I hear a lot of jokes about how people “never” clean their makeup brushes. While that does make a me a little sad, I’m here not to shame you into cleaning them (really, who does that help?!), but to let you know how awesome cleaning your brushes can be!
This little chore is usually seen as kind of a pain, but once you commit to it, it can be a very soothing, satisfying, and intentional part of your beauty routine.
Related: How to Clean a Dishwasher, How to Clean a TV Screen, How to Clean a Washing Machine
How often should you clean your makeup brushes?
Dermatologists recommend cleaning your brushes out at least once every 7-10 days, especially for your most-used brushes like foundation and concealer.
Why should you clean your makeup brushes?
Over time, brushes accumulate product, dead skin cells, and oils which can lead to bacteria in your brushes. This bacteria and debris can clog your pores and result in breakouts.
Once bristles are clean, they can more smoothly apply product—and who doesn’t love a flawless application?! Of course, one great benefit of keeping those bristles clean is it will prolong the life of your brushes.
How do I clean my brushes?
Step 1: Gather all your brushes together.
Step 2: Grab your favorite brush cleaner. This DIY for a solid cleaner is one of my favorites, but any gentle soap or shampoo will work. I especially love this Puracy soap.
Step 3: Dip your brush in water, being careful not to submerge the “ferule,” or the metal part that connects the bristles to the brush. Getting this wet can dilute the glue that holds the bristles to the brush and it can also breed bacteria.
Step 4: If using a solid cleaner, swirl your brush around the solid several times. If using a liquid cleaner, pump a very small drop into your hand and swirl in your hand. You’ll probably see product start to appear in your suds.
Step 5: Rinse in water, and maybe repeat if you see that there’s still some dirty water.
Step 6: Reshape your brush by squeezing it gently and shaping with your fingers, and lay it flat to dry.
That’s it! These steps literally take MINUTES and make such a big difference.
Bonus tips:
I learned this tip at Sephora for when you need to disinfect brushes quickly. Spray a little bit of alcohol onto a towel and brush back and forth until you don’t see product coming off anymore.
You can find these clever little brush mats to swirl your soapy brushes on. The texture helps draw out product!
Hope this has been helpful. Happy cleaning! 
xo Keely
Hi! It’s been a while since I shared my skincare faves and a few things have changed. This past year, I’ve been more religious about my skincare, but I’ve also become more consistent with the products I use. You’ve probably heard people say it’s not good constantly to be bringing new products and ingredients in. So even though I LOVE to try out new products, I’ve been sticking closer to my favorites and it’s been really good for my skin.
Here are some of my tried and true favorites. These are items I’ve purchased over and over and/or have used for years. My skin type is combination, but I would say leans toward dry—especially in the winter. I’m 37 and am trying to embrace the natural aging process. For me, staying super hydrated (with products, extra water and less coffee/alcohol) is making a positive difference.
One more note: While I do use a few conventional makeup products, I stick more closely to only clean products for skincare. For me, I’ve noticed far better results using clean products and it gives me peace of mind to know I’m cleaning all the questionable ingredients off every night and sleeping in ingredients that will nurture my skin. So, if I had to choose between swapping to natural skincare OR makeup, I would swap the skincare first.
Masks: I do a face mask at least one time per week, but up to three times. I focus mainly on moisturizing masks with a bit of exfoliating, but I am careful not to overdo it. I stay away from anything that dries my skin, so clay masks are not for me.
Leahlani Mermaid Mask I have used this for years and repurchased it over and over. With a base of honey, it is ultra moisturizing and filled with superfood ingredients. I typically put this on 30 minutes before I take a shower or bath and it’s my go-to when I am feeling dry. For sure my most used mask.
Boscia Cactus Water Peel Off Mask I LOVE these peel off masks. I tend to stick with this one, the pink mask and the sake bright white mask. The peel off is super fun and they are hydrating.
Summer Fridays Jet Lag Mask This is my go-to mask to sleep in. It’s also good for flights (or anywhere you might wear it in public) because it looks like lotion, not a “scary” mask. Haha.
Biossance Squalane + Glycolic Renewal Facial I love this mask because it’s not harsh at all, but good for a light exfoliation during these winter months.
