THP Tid Bits: Makeup & Brush Tips

Photos by Heidi Ryder

It’s safe to say, the last year or so have been pretty crazy in our house! After Nick’s retirement, I thought things would slow down a bit and we would find ourselves in one spot for longer than a few weeks. But I immediately started shooting in Atlanta and Nick started a whole new career in front of the camera and working behind the scenes with the Yankees. I share all of this because we live like a little traveling circus family and staying organized is crucial. So I have adopted a few tricks to help keep things straight. 

Fresh off a major make-up purge this holiday, I thought I would share the way I make sure I’m only using fresh makeup and keeping my brushes clean! I have worked with so many talented makeup artists and it has been drilled into my head the importance of using makeup and skincare that is not expired AND (the dreaded) washing my brushes regularly. 

Make-up (especially the creamiest formulas) and brushes are breeding grounds for bacteria and bacteria can cause skin irritation, infections, and other creepy reactions. I’m no germaphobe, but it makes sense that using clean brushes and fresh products should be a priority. BUT up until recently, the cue my mascara was old was the level it blinded me as it flaked into my eyeballs. I’m not proud! Learning that it’s actually not healthy to slather our faces with expired products and use dirty brushes, I knew I needed to turn over a new leaf. 

So how do I do it??? I keep tiny sticker tabs in my bathroom drawer and when I open a new product, I jot down the month and year it expires according to the indicator on the bottle. The indicators are universal and usually pretty easy to spot. 

Ever since I adopted this little method, it’s become so easy to know when it’s time to toss older products and I reward myself with a little trip to sephora. 

Now that we have taken care of our make up, let’s chat about our brushes! I’m as guilty as they come for using a brush that hasn’t seen a scrub down in far too long. But as I mentioned earlier, the dreaded bacteria can wreak havoc on our skin and I sometimes feel using dirty brushes is the major culprit for those nasty breakouts or irritations we experience out of nowhere. I usually try to give all my brushes a real scrub down once a week and any foundation or cream blush brush get washed after every use. I know it sounds unrealistic, but I found this incredible silicone mat from Sigma Beauty at Nordstrom and it’s multi textured surface cleans brushes thoroughly in a snap!

This mat with any mild make up brush cleanser will keep those brushes clean as a whistle! I use Dr. Bonner’s unscented ‘baby’ formula!

I know that with the insanity of life, making sure we have, clean make up brushes and fresh makeup isn’t probably at the top of our ‘to do’ lists. But keeping my tabs handy for jotting down expiration dates and my little wonder mat has made it so easy to keep things fresh and clean in my makeup drawer! Hope this THP tidbit helps you do the same! 

Xx,

Jo