The time came again when I was ready to add to my Real Techniques collection and boy, did I have a lot to choose from. I spent hours and hours online researching all of them; what they did, how they were used and whether they were good or bad. The overwhelming response from beauty bloggers - and my own personal experience with them - sing their praises from the rooftops. I was fairly restrained with my purchases and bought only what I thought I needed, and for now I think I've got enough plus a few more besides! This time I bought them from iHerb, which with a code (Shared at the end of this post) made them incredibly cheap. However, I did get smacked with a £13 customs charge which was a bit annoying, but they still worked out much cheaper than they would have done if I'd bought them from Boots or elsewhere online. The delivery time was very reasonable - I bought them on 30th July and they arrived on 9th August, which I thought was very impressive considering they came all the way from the US!
L-R: Essential Foundation Brush, Domed Shadow Brush, Multi Task Brush
If you're thinking that the Essential Foundation Brush looks a lot like the Pointed Foundation Brush from the Core Collection, you'd be right. These brushes are very similar, the difference being that this one is generally bigger all around. Still far too small to cover my entire face with though! I have found a good use for it however; it works perfectly to apply foundation on and around my nose, as it allows me to get into all the nooks and crannies that the Buffing Brush just can't reach. The Domed Shadow Brush is again similar to another, this time the Deluxe Crease Brush from the Starter Set, with this one being smaller. If you have one you don't need the other, but seeing as I do I will rotate this so I can go longer between washing brushes. Finally the Multi Task Brush, which to be honest, is the whole reason why I bought this set! I wanted a new powder brush a similar size to my old one, and whilst the powder brush from the line appealed it appeared to be far too big. I'm pleased to say that it fills the role perfectly, it's soft and not too dense, making it perfect to apply my setting powder.
Sold seperately
L-R: Stippling Brush, Blush Brush
These two brushes have been on my wishlist for a very long time now and now that I finally have them in my hands, it's love! I read on many a blog that the Stippling Brush works really well at applying cream blusher, which is what I intend to use it for. It's smaller than I expected but the bristles feel firm with a flat top, meaning that hopefully it should make easy work of cream formulas. The Blush Brush is everything I expected it to be - big, fluffy and perfectly shaped. I know a lot of people say that the brush is too big but for me it is perfect; I prefer to wear a blended blusher look and am always paranoid about any tell-tale lines. When I used it for the very first time a couple of bristles did shed (The only brush to have done so out of my collection), but now it's perfectly fine. Teething problems I presume!
As mentioned I bought all of these from iHerb, and before shipping and adding the discount code my brushes total came to $36.97, or £23.64 - considering in Boots/elsewhere online you'd pay about £21 for just the Travel Essentials you can see how good a deal you get! I had a couple of other things in my basket too, which brought my total up to $48.30. Being over $40, this qualified me to receive a free lip balm of my choice and to use a $10-off discount code for first-time customers. Shipping was just $4, so in the end what I paid was was $41.45, or £26.50 - talk about a bargain! Even though I had to add my customs charge on top, bringing it to about £39.50, I still saved a lot of money. To buy all those brushes in Boots/elsewhere would have cost me about £42 - but without the other couple of items I bought from iHerb and some freebies thrown in! I highly recommend buying from them - it's worth the extra couple of days wait.
If you place an order with iHerb, use discount code LPN865 for $10 off $40 spend on your first order!
Check out my previous Real Techniques Brushes post here.
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