Bite Beauty Agave+ Nighttime Lip Therapy This is the most glorious super-thick lip mask. I sleep with it every night because I struggle with chapped lips pretty often. I got some for my sister and she didn’t like it because it’s so thick, so make sure you want something super thick. For something lighter, I recommend Weleda Skin Food Lip Butter.
Cleanser + Toner:
Honest Beauty Gentle Gel Cleanser When removing makeup, I often do a double cleanse by first rubbing oil all over my face. Any carrier oil (jojoba, coconut, argan, etc.) works for this step. It doesn’t have to be labeled as a “cleansing oil.” Next, I rinse the oil off with a warm washcloth. After that, I cleanse with this water-based cleanser. On days I don’t wear makeup, I skip the oil step and go straight for the water-based gel cleanser.
Thayers Facial Toner I use this after I cleanse, before oils and serums everyday.
Acid + Oils:
The Ordinary Hyaluronic Acid 2% + B5 I use a couple drops of this every night before oils or serums.
Herbivore Prism Exfoliating Glow Serum Like I said above, I try to be very gentle with what exfoliators I use. This is perfect for my skin! I use it before bed either with an oil or by itself. This is one of my top must-haves for glowly skin.
*I love the gel mask version or Prism as well! These are definitely my favorite Herbivore products.
Herbivore Emerald This is a hemp-based oil. It’s super moisturizing and one of my favorite oils currently, but I will say you have to be OK with a cannabis scent. If you’re not OK with that scent, I’d recommend one of their other oils.
Serum:
Skin Pharm Youth Serum This is incredible for helping my skin feel plump. I use it anytime I am feeling a bit dehydrated (in addition to chugging water and herbal tea).
Backuchiol Retinol Alternative Serum I’m avoiding retinols (or keep them super minimal) because they can be harsh. That said, I still want a potent serum. This serum has a thin gel-like texture, so I use it anytime if I don’t want to go to bed slathered in oils. It is super moisturizing and gentle.
100% Pure Multi-Vitamin PM Facial Oil This is my oil-based serum. I love to go to bed with a super shiny face (aka a glazed donut face—lol), but since I wear eyelash extensions (oil causes them to fall out) I stay away from my eye area and don’t use this when my extensions are first filled each month. Swapping back and forth on my night serum has worked out pretty well for me!
Mist:
Youth To The People Adaptogen Mist I am obsessed with this mist. I use it when I wake up, before and after makeup, before bed, and all over my body after a shower. If my skin is every looking dry, I mist this on. I’ve used three bottles in the past six months—that’s how crazy I am about this mist. Haha.
Other items I missed in the photo, but use ALL the time:
Supergoop Unseen Sunscreen We go through a ton of this in our home—it’s a little pricey so I stock up every time I see a sale. I also use their makeup primer and finishing powder.
Weleda Skin Food Lotion I love that they carry this at Target. I use it as my hand lotion and body lotion. It’s perfect if you have dry skin—it’s VERY thick. I sent my grandma some (she wanted to try clean beauty!!!) and she hates it. So I guess it’s a matter of taste, but I love it.
Boscia Collagen Eye Mask I got these in a PR mailer recently (they’re brand new so I haven’t used them for long, just tried them out twice) and WOW. These are by far the most effective eye masks I’ve ever tried. They are crazy. My eyes looked so refreshed—I will definitely be repurchasing, but they’re pricey so I’ll be using them only for special occasions.
Other skincare tips
This biggest change I’ve seen in my skin came a few years back when I drastically cut my alcohol, sugar and coffee consumption. I know that is no fun to hear, but it’s amazing what a difference it made for me. I had been using clean products for a few years, but when I made those diet changes I suddenly started to get a lot of compliments and questions about my skin.
There are two skincare treatments I got regularly last year that made a huge difference. They are both non-toxic. I got a lot of microneedling and a couple BBLs at SkinPharm in Nashville (they’re opening in Atlanta soon, too).
Microneedling is a collagen producing treatment. It can be pretty minimal (your face is a bit red) to pretty bloody (I started small and worked up to more intense treatments). I got prp injections with it a few times too, which is a natural treatment made from your own blood also known as “liquid gold.” I know it sounds gross, but it’s pretty much the best thing you can do if you want to work on skin texture issues the natural way.
