It's that time of year when I go cleaning crazy (my husband would point out it's the ONLY time of year) and so pulling out my brushes for a deep clean as well seemed appropriate. I had two solid brush cleansers I hadn't opened so I thought I'd review those for you as well as showing you the brushes I love and use the most.. you may be surprised at how few I really feel are essentials.

Freedom Pro Studio Brush Bath - £7

This I've used before but I had a new one all nice and clean for pictures, you're welcome! I initally thought it would be my favourite of the two because 1. I knew I liked it and 2. the soap fills the entire tub, making it easier to swirl your brush around. This is still true but there was a secret added benefit to the Lottie cleanser that had the potential to win me over. This I find particularly useful for larger makeup brushes as they don't tend to have particularly stubborn makeup to remove from them but they need a larger surface area. It makes quick work of cleansing brushes that you're using more regularly which will potentially encourage you to do it more often.. maybe.

Lottie London Soap Star Brush Cleanser - £6.99

This is just perfect for for eye brushes because although I first thought it was just a clansing bar in a tub (rathern that a filled tub like the Freedom cleanser) and would be a bit awkward to use it turned out that underneath the soap was a kind of brillo pad (for use of no other comparison) which you could use to scrub those brushes caked with brow pomade and gel liner against and get them cleaner than you may otherwise have been able to. Kind of genius if it was intentional but I suspect it's not actually designed to be used that way as I can find no mention of it anywhere as a feature of the product. Chances are it's there to ensure the soap doesn't stick to the bottom of the plastic pot!

Both cleansers did the same job for me, my brushes came out just as soft with each and neither left a discernible scent that pushed my preference one way or the other.  For your money you get considerably more from Freedom for a penny extra so was I to repurchase I'd go for that one as it's easy to use with brushes of all shapes and sizes without me having to get my hands soapy. The Lottie London cleanser would be better for travel but I'm not so obsessive that I wash my brushes on the go. The 'brillo pad' lining could be replicated with a towel/flannel but since I don't really think it's there for any other reason than to hold the soap I'm not sure I can give it points for ingenuity.

Lastly I'll leave you with my 4 current favourite brushes. If I had to narrow it down I'd pick just the RT Powder Brush (£10.99) and the RT Blush Brush (£9.99) but I've been loving the Seventeen Eyeshadow Brush (£1.99) for blending out cream eyeshadows and the RT Setting Brush (£7.99) for setting my under-eye concealer with powder.

Only one question remains.. how often do you wash YOUR favourite brushes?

*spoiler alert* I bet it's more often that I do..