herbeautymark: New Stuff for Cool Girls: Real Techniques Brushes

My mom and I took a trip to the local Ulta a few weeks back and made a few purchases, one of which was a set of Real Techniques brushes that I'll be reviewing for you here.

We bought the Travel Essentials set that includes "Everything you need to create a flawless look at home and away." Brushes are "ultra-plush, synthetic taklon bristles, hand cut and cruelty free...extended aluminum handles are light and easy to use." It contains three full sized brushes and a case ($15):

Essential Foundation Brush; Build flawless custom coverage with liquid foundation or concealer.
Multi-Task Brush; For effortless application of powder, blush, and bronzer.
Domed Shadow Brush; Tapered design smoothly shades and defines eyes.
Panoramic Brush Case; A 2 in 1 case & stand.

These brushes were created by RealTechniques and YouTube Guru / makeup artist Samantha Chapman. They took a lot of time in creating the perfect brush, and you can really tell upon using them. What amazes me is how they produced such a great product for an incredibly reasonable price. These brushes HAD to be nothing short of perfect because Samantha Chapman was putting her name on the line and she really did a good job doing so. The taklon bristles are really soft and pick up color really well. Something else I noticed about these were the careful attention to the shape of the brush, they're perfectly cut into the right shapes to make application even easier. It's amazing something so small that I never really notice would make such a difference to me. I really hadn't had any intentions of purchasing these and didn't think I needed them, now that I own them I don't know what I would I do without them! You really can't beat the amazing quality and ease of application these brushes provide. I paid $15 for the whole set which is AMAZING, most brushes are over $15 alone.

How Do I Use Them?
Multi-Task Brush. I don't know what I'd do without this baby in my life! I use it daily to set my foundation. It picks up powder, both pressed and loose, really well and disperses it evenly wherever I put it. It doesn't pack on too much product and it's really easy to move powders around with it. This brush is my favorite brush in the world as of now (;
Essential Foundation Brush. I use this with my M.A.C. Face & Body Foundation. After I put it on with my fingers I pop the foundation directly onto the brush and use it to cover any problem areas. It's really soft and doesn't soak up the product too much. It does a great job at blending and when used correctly can create a flawless finish with no streaks. I use this brush everyday.
Domed Shadow Brush. I use this to apply eyeshadow (duh), but I haven't really been wearing too many things on my eyes so I haven't seen how it really "blends" yet. But I swirl this into my favorite eyeshadow by M.A.C. called Grain and put it all over my lid, in the inner corners, and beneath my lash line. It disperses the colors nicely and gives me a sheer perfect finish.