Real Techniques: Limited Edition Review

Real Techniques // Limited Edition Set 

I've been wanting to buy this set ever since they were released a few months back but just never got round to buying them for some reason, but now I have yay!

The set comes with a duo-fiber face brush, a contour brush and eye brush, which makes it a nice 'all round' set.

The face brush is pretty nice, very soft but the bristles aren't very dense which means the brush picks up less product which is good for all over powdering after foundation. I've tried it for bronzer as well and it's nice for a light dusting around the temples and sides of the face to give your complexion a subtle warmth. I wouldn't say it'd be good for foundation, if you want a good foundation brush i'd go for the buffing brush or the expert face brush as they're a lot better for foundation application!

The contour brush is very nice, again with less dense bristles so for a more lighter application, it's also the perfect size for a contour brush and fits in the hollows of the cheeks perfectly. I've also tried using it for blush but it's a bit too small for that, so I prefer using the blush brush for blush application, although it's very nice for applying highlighter to the cheek bones!

Lastly, the eye brush, I was wondering when Real Techniques would come out with a brush similar to the MAC 217 or the Sigma E25 and now they have! I have the MAC 217 and in comparison I have to say that the Real Techniques brush is no where near as good as the 217, but it's still a nice brush for blending out eyeshadow and applying darker shades into the crease, also if you're a beginner to makeup brushes and you don't want to spend £17 on the 217 then this set is for you! 

Overall a really nice set! I think i'll use the face brush and contour brush the most as I mainly use the RT base shadow brush, the MAC 217 and the Sigma E45 brush to do my eye makeup, but i'm sure i'll get use out of the eye brush somehow! They are nice additions to my makeup brush collection!

Updated every day makeup routine

Foundation: Normally every day i use No7's Beautifully Matte foundation in the shade 'Calico' and apply it with a Real Techniques Expert Face brush, which gives a natural looking flawless finish to the skin. Somtimes i'll use the Revlon ColorStay foundation in 'Ivory' or the Revlon PhotoReady BB Cream in 'Pale' depending on what kind of finish and coverage i want.

Concealer: For concealing redness or those pesky spots i use the well known Collection Lasting Perfection concealer in 'Fair' and i pat/stipple the R.T Buffing brush on top to blend it in, but not smudge it off.

Under eye concealer: I use the same concealer and dot it under the eyes and blend out with R.T deluxe crease brush.

Powder: Yes, i use the Rimmel stay matte as it really is the best powder at such a low cost, i use the R.T contour brush to apply it round the centre of the face to get rid of shine and set the concealer.

Eyebrows: I brush through my brows with the spoolly (sp?) side of my No7 eyebrow pencil, and then lightly apply a dark brown matte eyeshadow (i'm using the dark brown from a Benefit palette) using an angled brush and with little strokes fill in my brows to make them less sparse but still looking natural, we don't want no scouse brow, am i right?

Priming/eyeshadow base: To start off the eyes i'll either apply a primer such as Urban Decay's Primer Potion (i'm using the one in the shade 'Sin') or the Maybelline ColorTattoo in 'On and On Bronze' which is perfect as a base to really amplify the eyeshadows used on top. 

Eyeshadow: Finally we've made it to eyeshadow! First i take MAC's 'All That Glitters' all over the lid with the RT base shadow brush to set the base, then with the same brush i apply 'Cork' on the outer half of the lid and blend. Then i take 'Tempting' on a MAC 217 brush and apply to the crease and blend out, and then take the same shadow on the E.L.F crease brush and apply to lower lash line. Next to highlight the inner corner of the eye and to brighten my eyes a bit more i take 'Virgin' from the Naked palette in a R.T Accent brush and apply around the inner corner area. Recently i've been loving using black eyeshadow as liner, so i next take the R.T Angled brush and line my top lash line, for a softer look than using liquid liner.

Mascara: Lastly for the eyes, i curl my lashes and apply the ever famous Maybelline 'The Falsies' mascara, and for the lower lashes i use No7's Extreme Length as the wand is the perfect size. If i want more added to the liner, i'll use the Collection Extreme 24 liner but only a really small amount.

Blush: For blush it varies day to day, if i use a cream blush i'll use the R.T Stippling brush, and if i use powder i use the R.T Blush brush. The few blushes i have are: Revlon Cream blush in 'Pinched', Dainty Doll powder blush in 'You Are My Sunshine', Natural Collection 'Sweet Cheeks', Sleek Contour kit 'medium', E.L.F 'Merry Berry'.

