushes will be as clean as mine and stop buying brush cleaner - I know I did. I poured 99% in a spray bottle and for any time I need to bring it along with me travelling or doing makeup on someone else, it's handy to have that 99% and 75% to quickly remove makeup and disinfect.

Til next time!