Real Techniques Brushes By Samantha Chapman Available In Malaysia!

Ladies, I am sure some of you out there will be happy to know that Real Techniqes brushes by Samantha Chapman has arrived at our shores. I was looking to purchase these online but was pleasantly surprised when they were discussed on a Facebook group I subscribe to and even more surprised to learn that these were sold at Shins! To pursuade the hubs to take me to Mid Valley where Shins has an outlet was not too difficult, thankfully! Although there is a small Shins outlet at Festival City, a spanking new mall which is a hop and a skip away from my abode, I knew that they were too small an outlet to carry these brushes....so away we went to Mid Valley. 

Samantha Chapman is a YouTube makeup tutor or a 'guru' as many would term her and she forms one half of the Pixiwoo team together with her sister Nicola Chapman. She is also an accomplished makeup artist and has worked on a host of runway shows as well as with top photographers. Now, she has created her own line of brushes for eyes and the face in order for us to be able to create looks that are professional and polished.

I picked up several brushes - the foundation brush, powder brush and the starter set for eyes. One of the first things you notice is that these brushes are color coded. Brushes for different functions have ferrules of a different color such as this:- purple brushes are those you use for eyes and brows; orange are for the face, to apply your base and pinks are your stippling and blush brushes. If you are a seasoned makeup user, one look at the brush head and you would know what it was for, so the color coding sort of did nothing for me in that sense. Also, one brush made for one purpose does not necessarily mean that we only use it for that purpose. I don't know about you but some of my brushes are multi-purpose and it is exciting to discover a new use for a brush that you bought for a different purpose altogether. For me that's stepping outside my comfort zone to stretch my abilities and make things work for me.

So I must say that the color, even though it adds a lovely touch, did not really set my mind to what function it coordinated to.These brushes also has the corresponding name printed on the side so you can identify the function and use of the brush. Quite useful if you make video's and and constantly using different brushes to create your looks.  The ferrules are made of aluminium and is therefore very lightweight which I quite like.

Real Techniques brushes are made from taklon which are synthetic fibres and hence makes them cruelty free. The brushes I purchased, came with varying degrees of sofness with the softest so far being the powder brush. As soon as I got my brushes, I gave them a quick rinse and noted that not one of them shed a single hair, despite some vigorous sloshing around to get the cleansing solution to penetrate into the bristles!

Here is a view of the brushes I bought:-

The FOUNDATION brush. Retails at RM68.00. My first impression of this is that the bristles are not as soft as the powder brush and seems a little stiff to me. I hope that it does not poke at my skin and I am eager to find out how it dispenses and diffuses my foundation - will this be a replacement for my current favourite Shiseido foundation brush?

  

The POWDER Brush. Retails at RM78.00.

So far the Powder brush is the only brush I have used and I have fallen in love with how soft it is. What I have now for applying powder is a MAC 182 and I do love that but for a change from using a stubby brush, the long handle of this one was quite a refresing change.

  

The STARTER Set has the following brushes (pictured below  from left to right in this order):- 

• deluxe crease brush, can be used to contour the eye sockets
• base shadow brush to apply all over wash of color
• accent brush that can be used for highlighting, and smudging
• pixel-point eyeliner brush for eyeliner application
• brow brush for shaping and filling in color to the brows

This is the back of the box which has a picture of Sam and a quick run down of the brushes included.

This set is sold at RM135.00. The brushes also come in a "Panoramic 2 in 1 Brush Case plus Stand". Very useful for when you are travelling and need something to store your brushes in as the case closes with a velcro clasp. Better yet, there are a few additional storage spots in the case for other brushes that you may want to store so you can ideally pick your favourite brushes and customize this storage case! If you prefer to have this stand on your dresser, then you can simply fold this in half by pulling on the toggle rope provided and prop it up as you can see in the pictures below.

The Starter Kit in it's Panoramic casing.

To be really honest, I took the brushes out and kept them in the big vase that I have for all my brushes and this case sits in my drawer. I did not find a standing case useful because I like all my things neatly kept away and displaying this on my dresser would only mess it up and look out of place.

The other nice touch to these brushes which Sam added were the fact that they are able to stand up straight if set on a flat surface as the ends of the brushes were all designed flat. It is a great feature but not quite compatible with my clumsy little paws! Also, I may now need to get a new container to house all my bruses as the wider flat end needs more space compared to my other brushes with more tapered ends. If there is a pressing need to shop....I am not complaining!!

Don't even think of drying your washed brushes standing up, my dear readers! That would not be good for your brushes as the water would run down the inner ferrule and ruin the glue that keeps your bristles together!

Shiseido Perfect Foundation Brush

I was on a mission recently and spent a considerable amount of time looking for a brush that would be suitable and have firm enough bristles to deposit foundation in a thin layer, evenly all over my face. As I was shopping one day, I came across this brush from Shiseido – a brand which I did not care for nor explore due to a bad experience many many years ago. Japanese and Korean brands I have found do not really cater for women of color and I was told once by a rude SA that the brand is for fair skinned people only.

