Primark Foundation Brush || Artis Oval Brush Dupe

A couple of months back I uploaded a Primark haul on my channel (shameless plug) which I showed a new makeup brush from Primark's PS Pro makeup line. Inspired by the Artis brushes that retail for around £60 each I was intrigued.

The Primark oval brush is £4 and is a good size for applying either foundation, concealer or cream bronzer/highlight. I am personally using mine for foundation and I cannot believe how quickly I can apply my foundation with this brush. A warning for those of you like me that can be slightly heavy handed, the handle is slightly flimsy if you press too hard.  Mine hasn't broken or anything but I would just go light. However, what's great is that you don't need to apply a lot of pressure to buff in the product as this brush does most of the work for you. I really like the finish the application gives though like with any brush I do a double check to ensure no streaky patches.

I think this brush can tend to soak up the product as the bristles are so dense but I have had other brushes that have done the same. I am a bit concerned about when I have tried to wash the brush as all the hairs clumped together and has taken quite a while to dry, I was dubious as to whether it would return to its original state and I think it has mostly.  Unfortunately I don't think this brush will be as durable as say my MAC or Real Technique brushes however for the price I am glad I picked it up.

If you have been lusting over this type of brush this is a great way to try out a new technique without breaking the bank.  I do have my reservations as to whether these are as good as the originals but if like me you are always looking for something new to try I would pop down to a Primark and pick one up.  

Bronzer and Brush Duo

Winter is well and truly over, that means it's summer time. No? I am so bored of winter skin and makeup I want to be sun kissed and golden. I've even ordered my first bikini of 2015. Ok so I ordered two.   

I wanted something to take the pastiness out of my pale skin without looking orange or cakey. I think I have found a good little combo that I have to share. The Rimmel Natural Bronzing powder in 022 Sun Bronze and the Duo Fibre Face brush by Real Techniques. I've never been a fan of duo fibre brushes but the bristles are dense enough to pick up the product but sparse enough to apply a light amount and blend. The slightly annoying thing is that this brush can only be bought as part of a set containing the face, contour and eye brushes. 

I'm starting to get into minimal makeup so this little combo is perfect. Especially when I want an extra 5 minutes in bed of a morning.

Huge US Real Techniques Haul

Before my spending ban came into play I made a cheeky little order to My Pretty Face Place an American website selling Real Techniques products. I found the site on Cosmetic Crave's blog where I also found a discount code, which by the looks of it she has quite regularly. I had been after the Blush Brush from Real Techniques so after when I saw there was an extra 15% off using using the code, I could not resist. 

All products that I received are genuine and are cheap due to the pricing in the US being cheaper than here in the UK. You lucky devils America. I picked all this up for under £60 including delivery. That is such a bargain when each of the sets are £20 each.

Real Techniques Expert Face Brush

You probably don't need to me to tell you how the Real Techniques brushes have basically claimed world domination on the makeup brush front. I took a while before purchasing any as I know how some things can be massively over hyped so I thought I would bide my time and take a step back.  

Real Techniques is a brand created by Samantha Chapman, who is a professional makeup artist and one half of the Pixiwoo sisters over on YouTube. There is also a Real Techniques channel if you want to see how Samantha herself uses these brushes. 

I decided to go for the Expert Face Brush out of the whole collection for two main reasons. Firstly, I am really into having a perfect base at the moment so I am loving new foundation brushes (but I didn't want the buffing brush from the core collection).  And secondly, because though I wanted to see what people said about the brand, I wanted to try out a brush that I hadn't really seen a lot about as I wanted to form my own opinion without all the hype around the specific product.

To begin with, this is going to shock a lot of people, I didn't really see the massive hype about it. It was soft, dense and applied my foundation nicely, but I didn't get the 'WOW this is amazing' feeling. Before this, I had been using a Coastal Scents Flat Top Kabuki and didn't really see why I would prefer this over that brush. I do however, really like the design, the gold handle and the thicker base for it to stand up independently, really makes them seem unique. The brushes are colour coordinated into groups, gold to get the perfect base, purple for eyes and pink for face brushes.

In terms of the brush itself, it was only after I had washed it that I started seeing what people had been saying.  Don't get me wrong I never thought this was a bad brush or anything, I thought I would be getting better results. After washing there was no shedding and it dried very quickly considering how dense the bristles are. I now saw a better finish, it is meant to give a slightly more opaque coverage than what the buffing brush does, just for reference. I really like the finish that I get with the Expert Face Brush, blends beautifully and evenly, I find it works with a stippling motion too for the areas that need slightly more coverage. Though I use mine to apply liquid foundation, it can be used for cream products too. I have cream foundations that I really enjoyed using this with, and I found that unlike some other brushes it doesn't retain that much of the product so you don't waste as much. 

I would definitely say if you are looking for a foundation brush you should try and get your hands on this brush. I say try because it took me 4 attempts at various different Boots before managing to nab the last one from the shelf. At £9.99 I wouldn't call this dirt cheap, but I think for the quality, versatility and finish that you can achieve I think this is worth the money.