Real Techniques Collectors Edition Sculpting Set £20.99

Who isn't a fan of Real Techniques brushes? I'm always excited to see new brushes released by the lovely Nic and Sam as you can always guarantee they are great quality and look beautiful on any gal's dressing table. With contouring being the biggest trend over the last few months anything that can aid the less able in this region is a welcome addition to our makeup kits. 

Replacing the classic matte finish brushes this set has a sleek high shine finish to the brushes and the same high quality cruelty-free synthetic bristles. So what's in the set? We have a sculpting brush which features a wide, angled head designed specially to help create and define contours, a fan brush to softly sweep on powders and helps sweep away excess powders and last but not least we have a setting brush to help apply finishing powders and highlighters.

I love this set, it has everything I need to help with that tanned contoured look I'll be going for this summer and the Bold Metals Contour brush I purchased a while ago will work perfectly with this kit. 

Amazingly the Real Techniques Sculpting Set is on offer for only £13.99 at Superdrug at the moment!

Real Techniques Bold Metals Collection Flat Contour Brush Review

Real Techniques Bold Metals Collection | 301 Flat Contour Brush | RRP £22 

I've had this brush in my possession for a few weeks now and after using it practically everyday I feel I can share my thoughts on whether one of the most expensive brushes from Real Techniques is worth parting with your hard earned cash for.

Lets start with the aesthetics of this brush. Two words, rose gold. Need I say more? Not only does this brush look beautiful with it's rose gold finish and super soft white bristles designed to allow you to see how much product you're loading on to it but it's also weighted for optimal control and comfort, specifically engineered for perfect weight distribution when tipped towards the face.

The bristles are super soft and densely packed making it perfect for not only applying cream/powder formulas for contouring but also the application and seamless blending of cream/powder blushers. The width of the brush head is perfect for fitting into the hollows of your cheekbones and either using the technique of blending with a circular motion or gently brushing upward if you are concerned about disturbing your foundation you are left with perfect cheekbones.

I'm no pro at contouring and had given it a few futile attempts before but this brush has really made me excited about contouring and really is a foolproof tool for any leaner like myself. So is this brush worth it's £22 price? In my opinion, worth every penny. 

MAC Pro Longwear Foundation Review and Swatches

 I adore my current foundation, the colour match is perfect and the formula gives me a healthy, matte finish but as the weather is getting warmer I have been looking for something a little more long lasting and non-transferable, my current foundation is great for around 8 hours but by the afternoon it often starts to get a little blotchy looking around my nose and mouth. After reading some great reviews I decided to purchase MAC Pro Longwear Foundation £25. The foundation claims to give up to 15 hours of wear even in hot and humid conditions, controls oil to keep skin flawless and contains SPF 10.

Left Pro Longwear NC15
Right Studio Fix Fluid NC15

I purchased this foundation two weeks ago (online) and when I pulled it out of the box my first reaction was that the shade was far too warm for me. I purchased MAC Pro Longwear Foundation in the shade NC15 as this is my usual shade in the Studio Fix Fluid that I wear, in comparison to the Studio Fix it is less yellow toned and I thought it just would not be wearable but after a couple of plays around with the type of application it is actually quite a good colour match.

Left Studio Fix Fluid NC15
Right Pro Longwear NC15

 Now when I initially tried to apply the Pro Longwear I used my Real Techniques Expert Face brush, as this brush gives me flawless results when using Studio Fix but I found the Pro Longwear to initially come out of the bottle quite thick and oily and the brush was just moving the foundation around my face and not buffing it in to my skin. After reading some more reviews about how people get the best application results it seemed the general consensus was to use a damp beauty blender. I purchased the Real Techniques Miracle Sponge £5.99 and the application was so much easier!

This foundation is a sheer to medium formula, I did find it quite difficult to build up layers as before it sets to a natural matte finish it is quite an oily feeling texture but if you work in small areas quickly the results are quite flawless! What I did like about this foundation is that you have no need for concealer as you can just spot apply with a detailing brush where needed. The finish as I've said is a natural matte looking finish, like skin only better! This foundation definitely lives up to it's claims of being long-wearing, I took the photo above after roughly 8 hours of wear and it was showing no signs of budging. 

So, if you're looking for a long-wearing foundation I would definitely recommend this one after mastering my techniques for application.

Jodie

xoxo