all made up

I think I've discovered July's challenge - no going to Target unless absolutely necessary (like for food). I cannot go into that store without dropping the big bucks. See this post for an example. Or just keep reading.

Last night, I stopped by after work to pick up three Father's Day cards. I walked out with $70 worth of stuff. Now about $30 of that was food related (our favorite DiGiorno's & chicken was on sale) and $10 I actually spent on cards (note to self: discuss later how ridiculously inflated card prices are). Which still leaves me with $30 of over-spending on stuff I probably didn't need.

Three of the items I bought were new skin care products (cleanser, scrub, & moisturizer). About a year ago, I started having a tough time with my skin. In the time since, I've tried just about every product on the market - natural, chemical, homemade - you name it, it probably was on my face at some point. Target had the Aveeno line of products on sale and they had a new line I (somehow) hadn't tried - Smart Essentials - made to combat "environmental toxins and a hectic lifestyle...resulting in noticeably stressed skin". While I don't think I have a hectic lifestyle, per sey, I do have stressed skin, which in turn is stressing me out! All in all, I spent about $25 on the three products, though they did throw in a bonus trial size of their brightening moisturizer.

The night wasn't all about spending though. After I returned home, I realized I hadn't cleaned my makeup brushes in a loooong time which I'm sure wasn't helping my skin. I did some googling (actually some Pinterest-ing) and found a 'recipe' of sorts for a DIY Makeup Brush Cleaner. It worked really well, too well actually, I had to change the water my bowl once because it was so gross. What I used:

• 1 cup of water
• 2 tablespoons of white vinegar
• two squirts of 7th Generation dish soap (didn't have any others on hand- though most diy cleaners suggest using Dawn blue)
• a few shakes of tea tree oil (already had it on hand - bought it awhile ago for about $10)

I swooshed my brushes around in the water for about 30 seconds, then ran them under hot/warm water for a few more to get the cleaning solution out, and laid them flat on a towel to dry. I learned you shouldn't leave the brushes upright to dry because the water will erode the glue which holds your bristles on! Not that I have super fancy makeup brushes.. but it wouldn't do me (or my bank account) any favors to have to buy new ones. Now I need to get in the habit of cleaning them regularly.
Anyone else have a favorite homemade cleaning recipe?