Real techniques brushes: The core collection

As you may remember, one of my ‘wishes’ for 2013 was to buy some new/ more make up brushes. I hadn’t bought any for over a year and a few of the cheaper ones I have, had started to fall apart. After reading and hearing much about Real Techniques brushes, I decided to give them a go. I browsed around to see what was on offer and what I would like to have in my collection and that is why I went with the Core Collection which contains 4 brushes in a set. I bought the brushes from LoveMakeUp.

Real Techniques Core Collection brushes

The Core Collection contains 4 face brushes:

1. A contour brush: for contouring and highlighting the face
2. A pointed foundation brush: for applying foundation
3. A detailer brush: for lipstick or concealer
4. A buffing brush: for powder or foundation

This is the information you can find on the back of the package, but of course that doesn’t mean that that’s what you have to use them for. I will describe how I use the brushes when I discuss them individually.

The brushes come in this plastic container and are stored in a brush case which you can transform into a stand. The case feels a bit cheap, but I’ve kept it because it has more space for other brushes on the left so it can be a nice tool for traveling. There is not much to say about the packaging: it’s simple and does the job. On to the brushes:

The brushes look and feel sturdy. The handles are nicely balanced and are easy to hold on to. The first thing I noticed when I bought these was how small they are. On all the videos and pictures that I had seen these brushes looked a lot bigger than they are in real life. I don’t mind though because big brushes are not for me, so it was a good thing nonetheless.

As for the quality of these: for the price I was pleasantly surprised. I paid around 25 euros for 4 brushes (that’s less than 7 euros a pop). And unlike other cheap brushes, where you can feel that they are made out of plastic, these synthetic hairs are almost like real ones. They hold up nicely when washing them and there is no fall out whatsoever.

The only problem I have with them is that you cannot buy these individually. The only ones I’m really using are the contour brush and buffing brush. The detailer brush I’ve used a handful of times but I can’t find the right purpose for it and me and flat foundation brushes just don’t go very well together. It was the contour & buffing brushes that I was really after and knowing that you have to buy all four at 25 euros to get only two brushes that I’m really using is something I am a bit up the fence about.

Let’s have a look at the individual brushes so you understand where I’m coming from. I’ll go from nay to yay.

Pointed foundation brush

First up, my least favorite brush in the bunch. Like I said, I was not made to use flat foundation brushes. I have one from The Body Shop that I’ve used quite a bit, but I have a love hate relationship with this type of brush. This one in particular isn’t very flat. As you can see in the second picture, the hairs feather out quite a bit and bulge a little. In my case this leads to streaky foundation. The only way I can imagine using this is if I want flawless coverage around my nose as the tip of this brush is perfect for getting enough product around your nostrils.

Detailer brush

What this brush looks like is a mini version of the previous one. I like this one a whole lot better though. Not for it’s main purpose, which is applying concealer or lipstick. I honestly don’t think such a fluffy brush would apply lipstick all that well. I can see how this could work for applying concealer on spots, but since I never do that (I just dab on some extra foundation with my finger), I haven’t been using it that way either. No what I’ve been using this for is sheering out and blending concealer. I prefer to apply concealer with my fingers, but that makes it hard to blend it well into the skin. With this brush it’s so easy to blend out the edges, really get into that inner corner and get as close to the lashline as possible.

Contour brush

On to my first favorite from the set: the contour brush. This is a small domed shaped brush which does exactly what is promised on the packaging: it is perfect for applying contour and highlight. I’m currently using it to shape my face with bronzer. I always struggled with applying contour but now I know why: I simply didn’t have the right brush! You have to be careful to not create a stripe along your cheekbone, but for my face it is the right size. I just blend it with a clean powder brush if need be.

Buffing brush

I’m in love with this brush. It is so soft and fluffy and it applies my liquid MAC Face & Body foundation perfectly. No streaks, great coverage and no highlighting of dry areas. Since I have dehydrated skin, it can look flaky if applied with a brush which is too coarse. This brush is soft enough to not give me a microdermabrasion every time I apply my make up. Again due to its fairly small size I can still use this to apply foundation around my nose and the rest of my face. I haven’t used it for powder yet and I honestly find it a bit small for that purpose, but for liquid foundation this brush is amazing.

To sum things up: it’s a bummer that you can only buy these as a set, since only 2 out of 4 brushes are really useful. But those two brushes are so worth the money if you ask me. Before I was a klutz when it came to contouring, I now do it every day. Before I hardly ever applied liquid foundation, because I couldn’t get it to look right, now my skin looks nice and neat every single time. If you don’t mind buying 2 brushes for the price of 4, then I would definitely recommend this set to you.

***I’ve been using the brushes since early January***