Review: Real Techniques Core Collection, Powder Brush and Stippling Brush

 

Powder Brush £12.99

Contour Brush

Flat Foundation Brush

Buffing Brush

- Core Collection £21.99 - 

(also includes lip detailer)

I am sure by now pretty much everyone has heard about the Real Techniques brushes created by Sam Chapman, professional make-up artist and one half of PixiWoo. I first heard about them back in January and spent a while trying to track some down but with no luck, however in April of this year they were launched in the UK, USA and elsewhere worldwide in high street shops, so off I tottered to Boots and picked up a Stippling Brush (not pictured). My love for the brush was instant, it transformed my make-up application, from flawless foundation to cream blush and contours, it could do it all! I did not feel I desperately needed any other new brushes so I held off for a few months, however disaster struck, and let this be a warning to you all! I was washing my brushes one day when I noticed the stippling brush hairs were folding, turns out the water was too hot and the synthetic fibres essentially melted (yeah I know, how hot is my hot water?!) so sadly, my brush was no longer fit for purpose, it went to brush heaven, and I now had an excuse to re-stock!!

So a few weeks ago I finally purchased the Core Collection (buffing, contour, flat foundation and lip detailer) and the Powder Brush. I think I am in love again! I will give a quick run down on the brushes, they are cruelty free, made of synthetic fibres which makes them super easy to clean (in cool water) and they dry so quickly! They also look gorgeous, I love their orange, pink or purple metal handles with a black rubber end, also the individual brushes are self standing, if that kind of thing floats your boat. Ohh and did I forget, so reasonably priced!!

Lets start with the buffing brush, hailed by many as the ultimate foundation brush, offering the perfect flawless finish in an instant. Oh boy do I agree! This brush has literally transformed my make-up routine (I know, again!) I honestly believe this has the ability to turn even the cheapest, nastiest foundation into a beautiful, dreamy finish product. One pump on to the brush, dab about your face and then in circular motions buff it in to your skin and hey presto! Perfect skin! I would pay £21.99 alone for this brush.

The contour brush is also lovely, when I first saw it I thought it was a little small for contour however I mainly use cream products and it turns out it is brilliant for them! I use it to apply my Chanel Bronze Universal , cream blushers and I've also found it great for buffing liquid concealer under my eyes.

The flat foundation brush is, in my opinion, far too small for foundation application, but it is lovely for applying cream concealer under the eyes or cream highlighter to the cheeks. Considering this set works out at just over £5 per brush, I can cope with a random brush like this!

The lip detailer (not pictured) is a fairly standard lip brush, I like it, I use it, I probably won't write home about it, but I needed a new one so it's a welcome addition.

Finally the powder brush, ahh beautiful fluffy powder brush! This is gorgeous, probably my favourite brush I have ever owned. It is so soft and perfectly shaped for applying loose powder to the right parts of the face. It looks a little large and scary for bronzer but turns out, it is pretty good for that too! Perhaps nothing too pigmented but I am certainly enjoying using it with my Bourjois bronzer.

My apologies this is such a long post but I felt these brushes deserved it! They really are lovely, including the stippling (if you don't melt it, oops!) so go on, join that bandwagon! If you can recommend any other RT brushes I would love to hear about it.

Review: Rimmel Wake Me Up Foundation

I picked the Rimmel Wake Me Up foundation up when it first came out in the UK, it was reduced to £5.99 from £8.99 as an introductory offer so I thought I might as well give it a go! Boy am I glad I did! It claims to reawaken and illuminate the skin, it definitely delivers! This foundation really is superb for a 'drugstore' priced product.

I got the colour True Ivory, the second lightest shade and I've found it to be fairly neutral in tone. The colour range is not huge but the product is very blend-able so you should be able to get a colour that suits. It offers a medium coverage with a dewy finish that feels incredibly light on the skin. It also lasts quite well, I would say touch ups are only required after about 8 hours of wear. It does not cling to any dry patches on my skin and I think with an adequate primer it would be ok for slightly oily skin, probably not so good for very oily skin though.

I've heard lots of people talking about 'glitter' in this foundation, this is not something to be concerned about, there is a slight shimmer when the product is in the bottle under false light, however it is undetectable on my skin. I think it purely offers a light reflective finish, which is to be expected from a dewy finish product.

The product is not heavily scented, a little fruity like their other foundations, but nothing too noticeable. I really like the packaging, it's a step away from the plastic bottles of Rimmel's past. All in all, for just shy of £9 it's a very good buy!

