Real Techniques Core Collection

Real Techniques, the baby of makeup genius Samantha Chapman from Pixiwoo, made its way to the Great White North.  Actually our weather has been relatively precipitation-free, so...Great Grey North?  Gone are the days that I endlessly stalk the interwebs for iHerb.com coupon codes.  They are now readily available at Wal-Mart and www.farleyco.ca!

Real Techniques bristles are made of synthetic Taklon fibres.  I have a ton of natural hair brushes which I love, but recently, synthetic brushes are getting better and better.  A lot of people ask me if I prefer natural or synthetic.  I say you need both.  I adore synthetic brushes for buffing --not for blending, but specifically for buffing.  I think if you want to diffuse colour and work it into your skin, you need the smoothness of a synthetic brush.  That said, because there is less texture in a synthetic brush, it's really easy to overblend and make colours look muddy.  Base products are where synthetics rule.  Also, they dry a million times faster than natural brushes.

Today I'm reviewing the Core Collection*, but I've done a review on other  Real Techniques brushes.

Contour Brush
This small, rounded brush of medium density works well with contour because it's less dense than the others.  It grabs product lightly so you don't end up with stripes of brown on your cheeks.  The small size also helps you control your placement.  This could also be a good foundation brush if you wanted light coverage, but my giant face takes too long to cover.

Pointed Foundation Brush
I was surprised at how small this brush is; the bristles are the same length  as the setting brush, which also surprised me with its minute size.  The bristles on this brush are very stiff -- if you flex the bristles, they'll bounce back very quickly.  This makes it great for waxy products like the Bobbi Brown correctors/concealers.  I do think it's a little too stiff to blend the delicate skin underneath the eye but it's great for getting around your nose or for applying eye shadow primer.

Detail Brush
This brush tapers to a point, something I find that a lot of other lip brushes lack.  I usually prefer an angle brush or a square brush to apply lipstick, but the tapered bristles on this brush give a nice enough line if you don't have an angle brush to spare.  This is also great for getting that inner corner highlight on your eyes, and for detailed application of brightener.  I usually use this to place my under-eye corrector and blend out with another brush.

Buffing Brush
By and far my favourite brush in the entire set.  I'll do a proper comparison with the Expert Face Brush, but here's a spoiler:  This brush kicks ass in terms of even foundation coverage.  The brushes splay out perfectly on your face, distributing product in an even layer, and the round shape is so conducive to product-swirling.  I might need a backup.

These sets come in a hard, black case to store your brushes.  Simply slip your brushes through the elastics and fold in half.  The other thing you can do with the case is to turn it into a stand: fold the case the opposite way and tighten the drawstring so it props up your brushes.  I personally store my brushes in jars, so I don't use these too often, but I keep them for travelling.  I've never found a brush roll I like, and travelling with them any other way feels like I might warp the hairs.

I'm giving away a set of Real Techniques brushes in my giveaway (along with two bottles of Batiste Dry Shampoo!).  Find out how you can win here.

*PR Sample