Today’s big question: to cleanse or double
cleanse? Oh, hold on. You must be thinking
that I’m talking about cleansing your face. It’s
a subject that sparks lots of debate: should we
cleanse our faces in one go or do we need two
rounds to make sure everything is off? No, no.
Today I’m talking about whether we need to
cleanse or double cleanse our ... make-up
brushes! Yes, really. Jamie Genevieve, founder
of the make-up brand Vieve, recently
launched a range of brushes and spoke out
about needing to double cleanse these tools.
“It’s the only way forward,” she says. “If a
make-up product is a long-wear formula for
your face, then it’s going to last longer on your
make-up brush and as a result be harder to
clean off. So for the same reason you should
double cleanse your face, I double cleanse my
make-up brushes.”
And what exactly does that entail? “Start
with a gentle, oil-based cleanser to break
down the make-up, then dip the brush into
lukewarm water and swirl gently in a metal
sieve until clean,” Genevieve says. “The gentle
vibrations shake the product off quickly,
making for a fast deep-clean.” (If, like me, the
sieve bit confused you, she’s referring to a
standard stainless steel sieve that belongs in
the kitchen.) “Next I use a gentle soap to
ensure there’s no oil residue left and then
swirl again in the sieve.” Not keen on using
your kitchen utensils? I swish my brushes
around on a Real Techniques Brush
Cleansing Palette ( 1 £11).
On the one hand I’m with you, in that it
sounds like far too much work. But on the
flipside I often notice there’s still a good
amount of muddy-looking foundation
trapped at the roots of my brushes. Plus,
there are two more reasons we should be
more diligent with our brush-cleaning
regime. First, it could prevent a bad skin
day. Yes, unclean brushes are known to
harbour dirt and bacteria, which can lead to
breakouts. Second, an unwashed brush
often leads to streaky make-up that looks
uneven and patchy on the skin.How clean
is your
make-up
brush?
Go on, admit it: when
was the last time you
washed your make-up
brushes? According to
the pros it should be at
least once a week and
- wait for it – we should
be double cleansing
them too. Sarah Jossel
explains why
Yasu + Junko/ Trunk Archive44 • The Sunday Times Style