Real Techniques Sculpting Set | Review

#reallifegrubbybrushes


Disclaimer: I both use and wash my make-up brushes, unfortunately, these three were not all clean at the same time. Apologies.


This is a lovely Real Techniques set I received for my birthday - it's definitely not one  you hear about much, or one that I had even seen very much in the shops or online - but it really is great and an all-round good selection.


I'm not one for contour, I have fairly pronounced cheekbones which make me look dead at the best of times without me creating even more of a shadow, and I don't believe this set of brushes needs to used for contouring or sculpting at all.


The angled face brush - probably meant for contour - is ah-mazing for foundation. Like, literally so good - its really dense so it really blends the product into your skin without leaving horrible streaky marks, and it's quite skinny; making it easy to get around the nose, eyes and eyelids. You could definitely use this for contour too if you were that way inclined, but I definitely count this as a flawless base brush.


The next brush, in the photo, is the fan brush, which is something I didn't think I needed... what the hell was I doing with highlight before this brush? I will never know. Amazing for highlighting cheekbones, under the brow, topline, bottom lip, all the lips (oo-er). I luff it.


Lastly, a brush I already had in some form or another, but definitely an absolutely essential for so many things. This is the setting brush, and it's perfect for just that -setting the under eyes- as well as being totally brill for blending concealer under the eyes, around the nose and wherever else you might find it. Having two of these still isn't enough, I need 10.


So yeah, definitely a brush set I would strongly recommend, and one which could probably cover absolutely all bases if you needed it to - foundation, concealer, powder, bronzer, highlight, and probably blush as well.


Thanks for reading! x

Make-up tool storage

Being a brush enthusiast, storage is very important to me, and I love to browse Amazon looking for new pots and mugs... pretty much to give me an excuse to buy even more brushes.

At the moment I'm using these H&M handle-less mugs, one for face brushes, one for eye brushes. I would definitely recommend having a look at H&M homeware if you're after storage like this - I picked these up for a steal at £2 each I think. Or maybe they were £1...
Primark is another good place to look, they always have mugs and pots which could be handy for this sort of thing. TK Maxx too.

For my sponge, I use this little glass pot which is actually a candle holder but works really well to pop my sponge in. Also, because its glass, it gets pretty grubby fairly quickly, so it really encourages me to keep it clean.

So yeah, bit of a random post, buuuut...thanks for reading, hope you enjoyed :)

Lou xxx

Travel Brush Edit

Being away from my full selection of make-up brushes really stresses me out, and I find it just as hard to limit my brushes as my actual make- up when I go away.
I always limit my selection to whatever I can fit into one of these Real Techniques pouches, which can comfortably hold these 9 brushes.
I also carry my travel powder brush in my bag at all times, so I have no need to pack an extra one when I go away.
It goes without saying that most of my brushes in general are Real Techniques, and when I go away I tend to take my favourites...which, funnily enough, are Real Techniques too.

Face brushes

Face brush wise, on this trip, I took my sponge, which I don't normally do because it's so annoying to travel with.
My Buffing Brush is my pick for base application. It blends in my foundation or whatever I'm putting on my face really well, and its nice and big and easy to use.
I use the Expert Face Brush for bronzer. I find that the dense bristles blend and buff a soft bronzer (normally the Body Shop Honey Bronzer) into my skin really well.
The Multi Tasker brush is fab for blusher; nice and big and cheek shaped. It doesn't plonk too much product on your chops, but if it does, you can always wack out the expert face brush for an extra blend.
The Elf Blush Brush is fabulous for highlight. If I'm using a powder highlight I will normally reach for this brush to swipe it along my cheekbones and blend  into the rest of my face products. Really cheap too! If you're really good with setting your under-eyes, this is a great one for that too.
The RT duo- fibre eye brush is my favourite for concealer. Either under my eyes or around a blemish, this is a really good one for softly buffing in product for a seamless finish.

Eyes

Eyes- wise (oo-er), I managed to pack almost the whole essential eye kit from Real Techniques without meaning to.
The Base shadow Brush is great for exactly that- getting the base of your shadow down. It's great for packing or brushing product onto the lids.
The Domed shadow Brush is fabulous for the crease. It's just the right size so that you get just enough in the right place, and just the right consistency to blend everything out beautifully.
The Duluxe Crease Brush is perfect for blending. Dodgy edges, complicated blending and colour-layering, this brush does it all.
The Accent Brush gets right up under the bottom lashes, or right into the crease if you're trying to get a more intense contrast. It's also great to wing out colour, or pack a dark colour on the outer corner, as it's so precise, it's hard to go over- board.

I find that for a trip, this collection covers the basics and allows me to do everything I want. If I'm away for more than a few days, I'd definitely give them all a wash, especially the concealer brush, to keep them clean.

Hope you enjoyed this, and it was helpful!
Thanks for reading
Lou x

This Thing Though...

Just a quick one today, to tell you that this thing is Great. Really really great.

I have been thinking about making the leap from brushes to a sponge for so long, and I finally took it, and bought the Real Techniques sponge for a fiver from Amazon. (There was NO way I was buying the real Beauty Blender...£20 for a sponge? Err no.) 

£5 seems a lot more reasonable, I would pay that for a good brush so I hoped that this would live up to the sponge hype.

Anyway, long story short, it's amazing. So quick to blend everything in, and makes your  foundation sit so so nicely on the skin. I haven't got any photos yet, because my skin is  having a mare at the moment, but when I've had a play around a few more times I will take some snaps and put them up on tha blog.

I really want to try some heavier and dryer foundations like the Double Wear light which I have but never wear because its cakes like a biatch.

So yeah, if you're hesitating, stop. Go for it. Take the plunge. Walk the walk my friends.

Got way too excited about this.

Thanks for reading!

Lou x

Peaches and Cream: Easy Spring Everyday Make-up Look

If you love a peachy eye and a fresh, summer skin, head over to my YouTube channel and watch me putting my make up on and make my face look like this:

I'm not sure what's going on here, but my camera has made my skin look flawless. It's a lie.

All the products I used are mentioned in the video.

http://youtu.be/NyHb7Lre6hA

It's nice and easy and uses pretty much all drugstore products and brushes :)

Check it out, and appreciate my music/editting skills. Been working on dat ting alllll day.

Probably should be doing coursework...

Thanks for reading!

Lou x