Friday, June 11, 2010

Clean Makeup Brushes = High-Performance Applications


For those of you who know me in my professional capacity, you know I'm a makeup brush snob. I have to be because they are the tools of my trade. I don't do cheap brushes. I firmly believe the quality of my brushes extends to the quality of my applications. And an extension of that philosophy is taking care of my brushes.

Perhaps you don't give much thought to cleaning your makeup brushes, but I'm here to extoll the virtues of clean makeup tools. This was instilled in me during my tenure with MAC. Part of my job as an artist was to thoroughly clean my brushes after each customer. It was part of what MAC calls "good counter practices," and it follows me today through my freelance career with my own clients.

How long has it been since you cleaned your brushes? Granted, you don't need to clean them as often as I do, but if you're the only person using them, once every week or two is a good idea. Cleaning your brushes cuts down on bacteria and product build-up. It also extends the life of your brushes if you use a good cleaner.

Parian Spirit Brush Cleaner is high-octane for your makeup brushes. I discovered this AMAZING brush cleaner at The Makeup Show this past May. Parian Spirit was one of the "mom and pop" booths at this trade show. Their demonstration pulled me in immediately. The mom-half of this duo showed me how quickly this formula cleaned a lip brush that had plenty of product still on it. Then she showed me how to use the cleaning tub to remove creamy products from eye shadow brushes and blenders. By the time she got around to demonstrating on a blush brush, I was completely sold. And before I left the booth, all brushes were dry!

They had a special package just for the show, and I bought 2 of them. The package contained an empty jar that holds a cleaning screen; a 16-ounce bottle of cleaner; and a 2-ounce bottle of spray cleaner (for on-the-go cleaning). I gave one away, to a thoughtful critic, my sis-in-law Amy, who is quality-oriented in all aspects of her life. Once she tried it out and declared it "GREAT," I knew I had a winner on my hands.

In addition to the amazing, quick cleaning results, your brushes are left with the most amazing citrusy scent. Since I've been using it, every one of my brides has commented on how great the brushes smell.

OK, so here's the only drawback, and it's in the process of being taken care of: you cannot purchase Parian Spirit directly from their website (it's in development). However you can find it at Amazon.com and Alcone.com (a makeup artist's Wal-Mart). I'd still recommend visiting the Parian Spirit site to read the pdf file about this amazing product. . . it includes directions for use, ingredients, and product descriptions. Happy cleaning!







1 comment:

  1. Pamela - I LOVE the brush cleaner and I am a true believer in the quality brushes. I love all the make-up you helped me with. Thank you so much!

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