This year has been a transitional one for me, where I have been more assertive with the things I'd like to see done. Fitness/health and education were the first to be checked off the list. Yours truly started to walk like it was going out of style and finally buckled down with completing my degree. It's amazing what you can do when you get mad at yourself for wasting time! Then came work. Though I am always looking, I was fortunate enough to expand doing makeup beyond just events and dabble in photo shoots. This is my year for getting comfortable with making makeup translate beyond real life - and through the lens.

A lot of photo shoots involve plenty of preparation and nearly only half as much time is spent doing the shoot. Time flies in between meeting models, translating ideas into reality, and cleaning up. Here is the second part of the prepwork. The first half of the process involves making sure you have everything to create a look and then a little bit more just in case you get creative freedom.

The second part is all about cleaning and setting everything up to be used again next shoot. Brushes need special attention, because sometimes a hectic shoot and a tired Yaya equal a disorganized kit heading home. My process is usually standing at the sink squeezing some Blendercleanser onto my brushes and then making sure my brushes are clean.  Once done, I usually have a small towel ready to be the drying area for my brushes. They stick around overnight (and sometimes longer) and we're good to again. This practice isn't so bad when used in between shoots, but it's really time consuming when cleaning brushes for personal use.

I was super excited to hear about Sigma Beauty's Dry'n Shape system, where you can set your brushes to dry and reshape in four to six hours. The material holding the brushes helps reshape and evaporate the moisture out of the brush, and makes your life just a bit easier. And if you're anything like me, it's a money saver as well, because now you don't need two sets of brushes for when the other is preoccupied. The system holds twelve brushes at a time and has variety in sizing to accommodate all shapes and brands, and retails for $29.00. Consider it preventative maintenance and an insurance policy on your brushes.

(p.s. If I need to clean a brush on set, my favorite is Clinique Makeup Brush Cleanser, you spray it on the brush and then wipe the excess onto a paper towel or small towel, the brush will be clean and dry within minutes).

How do you clean your brushes?
 

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