Over the past few months i've really stripped back everything when it comes to beauty including makeup, skincare, hair care, everything as i'm on a crazy spending ban in order to save this year and I don't need anymore beauty products in my life thats for sure! One area that I have splurged way too much on is makeup brushes, when in hindsight I only a handful of the ones within my collection.

I've found that many of the brushes within my collection can actually be used for more than one product, and more so recently i've been using just the essential brushes and I can still create a pretty flawless makeup look. I thought i'd talk you through my four favourite brushes and the ones that I think you only really need.

Starting off with a brush that I use for all of my powder based products including bronzer, blush, highlight and setting powder. The Real Techniques Multi Task Brush (£20.99) does exactly what it says on the tin, it multi tasks and is the perfect tapered shape for bronzing up the cheeks bones whilst also being slim enough to highlight and fluffy enough to finish off your look with a setting powder. 

Another brush favourite is one of my most budget brushes and I find a Kabuki Foundation Brush (£3.88) to be the easiest to use when buffing in both foundation and concealer products. The flat head works great to buff in foundation seamlessly and the tapered sides work great to get under the eyes to buff in concealer. I also find this shape of brush to be the easiest to clean, which is always a bonus as makeup brushes are pain to clean!

The Real Techniques Bold Metals Flat Contour Brush (£20.99) is the only brush that I probably couldn't multi task with all that much, but it is one of my favourite brush to use for cream contour as it gets right into the hollows of your cheeks bones but also blends out product so it looks really natural. Although this brush is quite pricey I would definitely recommend this brush out of all of the other brushes within the collection, as I don't own any other brushes that work like this one.

The last brush in my everyday makeup bag is the Real Techniques Shading Brush (£7.99) and this brush is great for creating any eye makeup look. It allows you to apply eyeshadow to all areas of your eye including the crease, lid, outer corner and it blends really well also. As this brush is quite small it's very easy to clean so you don't have to worry too much about mixing eyeshadow shades.

So those are the four brushes that I feel any girl out there would need within her makeup/brush collection.

What are you staple brushes?

I've got to admit, when it comes to makeup brushes I will always recommend the Real Techniques brushes with out fail. They are of really good quality, they are very affordable and have a huge variety of brushes for all different things. When I heard that about their new Bold Metals Collection, I just knew I had to get my hands on them and I thought i'd do a mini review/first impressions post all about them.

When I first heard about this collection I was really excited, as Real Techniques hadn't really added any new brushes to their main collection, other than limited edition sets so I was excited to see what they would do differently. Of course when I heard the price to go along with this new collection, even I questioned whether to pick them up or not but after hearing some rave reviews I picked up the two brushes I thought would benefit me the most.

As soon as I set eyes on the 301 Flat Contour Brush (£22) I knew that I needed to add this to my collection, as I don't have a brush anything like it in my collection and I knew i'd get a lot of use out of it. As the name suggests this brush is best used for contouring, as the brush shape allows you to really get into the hollows of your cheeks to give a defined and precise contour. So far I love this brush and had replaced all previous brushes that i've used for contouring, if you were to get one brush from this collection, this is the one to get!

I also picked up the 100 Arched Powder Brush (£25) as I preferred the look of this compared to the Tapered Blush Brush as it's slightly bigger and I thought it would work great for both blush, powder and contour if needed. I've been using this brush for blush mainly and so far i'm enjoying it but I do find it's a little big but the shape of the brush makes applying blush really easy. I wouldn't say this brush is overly needed if you already own a fair few blush brushes but it is lovely to have, especially as it's gold.

I love these brushes mainly for how luxurious they look and I love the rose gold brushes especially, I LOVE rose gold at the moment! I also like that they are weighted compared to the brushes in their main collection as it just adds to the luxuriousness of them. I really do want to try out the other brushes within the collection, but my bank account won't allow it for a few more months just yet.

Have you picked up any of the brushes from this collection?

It's been a little while since I picked up some new Real Techniques brushes, or talked about them on the blog but i've recently picked up the Nic's Picks Set and I thought it was about time I gave it a review - especially as it would make a great Christmas present!

It's been sometime since I really sat down and talked about my makeup brushes, as I used to review them quite often and have actually been some of my most popular posts. Any who, today I thought i'd talk about some of my favourite foundation brushes as we all know buffing in that foundation is quite an important step in the makeup applying process. 

Starting off with the bargain of a foundation brush, and this the Domed Foundation Brush (£4.86), which is a part of a brush set I got from eBay, which you can read a little more about here. I really like this brush mainly because of the domed shape it has to it, as I find it works really well to buff in my foundation especially if i'm in a rush. I find it works well with all of my foundations, and for the price of the brush set it's a good one to have.

