Real Techniques Brushes Review

By | Wednesday, April 06, 2011 3 comments
Real Techniques by Samantha Chapman Core Brush Set, $15.99 at Ulta

I've been a longtime follower of the Pixiwoo sisters on youtube, so when Samantha announced her line of brushes called Real Techniques, I was excited to get my hands on them.  The brushes are color-coded for face, eyes etc. The set that I picked up is for the face.

When I first saw the packaging and long metal ferrules, I have to say I was disappointed. In my opinion, they looked kinda cheap. On the other hand, they are priced to be sold at a drugstore, so the packaging does fit a lower price point.
The "core" set that I have contains 4 face brushes: A foundation brush, buffer brush, contouring brush and detailer brush. It also comes with a black brush holder/stand all for $15.99. I believe these brushes are only available at Ulta and Ulta.com, the good thing though is Ulta always has weekly coupons which can be used on these brushes.

The brushes themselves are very soft, with densely packed synthetic fibers (think ecotools). The handles are neither long nor short, but fall somewhere in between. However, the heads of the brushes are rather small. I've included some comparison pics with other brushes I own to give you an idea of the sizing.

Foundation Brush: I feel like the Real Tech foundation brush is so small, that it would take forever to apply and blend liquid foundation, but I've used it for under eye and around the nose concealer and its worked great for those smaler areas. The tip is also very pointed so it gets into creases well. On the downside, it did poke the skin under my eyes a bit.

Detailer Brush: The detailer brush is also very, very small. It seems like this brush should have been included with a set of eye brushes, not face ones. I've used this to apply shadow to the inner corner and can't imagine what else it'd be good for. Unless you need pin-point precision to apply concealer to very tiny blemishes.

Buffer Brush: Compared to some other buffing brushes I have, the Real Tech buffer brush is also on the small side. Its super soft and dense. I've used it for liquid foundation and it was quick and efficient and didn't leave any streaks or stray fibers. Another plus was that I used less foundation and the brush really spread it around my face well. Its has a slightly rounded head as opposed to the typical flat-top buffer brushes that I own, and it gave all the foundations I tried it with a more matte finish, even though some of them always look dewy on me. I'm not sure how that would work for someone with drier skin.

Contouring Brush: I don't own any brush quite like the Real Tech contouring brush, so I don't have a photo comparing it to anything else. This brush reminds me of a much larger version of a fluffy eyeshadow crease brush (think a MAC 224 on lots of steroids, lol). Its unique, domed shape makes it perfect for depositing color directly into the hollows of your cheeks for almost foolproof contouring. On the downside, it picks up a LOT of color, so if you want light contouring, you'll have to be careful with this brush. Its also great for applying a highlight color directly onto the tops of the cheeks and I think this may be my favorite brush out of the set.

Overall, these brushes are good quality for a good price. I've washed the entire set once and haven't experienced any shedding or loss of softness. I'm happy to see Pixiwoo translating Youtube success into a global business. I plan to pick up the Real Tech eye set and kabuki brushes on my next trip to Ulta!

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3 comments:

  1. Very informative review! My local ULTA doesn't have them yet (I checked). But they're getting a shipment this week, so hopefully that'll be included and I can take a look for myself. Thanks for the comparisons... they're very helpful!

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  2. i am thinking of scooping up a couple next time that i go to work (ulta) and check them out :) great post, thanks for comparison pics

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  3. I'm really glad I got these brushes. The contouring and buffing brush are really unique and stand out from other brushes I've tried. I just hope the other Real Tech sets are as good as this one.

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