I remembered seeing this on blogs over 2 years ago and I thought “what is that cool contraption and why don’t I have one?!” At that time, it wasn’t available on any other websites other than the Benjabelle’s and if I remembered correctly, they didn’t ship overseas. It’s either that or the shipping fees were very high. Whatever it was, it stopped me from getting it. That was until a few weeks ago when I did a spot of online shopping on Beautylish. I saw that they stocked the brush trees and thought it was high time I gave it a go.
What the Benjabelle Brush Tree is that it’s essentially a “pedestal” for hanging your brushes out to dry (*snigger*). It contains rubbery cut-out bits that allow you to slip your brush in while leaving it hanging upside down. It’s really easy to use; once you’ve washed a makeup brush, stick it onto the Brush Tree and it will hold the brush upside down, allowing it to dry naturally without water seeping back in.
I reckon it’s a brilliant invention. It makes drying of makeup brushes so easy. I usually leave my washed makeup brushes flat on my vanity (with the bristles hanging off the vanity) but sometimes they would roll and drop on the floor. The Brush Tree allows me to hang the makeup brushes upside down (the cut-out rubbery bits don’t allow the brush to fall off) and the best thing is that I can move all of the brushes around at one go if I need to bring them to an airier spot to dry.
The only thing problem with the Brush Tree is that each Brush Tree limits you to the amount of brushes you can dry. I chose the Daisy, which is the smallest and cheapest of the lot given that I don’t use that many brushes in a week. If you tend to accummulate all of your makeup brushes to wash at the end of the month (e.g. say you have at least 20 brushes to wash), you’ll need a bigger Brush Tree or even multiple Brush Trees. At the moment, my currrent Brush Tree suffices.
If you’re thinking of getting a Brush Tree, here’s a quick tip: always insert the makeup brush from the bottom (bottom of the brush goes into the hole from the bottom first). Makeup brushes should always be dried with the bristles facing down and not the other way round to prevent water from seeping in and loosening the glue over time. Don’t insert the brushes into the rubbery bits bristles first because you’ll ruin the brush. Bottom’s up, all the time. When it’s time to remove the brush from the rubbery bits, you can either pull it upwards or downwards. As for me, I pull the small brushes upwards but pull the face brushes downwards just in case I ruin the bristles pulling it through the rubber.
Is this a must-have? Well, I wouldn’t really say that you must get it but I can tell you that it has made cleaning and drying of brushes a whole lot easier. There are DIY versions of this on Pinterest with more ways than one to dry your brushes but for me, this works a treat. Oh and in case you’re wondering “man that brush tree takes up space!”, it’s easily collapsible. I keep mine flat throughout the week until I need to use it again. You can even use it as a brush holder if you like.
Benjabelle’s Brush Trees come in 4 sizes: Daisy (US$19.95), Mini (US$24.95), Original (US$34.95) and Sunflower (US$39.95). I picked mine up from Beautylish.com.
No brush holder for me. I just clean my brushes and lay them on their side over the edge of the counter. Seems to work for me and no issues with my brushes.
Neat idea though .. wish I thought of it !!
Monica
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Me too! What a simple yet clever idea!
Haha I take a very DIY approach to air drying my freshly washed brushes.
I just tape them upside down by the handles along the edges of my bookshelf! 🙂 Works with the edges of the table as well, except that it becomes alittle cumbersome if you want to use your table. So I prefer hanging it on the shelves that are used less frequently.
Hahahaha very clever Dawn! Money saved right there AND it works! 😉
It’s a nice brush dryer. I use an artist’s brush dryer that I bought at Michael’s Craft Store with a coupon so it cost me $5.
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Oh wow there’s a brush dryer? How awesome! Is there a link? I’d love to see what it looks like!
I usually dry my brush on top of a clean chopping block lined with towel. i insert a chopstick below the towel so the surface is higher on one side and that’s where the handles go. So essentially the brush hair are lower than the handle. It works for me so far hehe
Sounds like a good idea! Mine was rolling off the surface and I got tired of using Blu Tack to stick it down so I tried this one out instead. Works a treat! 🙂
I have this in Sunflower, the larger version and I love it! Yes, you can dry brushes in various ways, most commonly lying flat as I’ve been doing over the years, but finding a place to lay them without them rolling over or squashing themselves is a bit of a challenge sometimes. I swear my brushes dry more quickly too on the brush tree. Thanks for reminding me to blog about this – totally slipped my mind! 😀
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I remembered seeing yours in the background in a blog post! I reckon that’s why I got it this time. I would have forgotten about it if I hadn’t seen your picture. 😛
Fantastic idea that has also made me realise
1. I use a single brush for my usual face. A SINGLE BRUSH. For my Bare Minerals mineral powder foundation. I’m either the most efficient woman in the world or use too many stick formulas for most stuff.
2. I haven’t cleaned said single brush for a long time. And maybe I should treat myself to a real fancy branded one so I will love it like a firstborn and actually clean the damn thing!?
Haha nothing wrong with that! As long as it works for you, why not? (said the person who has a crazy lot of brushes!)
Erm … yeahhh you’ll really need to clean that brush. Don’t even need a fancy cleaner; believe it or not, dishwashing liquid does wonders for getting rid of makeup gunk! 😉
I love brush tree, i got a cheap one off ebay, helps me to dry my brushes easier. And i spend a lot on brushes, so i better take care of it.
Aww damn there are knock-offs on eBay? Why didn’t I think of looking for one on eBay first? *facepalm*
You beat me to posting about this =P I bought one from lipstick Republic on Boxing Day after waiting what felt like a year for Sunflower to be stocked on the site hhaha… I also hang my brushes over the edge of the counter but having two curious cats, the end up on the floor and covered in cat hair. So annoying! The brush tree is great for drying and looks much better than having the whole counter covered with brushes.
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Hahaha I shall look forward to reading your review on this!
My brushes fell off the table and landed on dog hair. Ick! 😛
I have the Sunflower version and love it!
It’s good stuff! 😀
I got one recently but haven’t used it yet, which is making me a bit horrified that i haven’t really washed my brushes. (though i haven’t really used them either so, i suppose it is ok.) I like the idea and would be much too lazy to DIY, plus things inevitably get dirty or pushed around hanging around counters, so i like this concept a lot. I think I got the Daisy one 🙂
Hahaha it’s time to get those brushes cleaned! 😛