Now THAT's what I call a brush cleaner.

Hi!

Have you ever bought something so good that you feel like ringing someone to come over and witness its greatness immediately? That's how I felt today.

Let me present - the tale of the Sigma F80.

[Original Image from Cloud 10 Beauty]

I got my F80 from Cloud 10 Beauty earlier this year, after reading numerous reviews about how good it was. At almost €18, it was the most expensive makeup brush I'd ever bought - and the first decent one. The reviews were all correct - this brush changed my foundation routine and it made such a difference to the lasting power of my foundation.

BUT. It's an absolute nightmare to clean. I actually put off using it some days because I knew that one more foundation application would mean that it'd need a deep clean. Nothing I tried could get it white again. I tried baby shampoo, olive oil, antibacterial soap, cleanser - nada. I didn't buy a specific brush cleaner because there wasn't one readily available to me. I also didn't use surgical spirits because I hate the smell of it. Enter google.

A while back, I came across this post written by Juli from Bun Bun Makeup about how great the Daiso Detergent for Puff and Sponge was.  I knew I had to get my hands on a bottle of that detergent, so I had a look on eBay and found it from this seller for the incredibly bargain-friendly price of €4.50 for an 80ml bottle. I ordered it on May 23rd - and received it this morning. I was genuinely amazed to see it arrive so soon, all the way from China?! Unreal. I couldn't wait to put it to work.

Haven't a clue what the packaging says, but there are English instructions and ingredients on the back.

I decided to test it out with all the brushes I use on a regular basis, check out the makeup gunk:

Ugggh. Here's a close-up of the manky Sigma:

You only need a tiny drop of detergent, because you need to mix it with water. I put a small blob in the bottom of a little cuticle bowl:

Then I filled the bowl with water - rough proportions about 10% detergent to 90% water. Dunk the brush in,  and swirl it around for about 10-15 seconds.

After, take it out, rinse it under clean running water,  AND BE AMAZED.

I have never gotten it that clean before. Especially in under 15 seconds. The stuff is amazing. I used a fresh bowl of detergent/water for the rest of the brushes, I can't get over how well this cleans.

YOU NEED TO GET THIS.

Not many products get HG status from me, and especially after using them for the first time, but this is just........fantastic.

I know I'm probably completely overreacting and there's a very simple alternative that everyone else uses that I don't know about, but for now - I'm in love with a Japanese detergent.