Hello! So I went through a deep cleaning of my brushes this weekend, which gave me the perfect idea for today's post. As you can see, I have quite a lot of different makeup brushes (and a beauty sponge, for which I use the same cleaning method), so I searched for a way to clean them all in one go, without much of a fuss or the need to spend an unholy amount of money on cleaning products.

First off, here's what you'll need:

- Olive oil

- Baby shampoo

- Water

- Brushes

That's all! As for the specific brands I use, I've tried several brands and it honestly doesn't make a big difference. Just go with what you have in your pantry and bathroom, you'll be good to go.

But you might be asking: why baby shampoo, Sara? Basically, it's because it's a lot more gentle than regular shampoos. This means they will be better for the delicate hairs of your brushes.

Moving onto the actual cleaning part, first of all, you need to pour a little bit of olive oil into a small bowl and a bit of baby shampoo into a second small bowl. Then grab your brush and wet it, but be sure to keep the hairs of the brush down at all times. If you flip the brush over, the water will go into the brush and it will mess up the glue holding all of the hairs together.

When the brush is damp, dip it into the olive oil, lightly; do the same with the baby shampoo. Once that's done, start swirling the brush around in your hand, you'll start seeing the foam coming out, most likely with the colour of whatever it is you use the brush for. If the brush is extremely dirty, you might have to dip it on the olive oil and baby shampoo again, but don't worry.

Repeat as many times as you need, until the foam is coming out white (this means there's no more leftover product on your brush). Once that's done, rinse out the foam and olive oil with water, making sure the brush is once again facing down. Once the brush is clean, gently squeeze the rest of the water out of it and set it to dry in a horizontal position. Personally, I prefer setting it to dry on top of a paper towel or a random towel, so it absorbs the dampness better.

You can repeat this process with all of your brushes and leave them to dry near a closed window, since the daylight will help dry them quicker.

As far as beauty sponges go, the process is essentially the same, except you don't swirl it around in your hand. Instead, you squeeze the product out until there's nothing left. For this, I don't recommend you go dip it back into the olive oil and shampoo, once should be enough. When it comes to rinsing it though, do it as many times as you need to. Once the sponge is clean, make sure to squeeze out as much moisture as possible before setting it aside to dry next to your brushes.

And that's it! It's a super easy, inexpensive way to get your makeup tools clean and hygienic, which is so important when these brushes are touching your face on a daily basis. Remember, unclean brushes can cause spots to appear, because they're carrying bacteria. So make sure to deep cleanse your brushes every two weeks, three tops!