A Brush With Mesh

 

I didn’t have these for my trip because I just found out about them.
(But I wish I did.)

Since I was traveling light, and would be spending most of my time on the beach, I didn’t really bring much makeup. Still, I needed to pack a few things so I could look nice at dinner each night: BB Cream, Touche Eclat, Translucent Powder, Bronzer, Blush, Mascara, Eyeliner and Lipstick. (Okay, I guess that's a decent amount of makeup.) I didn’t bring my large makeup bag that has little elastic things to hold my brushes, so I just tucked them into the side pocket of a small bag. To my not-surprise, they got a little smushed.

It would have been great to have these brush protectors from Sephora to keep them from getting messed up. They don’t even take up any space! The expandable mesh tubes slide over the handles and protect the bristles. Easy peasy. It kind of reminds me of when we were kids and would put the mesh bag that tangerines (or whatever) came in over our heads. It's like that, but for your brushes, and it has a purpose other than looking funny.

It’s a simple solution, really. I suppose you might be able to make something similar out of something similar, but these are $8 for six and then you’re done.

OR

There is another brand of makeup brush protectors called The Brush Guard,and they are cheaper! Only $5.50 from Amazon, with free shipping, for a six-piece variety set similar to the set at Sephora. They also offer a shadow/liner brush package, and one for foundation brushes. The mesh is a lighter color, which could end up looking dirty over time, but you can probably clean them pretty easily.

I was just thinking about how The Brush Guard was probably the original, and then Sephora adopted the idea, when I noticed the patent number in the corner of the image above. Way to go The Brush Guard! I hope Sephora is paying you!

This is one of those things that you don't know you need until you see it. Or maybe you knew you needed SOMETHING but didn't realize there was such a easy solution. I used to try to save the plastic cones that came around the brushes when they were new, but then I'd have a bunch of stupid plastic thingies laying around, and they tended to get crumpled anyway.

I'm happy The Brush Guard figured it out, and Sephora copied it, and then Real Simple wrote about it, and then I saw it, and soon I will buy it. Then all my problems will be over, forever. haha.