Your brushes have never been so clean

It may seem a little odd for me to rave about a makeup brush cleanser given how I loathe to clean my brushes, but this product is so good, it deserves a little blog love.

It's called Detergent for Puff and Sponge and you get it from a Japanese store called Daiso (pronounced die-so). Coming in at $2.80 here in Australia, it will be the best loose change you've spent in a long time (or if your like me it will be $11.20 since I bought four in one go).

Stocking up!

I'm not quite sure what special powers this light pink liquid holds, but my small brushes are clean in seconds, white brushes look pristine and there's a new-brush feeling all round. I was particularly impressed with how nice my Real Techniques brushes scrubbed up. After a bath in this stuff, they felt fluffy and brand-new.

Don't even get me started on how my Sigma Kabuki brushes fared. I spent a good 10 minutes on each, working the foundation residue out of the brush. Product just kept on coming out, which tells me that they were probably never getting very clean with my past shampoo efforts.

My cleaning time has been cut in half which is great when you have so many brushes.

If you're a Beauty Blender user like myself, the Detergent for Puff and Sponge will work wonders on it as well. I definitely wouldn't fork out all that money for the Beauty Blender Blendercleanser (that's a mouthful) when you have this option. Mine hasn't been this pink since it was unused.

After reading numerous blog posts on this much hyped product, some people noted that it was a bit harsh for natural (animal) hair brushes (especially if you wash your brushes quite frequently). To that I would say dilute the cleanser with some water (think 10% cleanser to 90% water - don't worry it still cleans!) before applying to the brush or only use this product on them intermittently when you need a deeper clean. If you have really delicate brushes and you're concerned about how they will be effected, then maybe skip this product on them. 

I could go on and on but I won't. I will however suggest that you go out and try it for yourself, I think you will be pleasantly surprised with the results. I know I won't be without this in my cleaning regime again!

You can find a list of Daiso store locations in Australia here, but my Shopping Centre insider information tells me that there will be more stores opening up very soon (there are stores in various locations around the world too). I have also been told that you can find this product in some Dollar King stores (not verified) as well as on Amazon and eBay.

What do you use to clean your makeup brushes?

A magical oil for your face?

I developed oily skin when I started going through puberty. Some people get boobs and hips, I got oily skin, oily hair and acne (as well as the boobs and hips). The thing is when I finished the pubescent stage of my life the oiliness decided to stay with me.

As an "oily skinned" girl the thought of putting more oil onto my skin seemed abhorrent, that is until I discovered rosehip oil (or rose hip oil depending on who you ask).

Rosehip oil may be an oil but it behaves a bit like a serum. It's a 'dry' oil that is absorbed into the skin quite quickly. The oil is made from the bud of a rose, so don't expect it to smell pretty - actually it smells quite unpretty to me, but you can work around it.

Personally I have been mixing a few of drops into my nightly moisturiser and have been pleasantly surprised with the results.

While I sleep (and dream of Jimmy Choos and lipstick) it does it's thing. My skin is less dehydrated - no more random dry patches that my foundation used to love to cling to and look horrible. The texture or the "smoothness" of my skin seems to have improved too!

According to the interwebs "using rosehip oil on the skin appears to stimulate the production of new and healthy cells. Its antioxidant and anti-microbial properties can minimise the growth of bacteria so as to avoid different types of breakouts (pimples, whiteheads, blackheads, etc.). When applied to scarred skin, the supporters of this oil claim that it repairs tissues so that the damaged cells are broken down and replaced with new cells."

What benefits can you expect to see from this wonderful, mystical, magical oil? Well, according the numerous articles I've read, there is a lot, but here is a few:

• Its has been proven effective in repairing acne scars as well as other forms of scars and skin blemishes. Pop this baby on every night and you can expect to see marks and scars become less prominent in time.
• It contains vitamin A which is great for balancing oily skin (yes please!).
• It can aid in lightening hyper pigmentation and evening out skin tone. Some people say it even gives your skin a 'glow'.
• It will help to keep your skin firm and bouncy as well as reducing the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles (great for those you looking to slow the aging process!) 

In other words, it's really good stuff!

The best thing about rosehip oil is that it is natural and therefore shouldn't contain any nasty, skin-harming chemicals. It is loaded with vitamins and antioxidants which, if they are doing their job correctly, can help in keeping the skin smooth, healthy and young-looking - who wouldn't want that?

To make sure that you are getting the true benefits of this product I would recommend purchasing one that is certified organic. You can find rosehip oil in health and beauty stores as well as pharmacies for anywhere between $15-$50. Check out some of these brands:

Trilogy 
Kosema
Sulkin
KORA
A'kin

I am going to continue use this raved about product to see if my skin reaps the aforementioned benefits. I am always a little bit skeptical about "the hype" but so far so good.

Let me know if you have tried rosehip oil. What was your experience? See any fantastic results?