Brush Egg VS. Real Techniques Brush Cleansing Palette

As much as I love makeup, cleaning my brushes is the absolute least favorite part. Did you see where I shared my cleaned brushes on Snapchat? But it has to be done--I am still shocked how many don't clean them. I've covered lots of techniques and products for cleaning them. I even make my own solid brush cleaner.

Lately, the trend is to use portable raised surfaces to help clean them. I've tried making my own back in the day--using hot glue on an old plate, using a travel soap dish or a silicone oven mitt or mat. The lines, or grooves, on them help to agitate the product on the brush. 

Today I've got 2 brush cleaner helpers: Real Techniques Brush Cleansing Palette and the Brush Egg. They are both affordable and are $15 and under.

I've used the Brush Egg for about a year and the RT for the past couple of months. I have tested them with a variety of brushes, cleaning products, and makeup products (eye shadow, blush, concealers, foundations of cream, liquid, and mineral, and so on). I had pretty much the same results, regardless of what was used. Today I'll clean two Real Techniques Brushes using a gel cleanser and water. Both brushes used the same cream foundation, which is so hard to get out of brushes. 

Real Techniques Brush Cleansing Palette

• $14.99, online and in some stores, like Walmart.
• This silicone palette has a strap that you slip over your fingers. To use, hold your palm face up. Slip the palette over it. Place warm water into the palette and apply cleanser to brush or to palette. Swirl around the palette until clean. Rinse bristles. 

Here's the cleaning in action. It was impossible to take pics with this on my hand, even with a remote, but you get the idea.

Brush Egg

• Online here
• 3 colors 
• $8, but I have purchased another one from Born Pretty for $2.99
• Slip over two or three fingers, and following the same instructions as for the RT, clean the brush.

The bumps at the top are for creating a lather. The ridges are for cleaning and agitating the dirt.

Here's the before and the after. RT is on your left. BE is on your right. As you can see, the BE didn't clean the brush as well--there's still some foundation at the top.

I did a bacterial culture to also test if one cleaned better than the other. The results were very similar.

Overall, while I liked both, they each had things that I didn't love. I don't think either are necessary for brush cleaning, but it makes me feel like maybe my brushes are cleaner by using them. Sigma offers a cleaning mat and glove that work really well. There are other brands too that offer similar products.

Brush Egg Pros and Cons:

• I love the Brush Egg for cleaning eye brushes the best. It's very thick and durable, which means you have to wear it on your fingers when using it.
• It is compact for travel.
• You don't get to choose the color--not a big deal for me.
• It took longer to clean face brushes.
• It is impossible to keep clean (when using with foundations), which I why I ordered another one for pictures.

RT Brush Cleansing Palette Pros & Cons:

• Large surface area for cleaning
• Easier to use since it doesn't have to be worn
• I think it's overpriced.
• Sometimes, I've had the palette kind of warp on me. Once dried, it goes back to it's regular shape.

Do you use something like the products above to help you clean brushes?

Extra Elle:

• Happy 21st birthday to my baby sis!!!
• I'm currently on a spray painting kick of painting everything copper. I've been sharing some of it on my Snapchat (add me here).

See also: 6 Beauty Tools You SHOULD be cleaning