Real Techniques Brushes

Over the past year or so I've gathered up quite a collection of Real Techniques brushes. If you're not already aware, Real Techniques are a brand created by Nic and Sam Chapman. They were makeup artists gone youtube stars, filming themselves creating makeup looks.

The brushes themselves are duo-fiber and incredibly soft. As you can see, they come in three different coloured handles. The yellow brushes are for your face/base, typically foundation and concealer. The purple handles are for eyelids and eyebrows, such as eyeshadows. Lastly, the pink handles are for finishing makeup on the face, for example blushers and highlighters. Although they are supposedly specific, I have seen the Chapman sisters using the brushes for different uses on their videos. They have also brought out a Bold Metals collection, of which I am yet to buy any brushes as they are a bit more expensive.

Most of the brushes I have were bought in a set, which retail around the £21 mark. The prices for the separate brushes depend on the brushes but are usually between £6 and £10. I have found that Real Techniques products are often in 3 for 2 promotions in shops like Boots and Superdrug. You can also get them on Amazon for a little bit less.

The Core Collection

Buffing Brush This is the brush that I use often. Recently I've been using it with a Clarins foundation. It does what it says it does, buffs foundation in. It's very soft but quite dense, so the product gets distributed evenly and gets into those nooks and crannies. It doesn't leave brush stroke marks that sometimes foundation brushes leaves! I prefer to use this brush with non fast setting foundations.

Foundation Brush I never use this brush. It's too small for a foundation brush and too big to use as a concealer brush. Perhaps it's supposed to be used for specific areas of the face? I'm not sure. I just don't use it.

Concealer Brush This is another brush I just don't use. It's not a bad size but it just doesn't buff my concealer in. I much prefer my Zoeva concealer buffing brush.

Contour Brush I actually do like this brush but hardly ever use it. It's really good for being very precise with contouring but that's pretty much it. The brush head is a little too small for contouring the temples, as it is slightly pointed.

The Starter Set 

Base Shadow Brush I love this brush. I like to use it in my crease more than I do as a base shadow brush though. It's not too thick or thin and really soft. It's an all-round brush. It blends eyeshadows nicely as well, it is essentially a 3 in 1 brush. Base, crease and blending brush!

Deluxe Crease Brush I have no idea why this is named a crease brush. It is way too thick to be a crease brush. If I am to use this brush, I would use it to pop on my base. I have a lot of other brushes so I really don't bother with this one. This would actually be a really good concealer brush but I can't put myself through it. The fact that it's purple and designed for eyes, I can't bring myself to use it for a different function. OCD much?

Accent Brush This brush is great for putting that little bit of eyeshadow under the brow bone or the inner corner of your eyes. This one passed the test.

Fine Liner Brush I dislike this brush. It's not good for winged liner, angled brushes are MUCH better. The little hairs separate as well when they have product on it so even if you were to draw on a line, there is a chance that one of the little hairs will run away from the pack and do its own think on your eyelids.

Brow Brush I like this brush because it's really soft on my brows. If I've been pulling a lot, the area can get really sensitive so this brush is really nice. However, it is too thick for me to draw on eyebrows from scratch. It is not precise enough for me and I can imagine that is the case for people who have full brows as well.

The Sculpting Set 

Sculpting Brush I LOVE this brush! It's a really great shape and is very dense. You can pack a lot of product on with this brush and create the look you want really quickly. I really like using NARS Laguna with this brush.

Fan Brush This is definitely one of my favourite Real Techniques brushes! I love fan brushes so much. I use them for putting highlighter on the top of my cheekbones and above my brow bone. It picks up just enough product, so you don't end up looking like a ball of glitter. The shape of the fan is also perfect for highlighting as well.

Setting Brush I'm absolutely useless at remembering to set my face. This brush is good for setting the under eye concealer, but other than that I think it's a bit small. It all depends in what you're looking for in a setting brush.

Other Brushes 

Lipstick Brush This brush does exactly what it says it does. I don't get as much use out of it as I would like to because I can never be bothered to wash it. It is retractable as well which is a nice added touch. 

Lash-Brow Groomer The eyelash comb part of this is great. I love the metal bristles as opposed to the plastic ones. The plastic bristles always broke on me! They're very sturdy and separate my lashes nicely. However, I don't like that kind of brow brush. I much prefer a spooly brush. 

Blush Brush This is another one of my favourite brushes. It is quite big so it can be difficult to get product out of a small pan but it makes up for it in application. I can sweep this on and it never puts too much blush on, is there anything worse than getting loads on your face and trying to blend it in?! The big brush does take a bit of getting used to but I still really like it.

Miracle Complexion Sponge I like this sponge but I don't swear by it. I absolutely love the design of it, the flat side is a godsend. However, I've found it waters down my foundation a lot. I'll pop it under water, let it expand and then squeeze it but not much water comes out. Then, when I'm applying the foundation my hands get all wet from the sponge. If I hadn't had a Beauty Blender before this sponge, I probably wouldn't have noticed. The foundation does look gorgeous on the skin with this sponge though, I just find I have to put a bit more on than usual.

So there you have it, all of my thoughts on my Real Techniques brush collection. I hope that's been of use to you, I've tried to go in as much detail as possible.

What are your thoughts on Real Techniques brushes? Which ones do you have?

Love G xxx