Good Question...

Becky asks:

 "As for your cleaner recipe, I loooooove it and it's all I use now. I'm sure you've mentioned this like 5 million times but do you deep clean your brushes every day? I've been doing that and am wondering what you do. I've tried just spraying on like a washcloth and wiping back and forth but I don't feel like my brush is totally free of shadow since I use a lot of dark or bold colors. It seems to work okay for face brushes though for a couple of days."

 Okay Becks, here's the lowdown. I wash my brushes at LeAsT once a week, as in deep clean. I don't do it everyday. My process? Use olive oil to treat the brushes that have remnants of gel or wax based products i.e. lipstick or gel liner brushes. Just dip them in and wipe back and forth on a rag. Then disinfect all brushes with the homemade brush cleanser. Then to get my brushes SuPeR white (for the ones that are) I clean them again with Clearasil and warm water. After cleansing them all I put the brush guard on them so they look like new and don't fray everywhere. If I need a brush super quickly, sometimes I'll just use the Clearasil and dry it with the blow dryer. Don't recommend that like crazy but sometimes a girl's gotta do ya know?

Quick Tip For Brushes

Jen's Must Haves Volume II

This is a request I received from someone asking what my must haves were NOW as opposed to, like, a year ago =). SO, here goes, I am going to be listing things I cannot LIVE without.

#1:

I NEVER go on ANY trip without this magical tube. It enSURES no creasing. I use this under paint pots and the NYX Milk pencil as well!!!! If you do not have this yet, I ask you...WHY???

#2

I have a new love in my life. I thought I was whole before but alas I was proven VERY wrong when my friend showed me this bottle of PeRfEcTiOn!!! Don't think of it as spray tanning (cuz it's not), think of it as foundation for your legs (cuz it IS). You spray it on, rub it in and you have AIRBRUSHED legs!!!!!! Totally flawless!!!! I am, as you know, not great at spraytanning, but this comes off with soap and water, yet resistant to water by itself. It hides bruises, veins, makes you look thinner and more toned, and makes your legs all ONE color!!! I missed a spot one day before going to church, but like if I missed a spot of foundation (ew, never!) you can spray it on your finger and fix the spot. It is FOOLPROOF!!!!!! I will be providing a few pictures on a leg model just as soon as she shaves....hee hee, love ya Megan!!! GO GET THIS!!!! Its about $14.00 at Walgreens and right now if you buy this you get another Sally Hansen product 50% off. You can't LoSe. I bought the medium and light glow. You will NOT be disappointed!!!

#3:

Maybe the reason I won't be having a "must have" for mascara is thanks to these babies. The Ardell Demi Wispies in black. I have said it before and I will say it again,"Lash extensions and serums are SO expensive whereas these bad boys, at a Sally's near you, will run just under $4 and will last you a good month if you are good to them. Practice makes perfect. As soon as you have done this for a week...I may have slept in mine once or twice...EEK! you will be a PRO!!! Just follow my Perfect Lash Tutorial and you can't go wrong!!!

#4:

Wedge, wedge, my beautiful Wedge. I use this color from MAC, no joke, E.V.E.R.Y single day! t is closest to my skin color which makes it a RoCkIn color for contouring and blending in the crease. Can't live without it and neither should YOU!!!

#5:#222 from MAC is the brush that I use THE most often and that I wish I had 10 of. I use it for blending, contouring, outer V work, crease work, under eye smudging. It's an amazing brush and I highly recommend it!!! It is a MAC Pro brush so you need to order it by calling 1-800-866-6464. From what I have been told you do NOT need to be a member but you may not get the Pro discount. This brush is WoRtH it Ladies!!!

#6:

The Coastal Scent 88 matte palette. This, believe it or not, I use every day as well. The dark and lighter brown that corner the bottom black color are my eyebrow colors. You can't beat the $19.99 price and the colors are SO pigmented!!! I also am in LOVE with the yellowish color that is in the first column, 3 down from the white. It is so creamy and natural. The greens are intense, the purples are lavish and the pinks are just plain HOT!!! You could very well find your brow color here, your "wedge", brow bone color. This could be ONE STOP SHOPPING!!!! I haven't tried the shimmer palette but I am satisfied to no END with this one and it still gives me some with shimmer! Visit the website and grab one of your very OwN!!!

#7:

This is Myth from MAC. Isn't that fun to say? I love that this is a lipstick so that it's formulated not to give me those gross inner "rings" around my mouth the way foundation does. If I need to matte out my lips, this is what I use. If I want to create the 3-D lip, this is what I use on the bottom lip in the middle. LOVE pairing it with Girl About Town from MAC and love it for my lips when I do a super smokey eye (whiten those teeth first!). This is a must for ANYONE. It's like the pair of shoes that go with every outfit!!! SO sensible.

#8:

I could not RAVE about this product more!!! My brushes look like NEW after using these guards. I will be getting like 5 more packages! When I clean my brushes and them let them dry, sometimes they bristle and don't look as "sharp" as I'd like them to. Ever since I've had the brush guard (which is in the giveaway!!!) the bristles look like I just bought the brush and took it out of the wrapper. You can dry your brushes in there and put them on when you travel to protect your bristles as they are jumbled up against whatever in your purse. I love how they expand over your brush and yet are nice and snug once you get them into place. Like I said, LOVE them!!! 5 different sizes come in a pkg....my brushes might be fighting over who gets to use one since I don't have enough =). With that said, I will be ordering more tonight HERE =).
So #'s 9 & 10 I couldn't find good enough pictures of but they are BOTH from Mary Kay. Yes, the "Pink Ladies". The eye makeup remover is BOMB!!!! Then the Timewise moisturizer is the best I have used, and I have tried a few ;). 

Those are my must haves at the moment. Who knows what next month will bring =). I think for you Mommies out there, anyONE of these things would be a great gift to ask for!!! Tell me when you get them and what you thought! What are products YOU cannot live without???

The Brush Gaurd

I know sometimes after washing my brushes they fray out and don't dry as well as I would like them to. How many of you throw yours into the depths of your makeup bag alone, scared and without protection? =) Well, check THIS out!!!!!

The Brush Guard is a stretchable, breathable tube which slides over brush handles onto the bristles to protect bristles from damage when not in use. The Brush Guard allows makeup artists and others to safely store these valuable tools in a roll or a bag without a worry.

The Brush Guard also offers a unique new benefit that has never been available before: it allows brushes to be dried with the bristles pointing down! When brushes are laid down to dry, moisture wicks into the ferrule, ruining the glue and causing the handle to swell - eventually spoiling the join.

By keeping The Brush Guard slipped over brush handles during a makeup session, artists keep oil and wetness off brush handles and improve the grip.
How COOL is that??? Click here to check it out and see what others are saying!!!