That aside, my prejudices against a brand did not stop me from exploring it again and I did come away (thanks to a sweet SA that day) with not only a brush but with the most gorgeous shade of purple cream eyeshadow! (Review coming!)

I have used this brush almost everyday for about two months now and I must say that I am ready to throw out my sponges as well as some other foundation brushes which are in the category of “blah” at this moment.

The bristles are firm but has a soft rather velvety feel to it and therefore able to hold and spread the foundation thinly and evenly without scratching your face to bits. Also, the bristles are very tightly packed so you are able to pick up as much of the product as you need. In order to have the coverage that is ideal for you, you can pick up a little bit of your foundation and work it in a thin layer all over your face for light coverage or if you are going for more coverage, then you can slowly layer on the foundation until you reach your desired coverage. For me to be able to do this well with the brush, I use the back of an old CD to pump my liquid foundation on and then work the brush into the product picking up as much as I need or less depending on the look. I always use two foundations on my face, one the exact shade and another in a lighter shade. This is done to create some depth on the face. I start off by using the lighter shade above my eyebrows, bringing it down under my eye and then around my nose and the sides of my lips. Then I blend the color that is my skin shade all over, overlapping the first shade. This brightens up the area around my eyes and creates a look that is not flat. 

Works well with liquid, cream or powder as the website claims but I have not used it with powder so I am unable to tell how effective it is. Its not a flat top but its angled a little and this is brilliant because it allows for the brush to reach the crevices especially around the nose and undereye areas.

The handle is a little on the short and thick side and does take a little getting used to. Initially when I used it, my fingers would hurt a little from the thickness of the handle but I am now used to it.

Using this brush results in even application of your foundation be it liquid or cream and the best part of all, you get an airbrushed quality application. Since I have used this, several people have commented on how smooth my face looks which I think is testament to how well this brush performs.

The price is quite reasonable at  around RM96 and a good bargain too seeing that I use this everyday to apply my foundation. If you are looking at investing in something that delivers well then I say go for it.

I rinsed before I used the brush and was pleasantly surprised that there was no shedding and after a week of using the brush, I washed it with a washing liquid that I purchased from Daiso. Again, all the product residue came off the brush but no shedding.

If and when I find another brush that I like, this will be my go to brush for a while!

Please note that the picture of the brush above was taken from the Shiseido website as for the life of me, the pictures that I took right after I purchased this cannot be found - it must be somewhere in the black hole of missing photo's!

Idea! How to Store Your Brushes

Have you tried many methods of storing your brushes and not found one that was satisfactory? Well here is an idea that you can use to ensure that your brushes stand straight up and don't flop around in your brush container!

My brushes (sorry for a photo of unclean brushes - I promise they are up for a thorough wash this weekend!) are stored this way. I am a big believer in repurposing simple things that you find around the house by giving it a new lease of life. So the container you see here was from a hamper full of cookies stored in several sizes of this clear plastic container. The plastic is very durable and the height of the container was just right for my brushes. I took the cover and attached it to the bottom of the container to form a stand.

Initially I could not find the correct materials to keep my brushes standing upright and one day as I was walking past a craft store, I spied these lovely beads that were being sold for RM13 per bag.  

The beads are long cylindrical ones and are a lovely shade of green. In these pictures the green does not show up as vibrant as they are. It looks rather dull here but I assure you that in the container, it looks lovely and sparkles quite a bit!

All I did was to empty the packet of beads into my container and I had a sturdy holder that keeps my brushes stand upright and I don't struggle to keep it organised anymore.

Another idea is to buy colored sand which can be found in our Ringgit store or flower shops. I have purchased some of these and will do a post sometime in the furture to tell you how the sand holds up as compared to these colorful beads.

How do you keep your brushes organized?

EcoTools Brushes

I am so happy to be part of this earth friendly movement! I spotted these beauties in Shins and though their collection of brushes were extremely limited, I still managed to get two brushes which I had been wanting to add to my arsenal namely the Eye Shading Brush (1203) and the Retractable Kabuki Brush (1214).

The 1203, has wide synthetic taklon bristles and the ferrule is made from recycled aluminum.

The 1214 on the other hand, is also made from synthetic taklon bristles and I am going to use it to pick up loose or pressed powder to set my makeup. Its retractable case is made from recycled aluminum which is great to know.

My first impression of these brushes were how soft the bristles are and I am happy that I finally have a kabuki that is super soft! The other kabuki that I am using is a Smashbox one and it is a little too scratchy for this missy's face!

I note with glee that the packaging these brushes came in are reusable and at this point, for the life of me, I cannot think of what I would re-use them for....so my dear readers, if you have any ideas, please share them with me.

Shins was an exciting shop to walk through and since I was unable to fully explore it, I am determined to go again. If you click on the link to Shins, you will be able to purchase their products online but not all products found in the shop are found online though.