More Real Techniques Brushes

Ever since I tried my first sets of Real Techniques brushes I have been completely in love with the range. They are so high quality yet really affordable. Nearly all of my MAC, Sigma & ELF brushes have been replaced by Real Techniques ones. Unlike my high end brushes, not a single hair has been shed from any of them which is something that has always been a source of great annoyance when applying my makeup. After writing my first review I also went out and bought the powder brush & blush brush because I was that impressed with the brushes I had already purchased. I love both of these too. So you can imagine my excitement when it was recently announced that three new brushes were being added to the range - the fine liner brush, the expert face brush & the setting brush.

I remember being really disappointed with the eyeliner brush included in the starter set. It was way too thick & nothing like the eyeliner brushes that Pixiwoo use in their tutorials. I feel like this fine liner brush was brought out almost as a replacement for that other brush. This brush gives you the ability to draw super thin lines & have brilliant control over your eyeliner. I've tried it with MAC Blacktrack as well as using it in conjunction with my new Illamasqua Sealing Gel and it works so well. You can really get into all those tiny gaps between your lashes with the fine liner brush leaving no annoying bits of skin showing. This is everything I wanted the brush in the starter set to be as it is more akin to the Louise Young brush that I often notice the Chapman sisters using.

The buffing brush from the core collection set has fast become one of the most popular brushes in the Real Techniques range. But it seems that one of the gripes that people had about it was that you can only purchase it in that particular set. This meant you would have to shell out another £20 if you just wanted another buffing brush. The expert face brush seems to be the solution to that problem. This one retails at £10 making it a lot more affordable. It is very similar to the buffing brush in that they both flawlessly buff foundation into your skin. The main difference is that the expert face brush has a smaller brush head which is slightly flatter on two sides. The bristles are shorter and a bit more densely packed. This brush is supposed to be better for applying cream foundation. I recently purchased the new Chanel Vitalumiere Aqua Compact foundation and this brush is the perfect partner for it. It also works great with all the other liquid foundations that I use on rotation. I really like this brush, I'd dare say that its even better than the buffing brush. I find that the smaller size means that it is easier to buff foundation into all the different contours of your face. It really helps to achieve the flawless streak-free finish that everyone desires.

Finally we have the setting brush. This fluffy brush is used for setting your makeup in precise areas such as underneath your eyes. It can also be used for applying highlighter. I've been after a brush like this for a while because I often don't need to powder my whole face but its essential that I powder under my eyes. I use a ton of mascara on my bottom lashes so if I forget to set my concealer I always end up with loads of black smudges on my face. I normally use a MAC 227 brush with Laura Mercier Secret Brightening Powder to powder under my eyes but this brush is a bit too dense for the job which can sometimes make my under eye area look a bit cakey. The new Real Techniques setting brush is so much fluffier and perfectly disperses the lightest covering of powder. It sets my makeup really nicely without that cakey effect. I tried using it with highlighter too and it works just as well for this purpose. The fluffiness of the brush helps to really blend in the highlighting powder giving your face a beautiful glow.

I'm really pleased with these new brushes. Real Techniques have added some great pieces of kit to their range and I'm excited to see what kind of brushes they come out with next. Personally I'd love a big fan brush or more styles of eyeshadow ones. I purchased mine from Beauty Chamber where I got 10% off using the code GLAMOURZOMBIE which will basically give you free shipping if you purchase all three. I'm not sure if the code is still valid, but its worth a shot! They came super quickly as I ordered them a couple of weeks ago on a Thursday night and they arrived Saturday morning. I'd definitely recommend that site if like me you can't wait for them to be released in Boots.