Haul / First Impression: Real Techniques brushes

Sorry I haven't been around much lately. I didn't wear a lot of makeup in April, didn't really go shopping, and couldn't think of anything in particular to include in a favorites post, so I haven't had much to talk about. I do have some exciting news, however! My sister and I will be taking a trip to Florida in less than two weeks! We're going to Disney World, because a.) it's our favorite vacation spot, and b.) since I do work their seasonally, I want to work and play a bit. In fact, this upcoming trip inspired my most recent purchase!

I'll be honest: I am only a recent fan of the Pixiwoo girls on Youtube, which is odd because I think they are an absolute delight to watch. I've been watching their videos for a couple weeks now, and when I stumbled across a video in which Sam announced that she was releasing her own line of affordable brushes, I was immediately interested. Her line, called Real Techniques, is a collection of face, eyes, and finishing brushes made of "ultra plush taklon bristles" which can be used with powder, liquid, and cream products. The brushes are color-coded according to their purpose (face brushes are gold, eye brushes are purple, and the finishing brushes are pink). Most of the face and finishing brushes have a flat bottom so they may stand upright on your table top. I purchased the dual-fiber Stippling Brush ($9.99), as well as the eye enhancing Starter Kit ($15.99).

On the back of the stippling brush packaging, it reads:

My dual-fiber stippling brush is the trade secret for creating airbrushed, high definition resultswith all types of makeup. Look pixel perfect even in harsh light.

What immediately drew me to this brush was the fact that the bristles are a lot shorter than you would find on most dual-fiber brushes, so it is dense enough to buff in the product you are using, while still giving a nice, soft airbrush finish. I plan on using this brush for foundation, since it provides a lighter application which will be nice as the weather gets warmer.

The eye enhancing starter kit comes with five brushes:

• Deluxe Crease brush: "soft, oversized design for effortless blending"; this brush is a rounded dome shape
• Base Shadow brush: "applies a smooth, flawless foundation of color"; it is wide and tapered on one side, and flat on the other.
• Accent brush: "designed for precision detailing, spotlighting, highlighting, and smudging"
• Pixel-Point Eyeliner brush: "tapered cut is ideal for dense or fine eyeliner application"
• Brow brush: "distinctive shape easily defines eyebrows"

The Starter kit is cleverly packaged in a "panoramic case", which basically means it can be closed and secured by a velcro tab, or the back can be folded backwards to serve as a stand for easy use. The case also contains extra slots to store additional brushes. I was able to fit the Stippling brush, as well as 2 other face brush, and 2 eye brushes comfortably in the case.

This set of brushes could not have been released at a better time! Since I am going on travel, and I'm flying, I'm limited by how much storage and makeup I'm going to take with me. I found that I was trying to cram all of my most used brushes in my tiny makeup bag, so it's great to have a compact case and set that carries all the brushes I need.

I definitely want to check out more of these brushes. At the moment, they are being exclusively sold at Ulta stores and online. Online they are buy one, get one half off, so I actually only paid $4.99 for the Stippling brush. Be sure to check out Real Techniques to see video tutorials from Samantha using these brushes!