Do you have any more questions? Pop them in the comments below and let me know what you thought of this foundation!

Clinique Moisture Surge Tinted Moisturiser

    

 I have finally finished my exams, I say finally, they only lasted about 4 days but I feel like the whole process has been dragging on forever! However, this now means I'll be able to focus on my blog a bit more (yay!) so if anyone has any suggestions of things you would like to see me review then pop them in the comments below.

Today I'm going to be talking about Clinique Moisture Surge Tinted Moisturiser. This product claims to offer a skin perfecting, natural finish whilst hydrating your skin. It contains an SPF 15 which is ideal for early spring onwards, but you may want to wear something stronger underneath when the weather heats up a bit. 

I first discovered this product when I returned a Super Balance foundation that I had been incorrectly colour matched for. The lady was difficult and quite frankly I wanted to get away without causing a scene so after trying to get me to buy another foundation, she ended up giving me a tester of the tinted moisturiser to try. I thought I might as well give it a shot as I do like a light coverage and this sounded like a good product. She matched me to Shade 01 (which was wrong... won't be going back to her again!) but despite the slightly light colour I really liked the consistency so I decided to buy the full size in Shade 02.

This product is not heavily fragranced, it smells a bit like other Clinique products if you're familiar with those, so if you have sensitive skin like I do this shouldn't cause you any problems.

From a moisturising point of view, I don't think it did very much for my skin. I have dry - normal skin and I honestly would say it offered no form of extra hydration to my skin compared to normal liquid foundations. It did feel good on my skin but I feel it's important to point out it wasn't providing the extra moisturising qualities that I expected. If you have oily skin I think this would product would be fine as it is also oil free. In fact, if you have tried the Moisture Surge cream, it's the same idea (funnily enough, they share the same name!) but I don't find that cream moisturising either so maybe it's just my skin.

It provides a demi-matte finish and evens out the skin tone. I would also say it offers light - medium coverage, from this respect I was actually very impressed; in the past, my experience with tinted moisturiser has been that they are just an orange/flesh toned cream that mearly offers colour rather than coverage. The finish looks very natural, particularly if buffed in to the skin with a brush. It also looks lovely applied with fingers. It does not cling to dry patches and I have not noticed it oxidising. I find I need to use quite a bit of product though, 2 - 3 pea sized amounts, as the formulation is quite thick. I find it lasts well on my skin and I wouldn't tend to use any powder with it. Touch ups required after 6 - 8 hours of wear which is not bad in my books.

The packaging is sleek and handbag friendly, at £21 for 30ml I think it's quite a good deal. If you forget that this product claims to be moisturising, it's actually a really good light coverage 'foundation' that will even out skin tone with a little SPF on the side.

I am now on the hunt to try out a few more tinted moisturisers as I really like them for day-to-day wear. I am unbelievably tempted by the Chantecaille one but at £55 I may need to wait for Christmas to come round again! If anyone has any suggestions please let me know! Also if you've tried the Clinique one, let me know about your experience. 

Chanel Vitalumiere Aqua

For the last few months I have been searching for the perfect foundation. I have tried out many; embarrassing my friends by asking for millions of testers at counters, from Clarins, Clinique, Lancome, Estee Lauder... I tried a lot! I was looking for something light that made my skin glow and I certainly found it with Chanel.

I guess I was slow to catch on with this as I've heard so much about it but the £32 price tag put me off trying it. How wrong I was! This is, without a doubt, the best foundation I tried.

It offers a light to medium coverage with a soft satin finish. It's not too dewy and basically looks like your skin but better.

It is quite a watery formulation so it needs a good shake but once mixed up, it glides on perfectly and does not cling to any dry patches. I have a normal to dry complexion and it is prefect for me. I don't know how well it would sit on an oily skin, but I reckon with a bit of finishing powder it would be fine. It lasts pretty much all day on my skin, perhaps needing a touch up late afternoon if it was a warmer day. I apply it with my Real Techniques Stippling Brush, I find this the best way as a sponge absorbs too much and it looks amazing when buffed in to  skin, a look which I don't find I can achieve with a traditional flat foundation brush.

The packaging is cute and very handbag friendly as it is made of plastic.

The only downside to this foundation is the colour range. I have fair skin and wear 20, 30 or 40 Beige depending on the time of year, and it only goes up to 50. I believe the compact version now has colour 54 but again this is not likely to suit darker skin tones which is a real shame!

If you can find a shade to match your skin, I guarantee you will adore this!

If you have any questions I didn't cover in the post then please feel free to comment!