Tuesday, April 3, 2012

That's Enough Brushes For Now

After hearing about iHerb from Pam and Michelle, it didn’t take long for me to make my first order. Though I already have several Real Techniques brushes that I treasure and adore, I still wanted to get my hands on the Travel Essentials set, mainly for the Multi Task Brush. Shipping was surprisingly prompt (7 working days) and reasonably priced, though the packaging left me unimpressed. There wasn’t a whole lot of cushioning going on, just a sheet of tissue paper lining one side of the box. The other side wasn't protected, so the plastic casing of my Travel Essentials set was shattered on the left side and top right hand corner. But at least the brushes remained intact.



Essential Foundation Brush I don’t really use flat foundation brushes very often, if at all, but this one seems promising. It’s larger, thicker and softer than the Pointed Foundation Brush in the Core Collection, but if you run your fingers through the bristles, there’s still quite a bit of firmness. I’ll have to try this out to see how well it works in applying liquid foundation, but from the outset I'm not convinced there's the same ease of use and speed you get from a rounded top brush, like the Real Techniques Buffing Brush or the Sigma F82.

Multi Task Brush The reason that I bought this set. One of the most prized brushes in my collection is the Real Techniques Blush Brush and I assumed this one would be very similar, just differently shaped. And that’s pretty much what it is. It’s gloriously soft but shaped more like a traditional powder brush, unlike the Blush Brush which has a tapered end. The newly released Setting Brush seems to be a like mini Blush Brush, with the same super soft bristles that the pink-coded finishing brushes have (except the Stippling Brush, which personally is a little spiky), so naturally it's my latest wishlist addition. I don’t use powder all that much, but the Multi Task Brush would be a better choice than the Real Techniques Powder Brush, which is lovely but freaking ginormous.

Domed Shadow Brush A versatile, fluffy eyeshadow brush. You could use this to apply a wash of colour to the lids or for blending. The Pixiwoo sisters use it primarily for concealer. It reminds me a lot of the Models Prefer small eyeshadow brush (MP24), but longer and firmer.


I just washed all 3 brushes and they didn’t shed a single hair. Speaking of cleaning brushes, the other day I made a major effort to wash every single one of my brushes. It was oddly satisfying seeing them all laid out to dry on a towel, partly because it was so tedious to clean them, and partly because I was grateful to have them all. I don’t feel any need or desire to try out or buy brushes from higher end brands because of the impressive quality of Real Techniques brushes. They’re the ones I use on a day-to-day basis and hopefully I’ll be able to for years to come.

24 comments:

  1. I feel the same as you; I don't feel the need for any high end brushes. I have my Real Techniques and Ecotools (plus a couple Sigmax). I'm hoping to get the stippling, the Travel Essentials (also for the Multitask) and the newer Setting brushes. & thank you for the link. (: x

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    1. I have the exact same brushes (RT, Sigma, Ecotools). And they all do the job just fine :) The stippling isn't my first choice for liquid foundation, but it's a great all-rounder brush and really versatile. I mostly use it for blush though. I think you'll like the Multi Task, but the blush brush is still a touch more amazing :p

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  2. I love the Real Techniques brushes so much, the quality is fantastic :)

    Laura xoxo

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    1. They really are! I know some products can get over-hyped by the beauty blogging community, but these brushes really do deliver :)

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  3. God I need some new brushes x


    www.misslv.com

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    1. Hope you manage to get your hands on some of these! :)

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  4. I just got some Sigma brushes. Very interested in trying the Travel Essentials. Thanks for recommending!

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    1. If you haven't tried Real Techniques before, I recommend the Core Collection (for the amazing buffing brush) and blush brush to start off with :) This Travel Essentials set is great as well. Thanks for stopping by and reading!

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  5. i remember buying mac blush brush before and regretting afterwards because the bristles pricks my cheeks -_- (& it was expensive)! right now i use eco tools brushes :)

    i'm still curious and tempted to go out and buy these brushes XD. they area readily available at a store called ULTA here and i always see them because their situated next to the drugstore make up brands that i always look at everytime i go :)

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    1. Oh no, how disappointing :( I haven't tried MAC brushes before, though I always thought they were generally perceived to be some of the best brushes on the market. Ecotools make some lovely brushes, I use them quite a bit as well. I really love the blush brush they have, I bought mine from this Alicia Silverstone set. I wish I could have access to ULTA, I think I'd go a little bonkers if set loose there :p I recommend the blush brush if you want to try out RT for the first time - that brush is just so soft and gorgeous :)

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  6. Currently I own a couple of Eco Tools brushes, but I'm so tempted to try some from Real Techniques too!

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    1. EcoTools are really great as well, I have a few of their brushes and I really like how soft they are :)

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  7. I agree that there are definitely too many great lower priced brushes to waste money on getting some that cost an arm and a leg. ;) I don't own any Real Techniques but definitely tempted now.

    xoxo, Melissa

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    1. If I had the money I'd probably try out some expensive brushes (like Tom Ford or Hakuhodo), but for now Real Techniques is both affordable and excellent quality so I'm very pleased :)

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  8. woohoo so you ordered Ecotools brushes already?
    I really want to buy real techniques brushes since I'm a huge fan of pixiwoo. But I am going to London this summer holiday so I think I'm gonna buy the brushes there, so I can see and touch them directly so I know which one I like,and which one I don't.

    xx
    Pam

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    1. I wanted to order the buffing brush but at the time it was sold out! :( I only ordered a small angled brush for doing my eyeliner, lol. Oooh, are you going to be in town for the Olympics? That sounds like a great idea to be able to see them in person. The stippling brush will probably look a lot smaller than you think :p I bought the blush and powder brush just from the way they looked. I knew I wanted the Core Collection though, because that seemed great value and I wanted the buffing brush the most :)

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  9. Haha, I think I saw you guys tweeting about iHerb and got totally sucked in. Ended up with the ecotools travel set and tons of chocolate, tea and pumpkin pie spices :)

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    1. Think it must've been someone else she was tweeting to (I don't have a Twitter account), but nevertheless, sorry for being an enabler in some way or another :p I wish I had discovered iHerb sooner, I wouldn't have bought 2 overpriced sets at Priceline earlier in the year. Didn't even browse the rest of the site - otherwise I would've been all over the food and beverage stuff as well, lol :)

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  10. Ahh! Lucky you! So many lovely synthetic brushes! I've only got a few! Yeah, I think once we've got a nice bunch that does the job there's no need for hoarding any more :)

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    1. Lol I know, I need to stop! I always overdo it :p I think I'm definitely going to strive to be content with what I have :)

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  11. Really need to get my hands on these brushes, they look so soft and good quality! the eyeshadow brush sounds like a good idea to be used as a concealer brush as whenever i use an actual concealer brush it always leaves stroke marks >.<

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  12. I've just started with the whole makeup thing and was TOTALLY confused about brushes and what brand to buy, considering most of the ones I looked at were outrageously expensive to start off with! Thanks to this post, I know what to get! Following :)

    x
    theurbanpod.blogspot.com

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  13. These look so soft.Been wanting to try them for awhile.

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  14. I wish we had these brushes here in Canada ! Than I would defiantly switch out all of my brushes for these

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