[laughs] Did you see that?
This is "How Much Should I Spend?"
where we test a method using different products
at various price points to let you know
which is the best value for your money.
So, today, we're going to be doing something
that I haven't done for a very long time.
And that is try different methods of cleaning your brushes.
The methods that I'm gonna be using for cleaning my brushes
are the StylPro spinning brush cleaner,
the Sigma brush-cleaning mat,
and a brush shampoo from EcoTools.
I'm gonna apply the same makeup look three times
using the same brushes
and then clean those brushes using each method.
At the end, I'll rank each method
based on how well it cleaned my brushes,
how long it took to clean them,
and which was the least damaging.
I am extremely lazy when it comes to cleaning my brushes,
which is why I almost never do it.
But I think my ideal brush-cleaning situation
would be something, like, very low-maintenance,
fast, and easy.
So, hopefully, today we'll find something
that I can definitely do more than once a year.
OK, so my makeup is on.
My brushes look sufficiently dirty,
and we're ready to start this test.
I think what I'm gonna do is start off
by using the brush shampoo on its own
just to, like, ease myself into these other products
that I haven't tried yet.
The instructions just say
to dampen the bristles with lukewarm water,
squeeze a small amount of shampoo onto the brush,
and gently rub bristles between your fingers
to create a light lather.
Rinse thoroughly afterwards.
And I guess I just massage it in
like I would like a tiny human head.
The EcoTools brush shampoo
actually worked really, really great!
All of my brushes look very nice and clean.
The only issue I think that I have with it
is that it is just shampoo on my hand,
and it looks like some of the bristles in my brushes
did get a little bit knocked out of place.
All in all, it took about 15 minutes to shampoo
all these brushes thoroughly, get all that gunk out of them,
and rinse them off, so that wasn't too bad.
Next step, we're gonna try out the Sigma brush-cleaning mat.
I think the interesting thing about this mat to me
is that there are sections for your eye brushes
and your face brushes.
I think the problem with cleaning all of my brushes
in, like, the palm of my hand
is that over time it's probably not great for them,
all this rubbing on my flat, palmy hand.
I'm interested to see if using this will cause
more damage or less damage than just using my hand.
When I first saw the Sigma mat,
it looked a little bit silly.
I didn't think that using separate sections
for eye brushes and face brushes
was going to make too big of a difference.
But I actually think that it did.
The bristles this time around look a lot more compact,
in the way they looked before.
It also took about the same amount of time
to clean the brushes with the Sigma mat
than it did to clean them on the palm of my hand.
And, last but not least,
we have the StylPro Original
spinning brush cleaner and dryer.
I didn't read it before, but I read it now,
and it says that it cleans and dries your brushes.
So I guess now I just have to pick a brush,
and we'll try to fit it in one of these rings.
Too big.
Oh, this one fits.
Perfect.
I guess I just, like, push it in.
And then I take my StylPro
handle thing and just...
That feels correct.
[laughs] Did you see that!
I know some people have those brushes
that they use every day
and that are their absolute favorites.
So, a reason why you might prolong washing them
is because you want to keep them in use.
They take a bit to dry.
So the only, like, major pull
I feel like the StylPro has
is that it is also a brush dryer.
I'm pretty blown away by the StylPro.
I thought it was gonna be so dumb and not work at all,
but these brushes look pretty spectacular.
The only thing that was a bit time-consuming
and a little frustrating at times
was finding the correct adapter piece for your brush.
Some brushes were too big, some were too little.
So, that can be kind of an issue in the future.
I think it's awesome
how you not only wash your brushes in it,
but you can also use it to dry them.
And then you can use them immediately afterwards.
I think my overall winner for the day
has to be the Sigma brush-cleaning mat.
I think the reason I ended up choosing the Sigma
as the best method is because
it's not so complicated,
like the StylPro kind of was.
And it's also a step above
just using my hand to wash brushes,
which doesn't always get all the makeup out of them.
When it came to washing the brushes
using the palm of my hand,
I did notice that a few of the bristles
started to fray in all sorts of directions,
which wasn't great.
I don't think that it's a method
that will be kind to my brushes over time.
The StylPro was super fun to use, and I really enjoyed it.
But I don't see myself using it very often.
It just seems like a very long and complicated process,
trying to find out which adapter will go to which brush
and constantly changing them out
so you can start all over again,
getting it attached and then swirling it around.
It's just a lot.
So, if you're looking for an easy way to clean your brushes
and have the 25 bucks to spare,
I'd say give the Sigma mat a try.