Make Your Own Brush Cleanser!!

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A couple months ago on Luuux I showed you how to mix your own foundation shades as well as foundation tips & tricks for your skin type and i promised i would do another post on how to make your own daily spot cleanser for makeup brushes - so here it is! :) This is not a deep cleanser, it will only remove surface dirt and products from brushes.

You Will Need
1 cup distilled water
¼ cup isopropyl alcohol
1 tablespoon baby shampoo

Mixing Ingredients & Using Cleanser

1. Mix all ingredients into an air-tight container with a lid.
2. Pour into any size spray bottle - mine is pretty small but yours can be large.
3. If any is left over, store in the refrigerator.
4. Now that you have some in your spray bottle, tilt back and forth to gently mix products.
5. Spray 2-3 squirts onto a clean folded paper towel.
6. Rub your makeup brush back and forth onto the wet paper towel to spot cleanse your brush.
7. When finished, shape brushes immediately then store brushes laying down until completely dry.

Thats it, it's so simple! If you need a deep cleanser for your brushes just mix 1 cup water and a couple tablespoons of baby shampoo in a small bowl and swish brushes around until they're clean. Rinse thoroughly and shape, then store lying down until they're completely dry. Or you could try E.L.F. Brush Shampoo, $3 sold at Target and eyeslipsface.com

Thanks for reading, i hope this helped! Please comment and follow! :)

Sigma Complete Kit with Brush Roll

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I got this Sigma Complete Kit w/ Brush Roll in black from luuux roughly one month ago - for free! When you join luuux, add reviews & photos, comment on other's reviews, etc. it earns you points (or luuux $). You can then go to the luuux shop and choose items to purchase online with your points.

Sigma Complete Kit - luuux link: http://www.luuux.com/shop/sigma-complete-kit-brush-roll-pink-heart-shape...

Time Table
Order Created: 5/05/11
Order Processed: 5/10/11
Order Completed: 5/11/11
Order Arrived: 5/14/11

Price
1 x Sigma Complete Kit w/ Brush Roll - 5,580 Luuux$ ($132 USD)
Shipping - 260 Luuux$ ($6 USD)
Total = 5,820 Luuux$ ($137 USD).

Brushes
Small Angle - E65 - Essential for the application of gel or cream eyeliner on the upper and lower lash line. This brush is also excellent for filling out the eyebrows. Synthetic bristles.

Medium Angled Shading - E70 - Angled, tapered, flat top. Ideal to apply highlight shades underneath the eyebrow and on the inner corners. It can also be used for a precise application of darker shades on the crease area. Natural bristles.

Large Shader - E60 - Flat shape is ideal for application of cream formulas and eye shadow primers. It also works great with loose eye shadows or pigments. Can be used to apply color all over the lid or precisely on the lash line. Natural bristles.

Pencil - E30 - Precise application of color on the crease, outer corner, and upper and lower lash line. Also ideal to smudge out pencil liner. Natural bristles.

Large Angled Contour - F40 - The angled shape makes this brush ideal to apply blush or contour shades. Natural bristles.

Large Powder - F30 - Very dense with a rounded top. Ideal to apply powder products on face and body. Natural bristles.

Duo Fibre - F50 - Specially designed to generate an ‘airbrushed’ finish when used to apply liquid foundation. It can also be used to apply blush, highlight shades and loose pigments. Blend of synthetic and natural bristles.

Foundation - F60 - Can be used to apply liquid or cream foundation. It is also recommended to apply moisturizers and conceal large areas. Synthetic bristles.

Concealer - F70 - The rounded, tapered, flat shape makes this brush ideal to conceal the under eye area. It is also recommended for a precise application in small areas. Synthetic bristles.

Tapered Blending - E40 - Rounded and tapered top. Specially designed to apply and blend color on the crease. Natural bristles.

Eye Shading - E55 - Soft and dense with a rounded finish. Can be used to apply pressed or loose eye shadows and pigments. Ideal to build intense color on the eyelid. Natural bristles.

Eyeliner - E05 - An extra-fine tipped synthetic fiber brush that delivers a precise, firm, even stroke to line the eyes.

Extras
Small rhinestone covered heart-shaped mirror w/ regular and 5x magnification.
FREE travel size E25 blending brush

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Because I had enough extra Luuux$ I did not have to pay for shipping so this order was FREE for me! Overall the transaction took 9 days, which isnt bad but i have seen alot faster (and slower) on Luuux before. The box was packed nicely, there was alot of extra info and pamphlets and everything is great quality. The brushes are amazingly soft and even the handles are very nice. I was more than excited to try them and happy to say everything works amazingly well. These are VERY high quality brushes and i highly suggest them to anyone!

**Have any of you ordered these brushes from Luuux or Sigma? How do you like them? Do you have any tips or comments? Thanks!! :) Photos are mine.

E.L.F. Brush Shampoo

I purchased this E.L.F. Brush Shampoo for $3 a my local Target a few weeks ago. I've been using it to clean my brushes about 1-2x per week (everyday for my foundation brush) and i really like it!!

