October 6, 2014

NYX Brush Cleaner Review

I purchased this item and I receive a small commission if you shop using the links in this post.

NYX Brush Cleaner

I recently picked up NYX Brush Cleaner because I was just in the market for a new Makeup Brush Cleaner. I love and use MAC Brush Cleaner and also Cinema Secrets Brush Cleaner but I’m always up for something new so I decided to grab up NYX Brush Cleaner and see how it performed.

I know most people use baby shampoo or regular shampoo to clean their brushes but I perform a brush cleaner to do the work for me. I dislike the lather of a shampoo and prefer a liquid that I can swish my brushes in, rinse, and set to dry.

NYX Brush Cleaner ($15) is the same price as MAC’s version but houses 9.13 oz versus MAC’s 7.9 oz size. I actually prefer the MAC version for some odd reason or another. The NYX Brush Cleaner is a good, gentle formula but I dunno, I just liked MAC’s version more.

To use this all you have to do is splash a small amount into a cup, swish your brushes into it, and rinse until they are clean. It works well enough but I felt I spent a lot more time swishing and rinsing, swishing and rinsing compared to MAC’s version. Typically a swish, rinse, swish, rinse is all it takes wiht MAC Brush Cleaner but with NYX’s formula it seems bigger brushes take a lot more swishing and rinsing. It does rinse clean away and leaves brushes with a very subtle clean fragrance. There is no lather here so brushes rinse easily. I find it works best on smaller shadow brushes but it takes a lot more elbow grease to get larger brushes clean.

All in all it’s a fairly good brush cleaner but I felt like I did a lot less work with MAC and Cinema Secret’s formula.

It’s available now at Ulta and Ulta.com.

Tried it?

Do share!

I purchased this item and I receive a small commission if you shop using the links in this post.

About the Muse

Isabella MuseIsabella is just an average everyday geeky girl who doesn’t blend her eyeshadow correctly, wears too much blush, and hopes she never finds her holy grail products because she likes the thrill of the chase so much. Her mission is to bring you super honest reviews on makeup, skincare, fragrance and all things beauty. She’s in no way an expert on the topic and she sure as hell isn’t a super model. But she’s passionate about makeup and is seeking like-minded individuals that like pina coladas, getting caught in the rain, and ones that enjoy spending hundreds of dollars at Sephora without feeling buyer’s remorse. If you’re that person feel free to reach out and leave a comment or follow me on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and Bloglovin‘.

Leave a Comment

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Comments

  • Suzana

    I have the MAC brush cleanser, but I want one that I can spray in a cloth or paper and swirl the brush in it to spot clean and the use it again right after that with no need to wait for it to dry.
    The one I used to this is made in Brazil and I can’t buy it in Canada.
    The seller at MAC told me I could do that with the MAC brush cleaners but it leave my brushes sticky if I don’t rinse then. Do you think this NYX cleaner would work, or do you have any recommendation?

    • Isabella Muse

      sephora had one like that, it was amazing 🙂 I don’t do it with the mac one as it doesn’t work. Unfortunately, I’ve never run across one again like the one sephora had! it was fab they also had wipes! you can try cinema secrets like this as it’s a fast drying formula!

      • Suzana

        Sephora still have some brush cleansers, they claim that the daily brush cleaner can be used like this. There is also a MUFE instant brush cleaner that its supposed t work like this also. Have you ever tried those?
        I will see if I can find cinema secrets here in canada.
        Tks 🙂

        • Isabella Muse

          I haven’t tried the MUFE one and only tried one Sephora one, a while back ago, that was quick drying but haven’t seen tried any of the newer Sephora brush cleasers. ebay.com always has good deals on Cinema Secrets as well as amazon 🙂

    • Metoka

      I use the Cozzette brush cleanser for spot cleaning on a paper towel and it cleans my brushes beautifully. And it smells nice too, because of the essential oils in it! It comes in two bottle sizes and I bought the large one. It’s been a year now and I’m not halfway through, so you get a good deal for the money. It is however quite pricey, the Cozzette brand is not cheap. But they’re cruelty-free and vegan so I don’t mind. 🙂 I recommend the brush cleanser – if you can get it in Canada!

