Best makeup brush cleaners (2024)

If you’re a fan of BBC’s The Apprentice, cast your mind back to the 2011 finale when inventor Tom Pellereau won the contest with a tweezer design. He’s since used Sir Alan Sugar’s money wisely, having launched this clever gadget that will get your beauty brushes spick and span in mere seconds.

The Stylpro acts like a washing machine, cleaning and drying your powder and liquid encrusted tools using centrifugal spin technology. The best part? They’re ready to use again in 30 seconds. The phrase ‘game changer’ gets bandied about all too often these days, but be in no doubt: the Stylpro Original is the real deal.

StylPro

The latest inventing from Tom Pellerau, past Apprentice winner and associate of Lord Alan Sugar, is made to delight beauty sponge users. Created specifically to wring liquid foundation and powder clean from each teardrop-shaped sponge, the set consists of squeeze bowl, spinning device and a special press to get all the grime out. There’s also a small bottle of vegan cleanser to use, meaning you can get to work cleaning your beauty kit from the minute the box arrives at your door.

Costing a little over a tenner, this clear gel works hard to clean your brush bristles without leaving them feeling hard and brittle afterwards. A little goes a long way - slightly bigger than a rain drop is enough to get all the product off.

This high-end brush cleanser successfully removed all dirt and leftover makeup from a really grubby brush without any whiff of horrible chemical smells. Simply grab a tissue, liberally spray the cleanser onto it, and wipe the brush numerous times until squeaky clean. Within a minute or two, the brush will be dry, making it particularly handy for any last minute night out preparation.

MAC’s makeup brush cleaner is on the large side, so should last a little while even if you’re using it rather liberally. Either apply the cleanser directly onto the brush or use a towel to wipe off makeup remnants. As with many others, this is a quick-drying formula that leaves brushes super soft. It also promises to extend the life of brushes by conditioning the fibres.

Home of the beauty sponge, BeautyBlender knows a thing or two about keeping its much-loved products clean. There are a couple of options available, but we like the liquid best for brushes as well as sponges. It’s got coconut surfactants and dead sea salts in it to really get into the nitty gritty and coupled with a delicate lavender fragrance, makes cleaning beauty brushes a total breeze.

For trips away or cleaning the secondary makeup kit stashed in your work drawer/ partner’s place, this solid balm is pure genius. Working like a gentle soap, simply wet the brush head, swirl around the balm until you have a lather, then wash off and leave to dry flat on some tissue. The balm is good to go when you need it next, just wash off the gunk and allow to air dry before resealing.

Potentially the easiest to use of all the cleaners on our list, this silicone glove is super portable and promises no mess. It’s covered in varying textures which allows it to clean brushes of all sizes and comes with handy slots to straighten and dry brush bristles.

Simply wet with a gentle shampoo or soap and you’re ready to rid your tools from built-up product.

Trapped in dried on foundation liquid, blush, bronzer and eyeshadow powders, your tools not only harbour more bacteria than normal, but the residue will also obstruct their ability to work properly. Blitz through the grime with this coconut oil cleaner, which will loosen the dirt and get them back to looking their original best.

Made by the company behind your favourite makeup sponges, this solid cleanser can be used on the go. It works with both damp sponges and brushes and requires nothing but a simple massaging in of the product. With a subtle lavender fragrance, the cleanser leaves brushes looking and smelling fresh and should last a lot longer than a traditional liquid one.

This does exactly what it says on the bottle. Just one spritz will remove all traces of makeup from brushes with a gentle formula helping to protect and condition bristles. A sweet fragrance is a nice extra touch. The only downside is the slightly small bottle size but go easy on the spraying to avoid more spending.