How do I clean my cosmetic brushes?

Brushes are often overlooked. We use them then simply throw them back in our make-up case not caring much for condition we leave them. This is usually reason why brushes we buy do not last as long as we hoped for. Armando's Brushes last a long time because they are made with sable bristles and even with use of high-quality materials, Armando's Brushes would not last much longer than lower quality brushes without proper care. So what is proper brush care and what are benefits it will give you besides longevity? When applying your make-up, your brushes mix with your cosmetics as well as oils on your skin. Over time, this could cause bristles of brush to clump together causing your make-up application to not go as smoothly as you would like. That fine line you like for your eyeliner may not be obtainable with a dirty brush. Not caring for your brushes may also cause different shadows to mix together in your brush creating a color that you never intended on using!

Tricks of the Trade - Applying Make-up Like a Professional

There are a number of different tricks and techniques that we have developed to make applying make-up easier, as well as more appealing. Let's start with basics.

Always start your make-up with your foundation. This will even out your complexion and give you a good base to start with. Now for trick. Use a make-up sponge to apply your foundation. This way your foundation will not change colors due to oils on your fingers, and you will not contaminate your foundation. Another trick is to use a large Complexion Brush to smooth out your foundation around hairline and jaw line. This way you will not have a line of demarcation around edge of your foundation. Next apply your brow color. Follow up with a Brow Gel to keep your brows looking nice all day or night. Apply your highlighter next. The trick here is to use a highlighter like our Beige Eye-lite that is creamy instead of a waxy cover-up. When you are trying to hide lines on face, using a waxy substance will not move with your face, thus causing creases and other wrinkles to form in product. Using a creamy highlighter will get into lines to lighten them and make them less visible. Again use your Complexion Brush to blend your highlighting after you have applied it.

Now it is time to concentrate on your eyes. Applying make-up is like being an Illusionist or Magician. It is not like an artist that paints, because we are working with three dimensions. This is why it is important to use three different eye shadows. Starting from top eyelash choose a color of a medium tone. Apply that from lashes to crease in eye. The next shadow should be two shades darker than the first. Apply this shadow from top of first to brow bone. The next shadow should be one shade lighter than first to highlight eye brows, because eye brows are what gives you your expressions. Apply this shadow from top of second shadow to bottom of eye brows. This is how you give your eyes dimension, by going light, dark, lightest with your shadows. Now apply your eye-liner. The trick here is to use a shadow and firm bristle brush. This will give a more natural appearance. Always start from outside going toward center on top and bottom. Another trick to this is to make sure you do not make top and bottom meet at corners both inside and outside. By doing this you will make you eyes appear larger. Something else you can do to your eyes if you would like them to appear whiter, is to use a white pencil on inside of lower lid. This way light will reflect off of white onto your eyes. This is especially helpful for people that tend to have a lot of redness in their eyes. Now it is time once again to blend with your large complexion brush.