Soft Luxe Beauty: My Makeup Brush Collection, Care Rituals, and Decluttering Wins

 🌸✨ To My US Glow Ladies — You Just Made Us Glow Brighter Than Ever! ✨🌸

In the last 24 hours alone, more than 3,400 of you from the United States clicked, read, and shared in the Glow journey. 💖 You are the heartbeat of today’s glow surge, and I’m beyond grateful.

Glow by Lady E isn’t just a blog — it’s a sisterhood of soft, luxe living. And today, you reminded me that the magic we create here truly resonates across oceans. 🌎✨

So here’s my virtual toast 🥂 — to the US Glow Ladies, to the luxe little joys we celebrate, and to the glow we’ll keep spreading together.

Stay radiant, stay luxe, stay you. 💕

Makeup brushes aren’t just tools — they’re little extensions of artistry, luxury, and care. From my pro makeup artist days to my daily beauty routine, I’ve learned that having a well-stocked collection isn’t about vanity. It’s about efficiency, skin health, and a touch of indulgence.

My Brush Collection: Then and Now

Back when I was a makeup artist, I needed a full arsenal to work on different clients.  I have everything -  from a $200 Bobbi Brown brush set down to drugstore brands. 

For a whole bridal entourage, that meant multiple sets of eye brushes, foundation brushes, powder brushes, and detail brushes to keep the work flowing without stopping to clean between clients. Those days may be behind me, but the habit stuck — and honestly, I’m glad it did.

Even now, I use 3–5 eye brushes in a single makeup session. But for quite some time, I turned my back away from my MUA persona. I became lazy to paint a full face...or maybe it was exhaustion. I was a tired stay-at-home mom. Makeup was far from my mind. 

Little did I know that makeup will help me reclaim my old self.  Read my story here.

For one makeup session, I use around 10-12 brushes. That’s why I keep my collection plentiful — not for show, but to save time. Instead of stopping to deep clean every brush mid-week, I can reach for fresh, clean ones right away. My collection now allows me to do 3 makeup sessions then I have to deep clean them. 

Brushes in My Collection

I have:

• Bobbi Brown
• MAC
• NARS
• Sigma
• Muji
• Fresh
• Miniso
• Mumuso
• Watsons
• The Body Shop
• Bench
• Marionnaud
• BYS
• Hello Kitty
• The Face Shop

If I were to choose one favorite brand, I couldn't. Each brush has its own strengths and they work well together. However, Bobbi Brown, MAC, and Sigma brushes are really pro level. 

Why I Deep Clean Instead of Spot Cleaning

My skin is extremely sensitive, so I make sure my brushes are properly washed before they ever touch my face again. Spot cleaning isn’t enough for me — I go for a full deep clean. I do spot clean the brushes that touched liquid makeup. I just swirl them onto a facial tissue right after I use them. 

I featured my favorite brush cleaning mat here. This is how I deep clean my brushes. 

If you're traveling, here's my simple hack for clean brushes. 

Deep cleaning is more work, but the soft, luxe feel of a truly clean brush on my skin? Worth it every single time.

The Brush That Didn’t Spark Joy

Not every brush earns a permanent spot in my collection. Take the Mumuso Traceless Foundation Brush — I had high hopes for it, but all it did was swirl foundation around my face without blending properly. Total disappointment. Instead of letting it gather dust, I’m “Marie Kondo-ing” it into a new purpose: cleaning my keyboard. At least it’ll spark joy there.

Lesson Learned: Listen to the Pull

Just last week, I spotted a brush drying stand at Daiso. I didn’t buy it because I already had one. Fast forward to today — after washing 3 sets of brushes in one go, I found myself with no space left on the stand for 11 more brushes. I resorted to using a face towel to dry the remaining brushes. If there’s anything I’ve learned, it’s that when I feel a strong pull toward something, it’s usually because I’ll have a future need for it. Next time, I’ll listen.

The Beauty of a Brush Collection

My makeup brushes aren’t just tools — they’re my tiny luxuries that make the whole process smoother, healthier, and honestly, more joyful. Whether you own five or fifty, what matters is how they serve you — your skin, your routine, your little rituals of self-care.

A brush is never just a brush. It’s a quiet luxury, a ritual of self-care, a reminder that beauty can be both practical and poetic. 

Some may see rows of bristles, but I see a gallery of little wands — each one carrying its own story and memory, each one waiting to transform an ordinary morning into a moment of artistry.

And perhaps that’s the real secret: our collections don’t only serve us. They mirror us — our seasons, our pauses, our returns. My brushes hold the history of who I was, the woman I became, and the one I’m still becoming.

Because sometimes, the softest bristles leave the deepest mark.