I Bought Brushes That Aren't Real Techniques!

I know, I know - shocker alert. Until just recently, I've been an exclusively Real Techniques gal when it came to my brushes. Created by the online sister sensation - Sam and Nic from Pixiwoo - I was and still am a massive fan of their range, but I guess it just came to a point where I was getting a little bored and fancied trying something new and different. Typical #BeautyBloggerProblem right there. For a good while now I'd heard many a good thing about Zoeva and the tools they offer (with some even citing a few as potential MAC dupes!) and following one of Lily Pebbles' recent videos focused entirely on her personal top brush picks, mentioning a few of Zoeva's in there - I know the time had come for me to finally get in on the action...

Going onto the Zoeva site itself is a little bit of a minefield - trust me, when people say 'They do a brush for everything!', they ain't half wrong. After a good amount of time purely spent browsing and trying to pin down exactly what I wanted to try first (the Rose Gold Collection came pretty darn close - Oh. My.), I instead plumped for a few of the individuals in the classic range of black and silver hardware. Being a newbie to the range, I figured it'd be better to handpick a few rather than fully commit myself to a larger set (made up of some I wasn't even that interested in trying) - so it didn't turn out to be a waste, whether I loved them or not.

 

Now, out of all of the Zoeva brush range, the ones catered towards the Eye area have to be some of the most talked about and well-loved - so of course that is where I headed first online. After a good bit of research, I plumped for two which everyone seems to rave about and one in particular which some even hold up against a MAC favourite. This one is obviously the '227 Soft Definer Brush'. Like the MAC version, this is a fairly fluffy brush so is perfect for blending out the edges of shadows and buffing away any harsh edges. The loosely-packed nature of the brush too is ideal for applying shadows with more of a light-wash effect and building on the colour with more gradually. The shape is especially catered towards use in the crease - an area which many, including myself, can struggle with - so I feel this brush may well become my new BFF.

Another eye brush I plumped for was another which many rant and rave about - the '231 Petit Crease Brush'. Whilst, as the name would imply - this brush is essentially designed for use in the crease - I've heard many a good thing about its handiness for under the eye. This brush with the tapered, pointed tip, according to Lily Pebbles, is ideal for any lower lashline work and that definitely got me intrigued indeed. Like Lily, I'd agree that this brush looks perhaps a little too small and intricate for what it's supposedly named for - so I will certainly be attempting to employ it in the way LP suggests for now.  At the moment, I tend to got for brushes with more of a flat, squared-off edge for anything in this area of the peepers so I will to see if this makes a difference in any way. There's only one way to find out I guess...

 

I then moved onto the Face section and opted again for a cult classic, but also another which I perhaps hear less about - but still floated my beauty boat anyway. The former is one which I always seem to spot cropping up in YouTube makeup tutorials - particularly Zoe of Zoella's - and that is the '102 Silk Finish Brush'. Despite being an avid lover of the RT's Buffing Brush (and I still love it to this day), mine is getting on a bit nowadays and it's notoriously unavailable to buy on its own so I've been put off repurchasing another mainly due to the fact it would mean I'd own duplicates of all the Core Collection brushes - not ideal. However, this little beauty is available to buy all by itself and having given it a look-over it looks pretty similar - in both appearance and concept - to the RT's offering. A round, densely-packed brush that's (according to Zoeva) is 'perfect for streak-free application and blending', so I'm more than just a bit excited to give this one a go.

The second and final face brush I picked up this time round was the '101 Face Definer'. Now, again I picked this up purely due to it's similarities to another of my most-cherished and well-used Real Techniques brushes. The 'Blush' Brush from them has to be one of my faves, especially for all things bronzer-related and even when going for more of a 'natural' contour, so when I spotted this on the website - I knew I wanted to give it a go. Like the RT's version, this brush has a tapered shape to it, so is perfect for getting right into the nooks and cranny's of the face and getting - as the name would imply - a nice, defined look to the face. Equally though, the fact the brush itself is quite large is great for creating a nice, overall bronzed effect. I'm very much looking forward to seeing how this and the RT's offering compares. Bring it on...