Notes from the counter
Short, practical pieces about choosing and caring for makeup tools - written from what people actually ask at the Whitaker Avenue counter.
Travelling with a makeup kit without wrecking it
Pressed powder cracks from vibration, not from being dropped. Packing order, brush protection, decanting and what cabin pressure does to a cream product.
When to replace a makeup brush, and how to tell
Shedding, splaying, a loose ferrule and a smell that survives washing. The four signals that a brush is finished, and the three that look alarming but are not.
Sponge types explained: latex-free, dual-density and cushion
Teardrop, saucer, triangle, cushion puff: what each shape is actually for, why dual-density exists, and which ones are worth owning more than one of.
Setting up a vanity you will actually keep tidy
Tidiness is a design problem, not a discipline problem. Drawer depth, visible storage and the one-hand rule that decides whether a vanity stays organised past week two.
What a brush set’s piece count does not tell you
Forty-four brushes is a number, not a specification. What to look at instead: ferrule crimp, bristle type, handle balance and how many of the pieces you will genuinely use.
Washing a makeup sponge so it actually lasts
A sponge fails at the seam, not the surface. How washing technique, drying position and water temperature decide whether a blender lasts three months or three weeks.