It has a push top and the formula of the shampoo is a thick liquid (like a regular shampoo). I apply a dime-sized amount the the palm of my hand, add a little water, then swirl my brush into the shampoo/water mixture. It doesnt suds up alot or make tons of bubble, but you can see the color of the shampoo/water change in the palm of your hand as it cleans and wipes away anything in your brush.

I didnt know just how dirty my brushes were, until i used this E.L.F. Brush Shampoo. I had been cleaning them regularly with warm water and baby shampoo but this showed me just how much that WASNT working (even though i thought it was). So for $3 you can get an effective, scent free, amazing brush cleaner. I think its a pretty good deal!!

CONS?: The bottle is hard to squeeze. Thats it. Everything else about it is great

ECOTOOLS Blending Kabuki Brush

I had no idea ECOTOOLS made this cute little kabuki brush until I found it at a Walgreens a few weeks ago. It was roughly $8. Ive been using this blending kabuki for applying setting powders overtop of my foundation and for blushes and it works really well!! Its for sheer buildable coverage, so you're not going to get the same effect as a firm tapered brush.

ECOTOOLS Travel Brush Kit

Mini Kabuki brush, Blush/face brush

Concealer brush, Eyeshadow/blending brush

I also own a full size ECOTOOLS brush kit with some of the same brushes and I really like it! So thats why I purchased this travel kit for $7.99 at Target. It's the perfect size for throwing in my purse and extremely light weight.

All the brushes are very, very soft and do their intended jobs well. However, I use the oncealer brush as an eyeshadow brush because its firm and applys the shadows well, and I use the actual eyeshadow brush for blending purposes only because its very soft and fluffy.

This is a nice purchase if you need a travel and/or purse brush kit thats affordable, high quality, and light weight. Very nice brushes.

Image Essentials Eye Brushes

I purchased these Image Essentials brushes for $4.99 at Kmart a couple weeks ago. It came with a dual ended shadow & contouring brush, and a flat top eye brush. Which, just to be honest, I cant find the purpose for it.

The shadow & contouring brush comes in handy sometimes, although I already own the Urban Decay Good Karma brush, and an ECOTOOLS set too. My favorite is the contouring side. It's perfect for shading outer corners and seems to pick up and apply product well. The shadow brush is nice but a little short & wide for my taste. And as I said earlier, I cant find a purpose for the flat top eye brush.

Less than $5 is pretty cheap for technically 3 eye brushes, so overall I guess im happy with my purchase!

Eyeshadow brush

Contouring brush

Flat top brush

Image Essentials Brushes in packaging, Kmart $4.99

ECOTOOLS Brush Kit

I bought this full size ECOTOOLS brush set for $10 at WalMart. It comes with these 5 brushes: blush/face, foundation, eyeshadow/blending, eyeliner, and brow groomer + hemp storage case. I was most excited about the foundation and eyeshadow blending brushes because the ones i own right now from Mark. (AVON) are a year or so old and i use them like everyday. I was looking forward to trying a new brand. All of the brushes are ridiculously soft.

• Blush/Face brush:

Its not as round as my other blush or kabuki brushes, its a little flat, but that may be due to the way it was packaged and doesnt seem to change its effectiveness as a brush. It blended and applied the product well.

• Foundation brush:

Im a sponge kind of girl so im not really adapt at using a foundation brush. I liked it although i'll admit its smaller than other foundation brushes i've seen.... ALOT smaller. This basically just means it takes longer to apply your foundation, but if you're not worried about time its a nice brush and seemed to work pretty good but not as good as a sponge. (I use Sonia Kashuk Blending Sponge - $10 at Target)

• Eyeshadow/Blending brush:

This is my favorite next to the eyeliner brush. It blends amazingly well and is realllyyy soft. Until i got this i didnt really think i had a need for a blending brush, i just used a typical eyeshadow brush to blend. But this works MUCH better, its a necessity for me now.

• Eyeliner brush:

This eyeliner brush is short and the bristles are stiff but still soft. I find its best used when 'pressing' the lines on your lids instead of sweeping it on. Just press on using short strokes - this should be done with most eyeliner brushes anyway if you already arent.

• Brow Groomer:

I dont find much use for this, honestly. I get my eyebrows waxed and attempt to twweze them regularly in-between times. I also own an electric brow groomer from CVS that's almost as small as an ink pen and very portable (plus it comes w/ different attachments). So i guess i cant really give a fair opinion on this, but if you're someone who already uses a brow groomer similar to this one it might be worth a try just for the fact that everything in this kit is so high quality.

• Hemp Case:

I like the look of this case but not it's functionality. I need something a little more structured and something that has some sort of flap over the top which ensures the brushes wont fall out if they it's turned upside down. However, if you're just using it at home it would be fine. If you want to take it in your purse its a little bulky + not very secure.

Overall this was a good buy for $10 and the best quality, softest brushes I have owned so far. *Photo is mine.