    • Jeanie

      Bobbi Brown has a spray cleanser just like that, relatively cheap too compared to her other products. And it works perfectly, no residue and it cleans well!

    • Catie

      Sonia Kashuk makes a really nice one for spot cleaning. And it’s quite affordable!!

  • Phyrra

    I love Cinema Secrets. It’s my hands down favorite of all time. Such little work for clean brushes! And such a short dry time.

  • Monica

    I use blue Dawn dish soap. I was in the ladies room at Saks & this was what the MAC makeup artist used to clean her brushes. I figure if it’s gentle enough for the duckies after an oil spill, it’s good enough for my brushes. No issues with my Bare Minerals brushes but they do take a bit of time to dry, sometimes 2 days for my thicker ones.

    • Suzana

      I have the dry and shape from sigma and it really improved the drying time (from 36hs for larger brushs to 12h) when I used baby shampo. Since I got the MAC brush cleaner I am not using it very much because the bigger brushs now are drying within 8-12hrs.

  • majick

    I use the beauty blender cleanser on my BB and my brushes. I really like it. So much so that I repurchase and that for me says a lot.
    I will look for the Cinema Secrets at some point. I do take notes during some posts. LOL

    I have an instant brush cleaner that I purchased at Ulta but I don’t remember the name. I try not to use those if I don’t have to because I think they have a tendency to dry out the brushes over time.

  • TwirlyGirly

    Cleaning natural hair brushes is fairly simple because most people don’t used natural hair brushes to apply “wet” (cream or liquid) products; natural hair is porous and absorbs wet products so they waste product. Cleaning powder products (face powder, powder blush, etc) from natural hair brushes is easy – after each use, simply wipe the brush several times back and forth on a clean towel, then once a week or so wash the brush using a brush cleaner or baby shampoo and rinse thoroughly. (Rule of thumb: don’t use anything to clean natural hair brushes that you wouldn’t use on your OWN hair – and keep it simple; you don’t want any residue left on the brush).

    It’s when using a brush to apply “wet” products, such as cream or liquid foundation, concealer, cream eyeshadows, etc., that ensuring all the product is removed from the brush becomes more difficult, especially since this should be done after every use. Synthetic brushes are the best type for applying “wet” products, as synthetic hair isn’t porous and thus doesn’t absorb product.

    The best brush cleaner for synthetic brushes is 91% Isopropyl Alcohol. It’s also the least expensive. Just pour a bit in a cup, and swirl the brush around. The alcohol quickly breaks down both water and oil based product lodged in the brush, and suspends it in the alcohol. If you do this after every use, and before the product has a chance to dry on the brush, you’ll find you probably can get the brush completely clean in just two fills of the cup.

    The alcohol also kills bacteria AND because alcohol evaporates more quickly than water, will dry the brush more quickly, too.

    I urge everyone who uses something other than 91% Isopropyl Alcohol as a cleaner for synthetic brushes to do a little experiment; after cleaning your brushes with your regular brush cleaner, swirl them around in a cup of 91% Isopropyl Alcohol. Unless the alcohol remains perfectly clear, your brush cleaner is NOT getting all the product out of the brush. You may think the brush is clean because it looks clean, but most likely it’s not (and the funny thing is the most effective commercial “brush cleaners” usually list alcohol as their main ingredient!) You may be surprised as how much product was left behind in those brushes you *thought* were clean….

    91% Isopropyl Alcohol may not be “fancy,” but it cleans brushes far better than any special “brush cleaner” I’ve ever tried. BTW, it must be 91% Isopropyl Alcohol, not the 50% or 70% – the alcohol concentration in those is not high enough to effectively remove all the product from brushes.

  • Dee

    I’m another fan of using Isopropyl Alcohol as a brush cleaner but I spray it on a paper towel and clean that way.

    I also purchased the Sephora Solid Brush cleaner that has the little pink scrubber on the top and really like it. It even gets my beauty blender clean!