Next is a recent addition, but one i've been loving a lot and this is the Crown Brush Deluxe Flat Bronzer Brush* (£16.89), which I featured in my most recent favourites post. Although this is designed to be used with bronzer, I find that the flat kabuki brush shape is ideal to use with foundations. It does take a little more time than usual to get a nice result with this, but I find the more I buff the better my foundation looks. 

These last two brushes are obvious ones really, and i'm sure most of you will own one of these brushes from Real Techniques. Starting with the Expert Face Brush (£9.99) and this one is very similar to the first brush, but a little smaller and more tapered. Again I love this for the shape, but I also use this sometimes to apply my concealer as I tend to dab, instead of buffing when applying my concealer, so a great multi tasker. Lastly we have the Buffing Brush from the Core Collection (£21.99), which is my most used foundation brush. It's just a great brush to use when buffing in foundation as it does everything you'd want it to do.

What are you favourite foundation brushes?

As of late my makeup routine has become super simple, mainly because I start work far too early for my liking meaning I just shove on enough makeup to look human and just about presentable, which also means i'm not using as many tools. I thought today i'd talk you through the five brushes that have become my daily essentials when it comes to applying my makeup.

If any of you read my recent boots haul (post here) then you will have seen that I treated myself to yet another Real Techniques brush, one that i've wanted for some time and now that i've been using it for a few weeks I thought it was about time I reviewed it for you all.

The Real Techniques Expert Face Brush, was the next obvious brush for me to get after the Buffing Brush from The Core Collection (review here), as the wider brush shape is designed to create a flawless base for your skin and works really well to buff in liquid foundation or cream based products such as cream blushers.

I personally use this to buff in my foundation, and have been for the past few weeks. I find this works well with all of my liquid foundations and works well to build any kind of coverage from light to full depending on what i'm going for. I find the wider shaped brush allows me to get into areas that the buffing brush isn't so great at like my nose and around my eyes if i'm buffing in concealer and it also gives a really flawless finish. I do find I have to spend a little more time buffing in my foundation when using this brush, but the longer you spend buffing if foundation the better it looks with any kind of brush. I can definitely see how this could work well when it comes to using based cream products and as i'm wanting to give cream blushers a whirl, I think now having this brush has given me a little more confidence to go out and get some cream based products. I also gave this brush it's first wash yesterday and it's actually really easy to wash, as I find getting foundation out of brushes an absolute mission at the best of times!

I would definitely recommend getting this brush if you're not wanting to splash out on The Core Collection or if you're looking for a new foundation brush as it's totally affordable and works really well.

Have you tried the Expert Face Brush?

A lot of you may have seen in a recent post that I received the Real Techniques Duo Fiber Collection off my Mum for my birthday (thanks Mum!) and after getting to grips with these brushes I thought it was about time I reviewed them for you all!

Following from yesterdays post, I decided to give you all another review on something that I have been meaning on reviewing for a long time, I just seem to never get round to it or I forget that I need to review it. Anyway the item in question is the Real Techniques Blush Brush!

I finally decided it was about time I reviewed the Real Techniques Stippling Brush seeing as it is one of my most requested posts from you guys and seeing as my blog posts may be a little absent over the next few days due to my uni deadline I thought i'd give you guys a post that you have been asking me for :)

This duo fibre brush is designed to create a high definition and air brushed finish with the use of all types of make-up. The dual fibres are the main aspect of this brush, as it applies whatever makeup product used lightly to the skin whilst the shorter bristles of the brush softens and stipples by taking away any excess product. 

As I mentioned in one of my recent favourites post, I use both this brush and the RT Buffing Brush to apply liquid foundation but I hadn't really been using the Stippling Brush all that much so I decided to make sure I got good use out of both of the brushes by using the buffing brush for when I want a more full coverage and then using this brush for a more lighter and softer coverage. Since I have been doing this I have literally fallen in love with what this brush does for my skin, it takes my liquid foundation and applies it so evenly to my face whilst giving it a soft, airbrushed effect that leaves a really flawless finish to my face that feels really light, almost as if i'm not wearing that much foundation. I also love how soft this brush is especially as the bristles do look a little harsh and stiff but they are really soft and feels really smooth against the skin. 

From what I have read about this brush it works really well also for applying cream based blushes, liquid and powder highlighters and apparently it works well for apply concealer also although I don't know how true this is.

So that's my review! Hope you are all well and also goodluck to anyone who is taking their exams at the moment!

xx

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As it was getting to around the month mark I thought I had better give my most used Real Techniques brushes a good scrub as well my foundation brushes that I used to use and even though I don't really use them I still thought I'd wash them instead of leaving them full of all the crap and dirt, ew.

So I decided to do a step by step type of thing so you know exactly how I clean my brushes.

1. I run some warm water and then fill the sink until it is about half full.

2. I then wet the brush that i'm washing until it is soaking wet,

3. Using an ordinary hand soap I wet that and then scrub the brush all over the soap bar getting right into the bristles to ensure i'm getting as much dirt/product out as I can. Normally you can start to see the dirt/product coming out onto the soap bar. 

