An Australian makeup artist has developed a makeup brush cleaner and mist that doesn’t require any water to remove stubborn marks and it’s quickly becoming a best-seller. Beth Wilson, 30, who lives in Melbourne, used the first lengthy Covid lockdown in 2020 and the gap from seeing her usual clients to conjure up her brand Saint Jack.
‘It was then I realised that there were no cleaning products on the market that I truly loved using. All the brush cleaners I’d used were either ineffective, had an awful smell or were imported from overseas, so they were often out of stock and hard to come by.
‘As a professional makeup artist, I wasn’t able to work with clients so it was the perfect time to think critically about the products I was using in my kit and the gaps I personally experienced,’ she said. Beth Wilson, 30, who lives in Melbourne, used the first lengthy Covid lockdown in 2020 and the gap from seeing her usual clients to conjure up her brand Saint Jack
‘I knew there was space for an Australian made brand that took the most tedious part of makeup – the cleaning – and made it a little easier and luxurious for professionals and makeup lovers alike. ‘The brand’s name is a nod to my grandfather Jack, who died before I was born. Even though we never met, we shared a lot of the same interests in music and the arts, so I feel very connected to him.
It took more than a year to develop the company’s signature product the $68 Bang For Your Brush cleaner because Ms Wilson didn’t want the formula to be water activated The formula works as the liquid absorbs into the brush fibres and the alcohol disintegrates even the most stubborn product build-up.
‘My parents nicknamed him Saint Jack. I am very sentimental and wanted a piece of myself in my brand’s name, so this was perfect to me.’ It took more than a year to develop the company’s signature product the $68 Bang For Your Brush cleaner – because Ms Wilson didn’t want the formula to be water activated.
It kills bacteria and removes stains from the brush bristles when you work the formula into an old cloth or towel, leaving you with a sparkling brush that is dry and ready to use again in minutes. No more waiting a full day for your brushes to dry, and very little wrist action to get the results you’re after.
Saint Jack also sells a cleaning tin for those who want to dispense the liquid into something else before cleaning, with the original 800ml bottle lasting months for the average makeup connoisseur. ‘I’ve had some of Australia’s most respected makeup artists tell me that “nothing has ever got my brushes so clean” and multiple customers have called it “magic,”‘ Ms Wilson said.
‘More than anything, I wanted my brush cleaner to be easy to use so that it could become part of a routine, so this feedback is incredible.’ The Makeup Cleaning Mist ($36) can be used to spritz your makeup brushes between uses when you’re not ready for a deep clean, and even your makeup itself.
‘My favourite piece of feedback came through in an Instagram comment the other day, from a customer who said that she hadn’t cleaned her makeup brushes in years until she tried Bang For Your Brush she now cleans her brushes weekly and is reformed. ‘I don’t think many people understand that when you use a bronzer, for example, bacteria builds up on your product with every use,’ Ms Wilson said.
Ms Wilson was averaging 50 sales a week before Christmas but a viral TikTok video last week saw that number increase by over 300 per cent. ‘I actually sold out! In an incredible twist of fate, after such an amazing response to the product launch, I was already in production for more units and these were luckily delivered in time for me to fulfil all those orders,’ she said.
‘People know they should be cleaning their brushes, but few know they should clean their makeup as well. ‘You simply spray the lightweight mist over your palettes, powders and creams and the bacteria is gone – helping to prevent acne and skin irritations.’
