Real Techniques Archives - Page 2 of 3

When brushes need cleaning, do I turn to the Real Techniques Deep Cleansing Gel?

January 25, 2016 Paris B 35 Comments

Brush cleaning has to be up there among most makeup users/enthusiasts most loathed tasks. So often, I come across people moaning or complaing about having to wash their makeup brushes, even though we all know we have to do it, as it will get grimy with use, and that’s really crappy for our skin (breakout city!)

Personally, I don’t mind washing my brushes. I use them, I wash them. It’s like taking a shower, or doing my laundry. Sure, I hate ironing, but I do my laundry without moaning because I need clean clothes. So, I don’t quite get the loathing for brush-washing. Don’t like to wash your brushes? Don’t use them. Hands work just fine. Want to use brushes, then don’t moan about washing them.

But there are things that help us get the job done more quickly and efficiently. Stuff you can find at Daiso work just as well as mitts or palettes said to help you wash your brushes better. Ditto brush cleansers. You can get the stuff that squirts alcohol on your brushes so you don’t actually have to take your brushes to the sink, or you can clean them properly with a proper cleanser.

On one of my iHerb sojourns, I picked up a bottle of the new Real Techniques Deep Cleansing Gel. For some reason, it intrigued me. I figured this. If Real Techniques makes those affordable and pretty decent makeup brushes, they should know their way around brush cleansers, right? After all, Samantha Chapman is a makeup artist and she has to wash her brushes, I’m sure.

Well, let’s just say that although this is just US$9 (RM40), you’re better off saving that money, or putting it towards a breakfast and coffee at a hipster joint, or something just as frivolous, because I think this is meh; and I can tell you 4 alternatives that do the job better, and cost less.

Real Techniques Blush Brush : What’s in a name that I may use it for something else besides blush

July 14, 2014 Paris B 51 Comments

Have you ever bought a makeup brush for one purpose only to find yourself using it for another instead? I don’t do it too often as most brushes I do buy do work as advertised for me. However, now and again, I come across one that doesn’t and then I have to find another use for it or let it rot.

This was the problem I faced with the very popular Real Techniques Blush Brush. I bought this because blush is my crack and I naturally gravitate towards blush brushes as well. However, as you can probably tell, this brush is quite a whopper of a size. Like all other Real Techniques brushes, the bristles are synthetic and very very soft. The brush head is also very thick but it isn’t very dense, so you get some give as you brush it against your face dreamily, regaling in the cottony softness against your cheek.

But try as I might, I couldn’t use this to apply blush.

Your Say: Do you need expensive makeup brushes?

October 22, 2013 Paris B 85 Comments

I haven’t been buying a lot of makeup lately (I’ve developed a bit of an unhealthy obsession with other things like skincare and gasp! scented candles) but there’s one thing I’ve been indulging in recently and that’s makeup brushes. Not just any makeup brush, I recently took the plunge and went for a couple of high end, pricey makeup brushes notably from Tom Ford, Hakuhodo and Wayne Goss.

So, I was talking about it online to my friend who’s my sounding board and we got round to discussing these really expensive makeup brushes. I have started seeing a lot of these luxury makeup brushes appear in people’s blogs and Instagram feeds and how everyone goes “OMG you NEED this! It’s perfect for applying blush/eyeshadow/powder” blah blah and I can’t help feeling that it’s not all true, because statements like this sway people and make them irrational.

Despite the fact I do own some luxury brushes and I enjoy using them, I don’t think anyone actually really “needs” these brushes at all. In fact, while I agree that you need good makeup brushes, I don’t agree that you have to sell a kidney to buy that Hakuhodo or Tom Ford brush, no matter how amazing it is, because you could quite easily get similar results from a more affordable brand, but a GOOD brush.

I think it’ll be interesting to hear your thoughts on this, or if you have compared a luxury brush to a regular one and think that my statement isn’t quite accurate 🙂

Tip & Tutorial: How to apply cream, liquid or gel blush or cheek tint without staining your fingers

July 3, 2013 Paris B 53 Comments

I have a love-hate relationship with cream and liquid blushes or cheek stains. On the one hand, I love how a good cream or liquid blush will sit and move with your skin, giving you that barely there, yet natural glow from within your skin. A cheek stain will stay with you long after your powder blush is gone.

Yet, most of these cream or liquid products call for the use of fingers for best results. Quite often you hear of people telling you to work quickly with your fingers to spread and blend the colour on your cheeks, especially if its a product that sets quickly like the Benefit cheek stains. Oh boy, do they set quickly!

Herein lies the problem. I hate how these products stain my fingers. Have you experienced the same thing? It’s especially true of products like the Estee Lauder Cheek Rush gel blush or the Benefit cheek stains like Cha Cha Tint I’ve shown you here. They live up to their ‘stain’ reputation and its a right bitch especially in the morning. So, I shied away from cream/liquid/gel/stain blushes for ages.

That was, until I tried a technique that changed things 180° for me! Now, I can use cream/liquid/gel/stain blushes, it is so much quicker to apply and most importantly I no longer have to contend with stained fingertips! 😀

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