BBL (or photofacial) is a light therapy that can help reduce sun damage. It was pretty dramatic on me and I definitely recommend it if you have an age spot you’d like to zap away. I’ve done my face, chest and arms and will definitely keep doing it over time. I have quite a bit of sun damage because I went to tanning beds when I was younger—the worst!
Anyway! If you have any questions I am happy to try and answer them! If you’re curious to learn more about clean beauty, see my article, Why Clean Beauty Matters. And remember, I am absolutely NOT trying to shame anyone who uses and loves conventional skincare products. Even just swapping out a few clean items is a great step! Nobody is perfect and no one has perfect skin. xx- Elsie
Credits//Author: Elsie Larson. Photography: Amber Ulmer. Photos edited with A Color Story Desktop.
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Winter is in full effect in southwest Missouri where I live, and my skin is feeling it! During the winter, I tend to get dry patches on my skin, especially my elbows, knees, and hands.
This winter skin homemade body oil is the perfect remedy. It’s kind of a hybrid between a lotion and a body oil. Here’s what the consistency is like:
A little bit of this goes a long way! And, I especially love applying some of this to my feet and hands before bed so it can kind of soak in overnight.
I packed my version full of some pretty high end ingredients! You know how you’ll sometimes go to buy a product at the store and see that the first ingredient listed is water? Not so much here. It’s all good things for this homemade body oil.
Here’s what I used in my winter skin homemade body oil:
-shea butter
–argan oil
–jojoba oil
-vitamin E oil
–essential oil for scent (lavender)
–mica powder for a little shimmer
You basically want to your body oil to be 1 part shea butter and 1 part oil. You can mix oils (like I did) or swap out the majority for something less expensive like coconut oil or even olive oil, which is still really great for your skin.
I added about 10-15 drops of lavender essential oil and a heaping teaspoon of the mica powder too, but both of those are optional and the oil would still be great without them.
Here’s what the mica powder looks like. It’s actually really great for a little (natural) shimmer or to make DIY makeups with.
Just add all the ingredients to a glass jar and use an immersion blender to blend well until no clumps remain. My homemade body oil has an almost milky color with a kind of pearl shimmer from the mica.
Even though I’m not necessarily using this as a cosmetic (it’s really for dry skin), I do love how pretty and luxurious it looks.
You can simply store it in any airtight container like a glass jar with a lid. But, as with any lotion or body oil, it’s nice to have something with a little spout or pour option.
I found some reusable honey bear containers at a local farming supply store (it’s a long story why I was there, but I thought these would be perfect for homemade lotions and things, so I bought them when I saw them).
But you could absolutely reuse something you may already have in your bathroom or kitchen cabinets or just use a clean glass jar. Hope your skin loves this stuff as much as mine! xo. Emma
P.S. This body oil can separate over time, or in extreme temperatures. If you notice this, just give the container a good shake and things will get blended up again.
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Chapsticks, lipstick bullets, liquid lipsticks, gloss… I’m happy to add any of it to my mildly embarrassing collection. 
As someone who really enjoys the process of makeup and getting ready, something I’ve come to learn is that how you care for your skin each day is one of the most important aspects of a beauty routine. Having a regular skin care routine means all the difference in how your makeup applies and looks. And using a light lip scrub is the perfect way to moisturize, prep your lips for a flawless lipstick application, AND help remove liquid lipsticks at the end of the day!
I’m so excited to share this all-natural and super delicious lip scrub with you! It’s the perfect summery scrub to keep at your vanity and of course, give as a gift.
-glass balm jars (I picked up a few 1 ounce jars from Amazon.)
-coconut oil
–caster sugar
-honey (I used wild orange honey for a little extra flavor.)
–lemon and grapefruit essential oils
-small mixing bowl
We all know the amazing benefits of coconut oil – this ingredient will really add moisture to your lips and the oils help break down liquid lipsticks, so it makes removing makeup SO much easier! Honey is incredible too – it has tons of antioxidants and enzymes that also help nourish and cleanse the skin. I love using a caster sugar for this recipe because it’s so fine and gives you a nice gentle scrub that helps remove dry skin and makeup but doesn’t leave your lips irritated.
This stuff smells SO good you’ll want to eat it… so no judgement if you lick a little off your lips. Lots of love, Sav.
Credits//Author and Photography: Savannah Wallace. Photos edited with A Beautiful Mess actions.
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