How I clean my makeup brushes

Every beauty junkie knows that cleaning makeup brushes is a pain in the ass. It's a necessary evil, because you don't want bacteria growing in your brushes. How gross is that? Also, using dirty brushes are one of the causes of skin breakouts.

Thankfully, there are tools that make brush cleaning easier, more efficient and less dreadful.

If my brushes need a little bit of a squirt and I haven't used it all that much, I spray the Sephora Daily Brush Cleaner, run a bit of water, then pat it with a towel. And I only use it for my powder eyeshadow brushes.

But when they're in need of a deep cleaning (and I always deep clean whatever I used for foundation, whether it's a brush or my beloved RT sponge), I first run it down with water.

I loved the beautyblender solid cleanser, since I got a sample of it when I had a PLAY! by Sephora subscription last year. However, I did not like how expensive it is, at $16 for 1 oz. So I started using the Dr. Bronner's Pure Castille Soap, since I've read that it was a dupe at $4 and 5 oz. Lately though, I've been testing out the Technic Brush Cleaner*, which has been a game changer. It's a solid cleanser but it's in a container, so you don't have to worry about getting it exposed. After I wet my brushes, I swirl them around in the solid balm. Does anyone else get that feeling of satisfaction when the foundation or blush start to liquify and come off the brush? I do.

After I give it a nice cleaning, I run it down with water and rub the bristles all over this pink silicone brush cleaning mat that I bought from Marshall's, which has ridges to get really deep in each bristle and get rid of extra gunk.

I rinse and repeat for each brush. When I'm finished, I hang all of my brushes upside down on the Hismith Tower Tree makeup brush holder. I like hanging them by the window sill where the sunlight hits them, so they dry faster. I made the mistake of leaving them to dry in the bathroom before. It is a big no-no because not only will they harbor more bacteria, they are going to take forever to dry with how moist the bathroom is.

With this process, I can now do my makeup with squeaky clean brushes. It feels amazing, like brushing and flossing your teeth (along with using mouthwash) to get rid of all of the food particles and gunk.

How do you, in particular, clean your makeup brushes?