czarinabear: Beauty: Real Techniques' Starter Set; REVIEW!

Hello lovelies! Today, I will be reviewing the oh-so-loved Real Techniques starter set. I have mentioned Real Techniques in one of my previous posts and if you’re interested for more affordable brush sets like so, you may check my brushes for beginners here.

For a price ranging from $16-20, you can get yourself one of the best brushes that ever debuted in the makeup industry. I bought mine from iHerb.com and they sell it dirt cheap and with a special discount! I got two sets: the core collection and the starter set which I both got for less than $30! Crazy, right?

A beginner? On a budget? Can’t seem to find the brush set that works? I have good news for you: Real Techniques. But which set? Definitely the starter set!

The set contains five brushes: the base shadow brush, the deluxe crease brush, the accent brush, the fine liner brush, and the brow brush. Note, all Real Techniques brush sets except for the limited edition ones comes with a panoramic case. Yeah, you heard me right: a panoramic case.

As said earlier, the set contains five brushes, all of which are made from synthetic Taklon bristles and are hand-cut. The handles are made from aluminum and are very light. The color of the handles corresponds to a key step of makeup application: orange for a flawless base, purple for enhanced eyes, and pink for a perfect finish. The tip of every brush is rubberized for easier grip

The first brush in the set is the base shadow brush. This is my favorite shadow brush of all time. The bristles are tapered from the middle and forms a pointed top. It is flat but it is not paddle-flat. I use this for the sole function of packing color on my lids. You may use it for setting your under-eye concealer, blending color to your crease, and contouring the sides of your nose but I really don’t find it “great” at those which doesn’t bother me at all because it does an excellent job on the purpose it is made for! Also, I find this difficult to work well with “tattoo” shadows and cream shadows.

Likes:

Made with synthetic Taklon bristles
Very soft
Picks up color well
Made for every eye shape
Cruelty-free
Doesn't shed
Dense enough to do its job
Light-weight
Rubberized handle

Dislikes:

Doesn't have many uses
Only works best with powder eye-shadows

Rate: 10/10

Second brush in the set is the deluxe crease brush. Now, this brush is very dense, not only that, it is also firm. If you press it from the top its bristles won’t even budge or separate! It is that dense! I don’t really use this brush that much, I only use it when I pat my eye-shadow too harsh on my crease and when I put too much dark eye-shadow on my outer V. I don’t use this for blending because it’s a little too big for that; It only scatters the color everywhere! If you have big lids then this might work for you but if you have average to small lids then you might want to skip this one. I am most likely going to use this to buff harsh lines and contour the sides of my nose, which, again, is too small and flat for this!

Likes:

Very dense
firm bristles
Buffs shadows well
Picks up color well
Cruelty-free
Lightweight
Rubberized handle
Doesn't shed

Dislikes:

Limited to certain eye shapes
A little harsh on the skin
Doesn't have many uses

Rate: 7/10

Next brush is the accent brush which you can also refer to as a “smudger” brush. This is one of those brushes that I just can’t live without! The bristles are super short which is ideal for, the brush reference, accenting. Like the deluxe crease brush, this brush’ bristles is very firm. Even if I glide it on my skin, it doesn’t bend. Despite this being short, it is quite dense and is perfect for smudging color under your eyes, applying color to the inner corners of your eyes and outer V, and if you’re skilled enough, you can use this for gel liner and cut-crease application. The one thing I won’t pair this with is a chalky shadow because it is not going to hold that much product, it’s just going to cause fall-outs! Yikes!

Likes:

Dense enough
Flat and sharp for precision
Great for accenting and under-eye color
Picks up color well
Cruelty-free
Light-weight
Rubberized handle
Good for all eye shapes
Serves many purposes
Doesn't shed

Dislikes:

Not good with chalky shadows

Rate: 8/10

Next one is the fine liner brush. I just want everyone to know that I this is the brush I barely use; I think I only used this twice and that’s when I was testing this out. First of all, this is flimsy and too thin. The tip isn’t pointed and it is just too long! I used this with gel liner once and it just made me thickened my liner every time I make a mistake. I don’t know if it’s just my gel liner or if it’s this brush. However, this is more efficient with liquid liner; Main problem is how you will insert that thick of a handle inside the bottle. I had to pour out a little product on a spoon then dipped it there! I can’t say it works well but I can say it doesn’t suck with liquid liner. Period. Other than liner, how and where else can I use this? You know what I’m sayin’?

Likes:

Works well with liquid liner
Cruelty-free
Doesn't shed
Light-weight
Rubberized handle

Dislikes:

Flimsy
Too thin
Too long
Isn't pointed (personal)
Doesn't do well with gel liner (personal)

Rate: 4.5/10

Last but not the least, the brow brush. This brush is just like your ordinary angled brush… except this is thicker and denser. Unlike the fine liner brush, this actually picks up gel formula with ease because it’s thick. I use this primarily for my brows and I only used this twice for my eyeliner. If you’re going to use this to line your eyes, please do consider your eye shape as this will give you a thick line! If you have small eyes and you want a casual liner, then this won’t give you that. This works best with brow gel. Also, this might cause fall outs with brow powder if applied swiftly.

Likes:

Dense enough for brows
Picks up color well
Cruelty-free
Light-weight
Rubberized handle
Doesn't shed
Can be used for lining eyes

Dislikes:

May cause fall-outs if used with powder
A little thick for lining small eyes
Not for every eye shape
Isn't as precise as a thin angled brush

Rate: 7.5/10

And to capture our hearts more, they even included a panoramic case! This is one of the most creative things ever and is just pure genius, don’t you think?

This is a multipurpose case and that sets the deal, don't you think? You can fold it and turn it to a mini brush carry-on, fold it in half and pull the toggle and you have yourself a standee case! The velcro tape seals it close and they even included extra homes for other brushes! Pixiwoo, you sure did “woo” us with this last one (okay, bad pun).