Lips: Again my the lip product i'll use will vary day to day, most of the time i go for a pinky-mauve shade that are more on the cool toned side rather than warm. A few that i have are: No7's 'Mulberry', Maxfactor 'Rosewood', Revlon 'Crush', Rimmel Apocalips 'Galaxy', Revlon 'Smoked Peach', Rimmel 'Vintage Pink'.

Sometimes if i want more precision with application i'll use a lip brush, or if i want more of a stain rather than a full on lip colour i'll apply a lip balm and then lightly apply lipstick on top and blend out with a lip brush.

a spring time makeup look!

Start with your daily foundation and concealer, i use No7's Beautifully Matte foundation in 'Calico' and buff it in with a RT Buffing Brush, and for concealer i use the one and only Collection 2000 Lasting Perfection concealer in 'fair'.

Next fill in your eyebrows lightly, i use No7's Beautiful Eyebrow pencil in Dark Brown. Use tiny strokes to fill in and shape the eyebrows to mimic the look of hairs, then use the spool side to brush through the eyebrows afterwards.

Next set your foundation and concealer, i use Rimmel's Stay Matte powder (the best powder ever in my opinion) with a RT contour brush to fit in areas such as the under eye area perfectly! Then add some colour to your face with some blush, i'm using Natural Collections blush in 'Sweet Cheeks' applied with a RT Blush brush. Lightly place the blush on the high points of the cheeks for a natural looking flush!

Next it's time for eyes! I'm not using an eye primer for this look as it looks more natural and softer if you just use the shadows without a base. First i take 'Naked' all over the eye with a RT base shadow brush, then i take 'Sidecar' and place it on the outer half of the lid with the same brush. Next i take 'Buck' with the same brush again and place it on the very outer corner and in the crease, i then blend it out with the E.L.F Blending brush. Then i use a pencil brush and place 'Hustle' in the crease and on the lower lashline.

Finally for the lashes i use the Maybelline 'The Falsies Flared' to bump up the volume and length of my lashes, then i go over the top to comb through the lashes to get rid of clumps with 'No7's Extreme Length' on the top lashes and the bottom as well. Then for lips i use No7's 'Mulberry' to add a nice bit of colour on the lips, that is noticeable but not as crazy as a red lip!

And there have the results! I think it's a great look for spring and summer as it's quick and easy and looks lovely for day time wear, if you find the foundation and concealer combo to heavy you can always switch it out with a BB Cream or a tinted moisture riser for a lighter coverage! 

february favourites

Yes, it's that time at the end of the month where i have to come up with a few favourite products or items that i have been loving for the majority of the month, and fortunately i have been loving a lot of products and various clothing items this month!

1.  Knitted Jumpers - It has been absolutely FREEZING throughout the whole of february, needless to say i am looking forward to summer even more, so i've been reaching towards my various knitted jumpers in my wardrobe. Now, i have a lot of knitted jumpers that i have accumulated over, probably the year (i have left more at home) but as you can see i have picked out a few i've been loving.
2. Real Techniques Blush Brush - As you may know, i do love all of my RT makeup brushes and i do use them on a daily basis, but a few weeks ago i bought another one to add to my Real Techniques family of brushes, and that brush was the blush brush! I've been using it every day since buying it and i can't get enough! It adds the perfect amount of blush to the cheeks and blends it out flawlessly, making it look really natural and not like you've just blobbed some blush on your cheeks.
3. Revlon ColourStay Foundation - I have been using this foundation on and off for just under a year and a half now, about 2 months ago i thought to try something new and bought the 'L'oreal True Match Foundation in Rose Ivory' and let me tell you, it was not a true match at all! It oxidized on the skin making it blotchy and patchy. So i decided to mix it with white foundation (which made it a lot better) and use it as a tinted moisturizer (mix with a light moisturizer) for when i want a lighter coverage! Long story short, i decided to re-buy the colourstay foundation and i have been loving the flawless skin look a lot this month! 
4. Kate Moss Lipstick in Rosetta I think i've talked a lot about this lipstick recently on my blog, but i am loving it! No lie, i've been wearing it pretty much every day, sometimes i mix it on my lips with my Revlon Kissable Balm Stain to add a bit more pinkness to it, but overall i am loving it!

february wishlist

1. Barry M Nail Paint in NP161 // Barrym.com I love this colour of nail varnish, it's a very deep purple but this particular nail varnish has different flecks of dark green in it too , which is what makes it such a lovely purple nail polish!

2. Real Techniques Stippling Brush // Boots As you may know i am a huge fan of these brushes, i think they're amazing! I currently have the core collection (orange) the eye set (purple) and the blush brush (pink) and i love every single brush and get some use out of each one. I have been wanting to try out the stippling brush for a while now as i've heard it's very good for foundation application to give an almost 'airbrushed' look to the skin. It's also been known to be great for blush!