4. I then give the brush a good swill under the tap to remove all of the soap and dirt.

I normally repeat steps 3-4 until i'm completely satisfied with how clean the brush is.

Once I have washed all of the brushes that I have chosen to wash I then shake them to remove any excess water and then using a clean towel I dab and rub the brushes on the towel until they are pretty much dry as I find the take forever to dry and sometimes I need to use the brushes pretty soon after washing.

Hello everyone, I hope you are all well! Today I am going to review the Real Techniques Core Collection seeing as many of you know I finally got round to purchasing a bunch of Real Techniques brushes and as promised I said would review them for you all so here goes!

For those of you who don't know (but i'm sure all of you do) Real Techniques is a range of makeup brushes by Samantha Chapman, a youtuber who makes up half of Pixxi Woo and these brushes are very highly raved about in the blogger world.. but I don't need to be telling you this! 

The Core Collection is made up of four brushes all intended as vital brushes for your brush collection and designed to help you create a flawless look and finish to your skin on a daily basis. All of the bristles on these brushes are made of taklon which is a synthetic fibre that is antibacterial and it is what makes these brushes feel so so soft. The brush handles are made from aluminium which makes them super lightweight and the rubber end makes them easy to hold when applying your make-up. Such a fab design!

The brushes come in this handy padded panoramic travel case which also doubles as a stand and has extra slots for you to carry other brushes around as well. Currently my Stippling Brush and Powder Brush both by Real Techniques are sitting in these extra slots which is super super handy as they are too big and precious to be squished into my makeup bag.

The Buffing Brush, ahh my holy grail when it comes to applying my liquid foundation. This brush is designed to be used with powder or mineral based foundation products and is described to give a full coverage. Now I personally use this when applying liquid based foundations which I know the stippling brush and pointed foundation brush are more tailored for but I just find that this brush buffs liquid foundation amazingly into my skin, giving me a flawless full coverage which I haven't been able to achieve with any brushes prior to using these. This brush is so so soft and just feels so nice against my skin when applying my foundation, I could happily stroke my face with this brush all day.

The Contour Brush which says it all in the name, this brush is designed to be used to contour your  face by adding definition and creating a sub focus finish. All I can say is hallelujah for this brush, I don't know what I would do without it! I use this every single day to firstly apply my blush/bronzer as it  blends so nicely giving a really nice even finish as it is the perfect size and shape. I then also use this brush for what it is intended for, contouring the contour areas of my face with the handy use of my Sleek Contour palette. The shape of the brush is perfect for creating a really good definition especially to my cheek bones and is also ideal for highlighting after contouring. 

The Pointed Foundation Brush is designed to be used with liquid based foundation to build a custom coverage from a light coverage to a more heavy coverage depending on the person or occasion. Personally I have not been using this brush for applying my foundation, as I mentioned above I prefer to use the buffing brush for that but I do find this brush comes in very handy when applying foundation or concealer into smaller areas of my face such as under my eyes or around my nose as it is the perfect size for getting into the nooks and crannies of my face. 

The Detailer Brush is a very small brush designed to be used to conceal problem areas or to apply lipstick for long lasting shape and definition. Again I have not been using this brush for what it is designed for, but I use this to fill in my eyebrows as the brush is the perfect size for this job and gives amazing definition and great shape to my eyebrows. I can definitely see that this brush would be great for applying lipstick especially for me as I tend to make a mess of applying my lipstick.

There seems to be a theme of me not using these brushes how they are designed to be used, but we all are individual and all use things in different ways. All in all I love these brushes and I have no idea why I did not purchase these sooner, I don't think I will ever look back and I definitely want to grow my brush collection even more and purchase more from the Real Techniques range as the brushes are great value for your money because they really do deliver when it comes to performance and there are so many brushes in the range you will be able to find ones that suit you and how you apply your makeup! 

You can pick up these brushes from your local Boots or online from websites like Amazon or iHerb which is where I purchased mine from as they worked out cheaper and there are plenty of money off vouchers floating around for iHerb!

I hope you all enjoyed this review and I will be reviewing my other brushes from Real Techniques over the next couple of weeks as I will not be making any new purchases seeing as London has well and truly cleaned out my bank account, so expect a lot of reviews! 

If there is anything from my recent hauls you would like me to review please let me know :)

xx

Hello everyone, sorry to leave you with no new posts over the last few days but I went home for the weekend to surprise my mum for mothers day and I ended up being really busy which was nice as I got to see a bunch of my friends from work and loads of my family who I haven't seen in ages! 

Whilst I was at home I was able to pick up all the stuff I had ordered online before I came to London and one of those parcels contained my order from iHerb of my Real Techniques brushes which I have been so excited to receive and the anticipation was made even worse as they took three weeks to arrive but I finally have them and I can actually feel like a proper blogger now!