We Aim To Slay

Firstly, Happy Holidays my loves! I hope all of you were able to spend this time with your loved ones.

For Christmas this year, my mom and grandmother both got a pretty cool present; the Miracleaner Makeup Brush Cleaner. I’ve been seeing this product all over the Internet, so I was eager and a bit skeptical.

Initial thoughts/reactions:

1. All of the advertisements are shown, like above, without a hand holding the actual cleaner. Is that because you don’t have to hold it?
2. The instructions say that for some products (the non-water soluble ones), you’ll need to use a cleanser rather than just water and soap; is there a specific kind of cleanser that will work better?
3. As my grandmother so intelligently brought up, we both use coconut oil to remove our makeup; could we heat some up to get it the right consistency and use that?
4. There are eight ‘collars’ that come in the box. These allow for different sized brush handles to be inserted and attached to the cleaner. Are eight options really going to be enough?

After doing my makeup for Christmas dinner, it was time to begin! I started with my preferred foundation brush, the Real Techniques buffing brush.

HoLy DaMn YoU gUyS. On a fluffy brush (like the buffing brush, the Real Techniques contour brush, which I like for highlighting, or my powder brush) this thing REALLY works! All I put into the washing basin was some lukewarm water and a drop of Dawn dish soap. For brushes of this kind, I’d rate the Miracleaner a solid 9/10 because it cleansed AND dried the brushes.

But, like all good things, this too shall pass. I moved on to my previous foundation brush that was literally caked with product. The soap and water combo didn’t even make a dent. My mom suggested using a makeup remover, so we put a bit of oil-free eye makeup remover into the basin. It still didn’t remove the foundation, and it left a little bit of a residue. But using the eye makeup remover worked on my mom’s Sephora brand foundation brush.

I also found that I had trouble with my eyeshadow brushes, and if you’re anything like me, those are the brushes that truly need a quick and effective cleaner. But, maybe I wasn’t using the right cleanser?

And not only was I unable to get these brushes clean, I *stupidly* attempted to try the Miracleaner on a double ended brush and it ripped one of the brush heads off…

After we had put the Miracleaner away, my grandmother and I discussed how we could possibly use coconut oil as the cleanser. The main issues we came up with were 1) How could we keep the coconut oil warm enough that it wouldn’t solidify? and 2) How would we then get the residual coconut oil out of the brush bristles? (If you’ve read some of my other posts, you’ll remember that coconut oil is my go to for almost everything, but if it’s still on your brushes, how well would the product stay on after application?)

Would I purchase a Miracleaner after the results I had? Maybe. It didn’t work on every brush, but for the ones it did work on, I was impressed. But then I checked the website (www.miracleaner.com) and right now, the Miracleaner is listed as $44.45, on sale from $61.69. I may no longer technically count as a ‘broke college student’, but I certainly am frugal with my money, and I wouldn’t be inclined to spend more than $20-$25 on anything that wasn’t 100% effective.

Have any of you tried the Miracleaner? Have you tried something similar? What were your thoughts? Let me know in the comments below, and remember to SLAY, my loves ❤