3. Spotty Blouse // H&M A really lovely patterned blouse, which is black & white that'll be great for the up and coming monochrome trend!

4. Rouge Pure Shine Sheer Lipstick in Pink Diamond // YSL Recently i've been loving more nude shade lipsticks or the 'your lips but better' shades and i think this one is just beautiful! It also has really pretty packaging, but i shouldn't really justify that as a reason for buying it!

5. Floral & Check Skater Skirt // Topshop Again, another item of clothing that fits in well with the monochrome trend, but i also love the pattern on this skirt! It'll look great with some tights, black ankle boots and pair with a simple white blouse and cute cardigan. 

6. Naked Basics Palette // Urban Decay  I've been wanting this eyeshadow palette ever since i heard about it coming out, due to my love of the original Naked Palette with me using it every day. I think this looks like such a great every day palette where you can use the eyeshadows for various things, such as the black as a liner, or the darker browns for filling in the eyebrows etc. 

7. Lace Cropped Top // Topshop I love the simplicity of this cropped top and how it can add a bit of a more feminine touch to any casual more masculine outfit, such as high waist jeans and a leather jacket with boots.

Real Techniques makeup brushes review

So i thought i'd finally do a review on these makeup brushes after having them for way over half a year! Firstly i absolutely love them, the quality of the brushes and how soft they are is crazy considering the price for each set is about £21, a lot cheaper than other brushes such as MAC and Sigma. However you can get other brushes separately such as a stippling, powder, blush and various other brushes available (I kinda have my eye on the stippling and the blush brush as my next RT purchase!).

1. The first brush i'd like to review is the buffing brush, which i think is perfect for foundation/tinted moisturizer etc. as it just effortlessly blends it into the skin giving it a really 'airbrushed' finish to the skin, making it look naturally flawless. I have also used it for blending out concealer (also great) and applying blush to my cheeks, which also works really well. A general all round face brush which is brilliant!

2. Another brush i've been loving from the Real Techniques Core Collection set is the contour brush, which is great for funnily enough contouring! It really fits in well to the hollows of my cheek bones and applys the contour shade i use delicately with also a really natural finish, it really works wonders! I have also used it for powdering as it also fits perfectly under my eyes and around my t-zone, so i can apply powder to set my concealer underneath my eyes to increase wear time. As it's not a huge brush it's also great for blush, so that you can concentrate it on a certain area of the cheek, i like to apply mine on the high point of my cheek rather than on the apples of my cheeks.

3. A brush that i'm not really fused with or really use is the foundation brush, just because i use my buffing brush for foundation instead, so i haven't really got much use out of it. However when i have used it a few times before it has given a really nice finish to the skin. Recently when I've used it I've found it's good for applying liquid highlighter on the cheekbones to really lift the face, as it applys a nice amount on the skin.

4. Finally the last brush from the 'core collection' is the detail brush which apparently you're meant to use it for blending or applying concealer, but personally i prefer using it as a lip brush for when i'm wearing dark shades of lipstick, as it really is the perfect size to be used as a lip brush.

5. The next brush that i've also been loving from the other collection known as the Real Techniques Starter Kit is the crease brush which is meant to be used as a eye shadow brush for contouring the crease/socket of your eye. When i first purchased this kit i tried it as a eye crease brush and i just found it was too big to be used as a crease brush, especially when compared to my E.L.F crease brush which is a lot smaller. After doing some research i found that it was best used to blend and apply concealer under the eye to reduce dark circles, and it REALLY works so much better used that way rather than an eyeshadow crease brush.

6. A brush from the starter kit that i've kinda found a bit useless has been the liner brush it's just way too big to get a decent line from it! I've tried it out with my Maybelline gel eye liner and it's okay, but it just creates a too thick line!

7. A brush that i use time to time, but not every day has been the accent brush which i find is great for highlighting the inner corner of my eye and also the brow bone. A very simple and easy to use brush that is small enough for it's uses!

8. Finally the base shadow brush is pretty self explanatory, i use to apply my eyeshadows basically, it applys the shadow very well and softly with minimal fallout of eyeshadow. Afterwards i do go back in with an E.L.F crease brush to deepen the eyeshadows though.

9. The last brush, which i've been loving to fill in my eyebrows with is the angled brush it is fairly thick for an angled brush especially compared to a Louise Young angled brush, but i kinda like the thickness of the bristles. It's also fairly good as a eye liner brush, but i mainly use it to fill in my brows.

Have you ever tried the Real Techniques brushes?