Warm Coppery Look Testing Real Techniques Limited Edition Duo Fiber Brushes

Not too long ago, Angie from Vanity Rouge posted a picture of the Real Techniques Limited Edition Duo Fiber Brushes which I'd been waiting to pop up in stores. I saw them a few times in pixiwoo videos but the real tipping point was when Nic (I think) mentioned offhandedly in a video that she loved how the eye brush blended. I decided I must obtain them! I've been having a major hankering for the Paula Dorf Sheer Crease Brush that Lisa Eldridge uses quite frequently and mentioned in her My Favourite Brushes video. But, it's not sold anywhere I regularly make purchases or have discounts for, so I've never picked it up (it's $30). I've been trying to talk myself into a different blending brush that I could get with a discount, so I was hoping this would do it for me. I had a 20% off one item ULTA coupon and snatched this kit up, regularly priced at $19.99.

I thought I would do a look that put all of my new brushes in action. I put a solid stripe of matte shadow into my crease and started blending away with the eye brush. I also kept an eye on how long it took to blend out to my liking.

After about 1.5 minutes, it was blended to this point which was good with me. It blended quite well, better than I was expecting due to the length of the white long fibers. One complaint would be that it's not completely soft. The longer fibers are a little pokey.

I went back in and blended a highlight into my browbone which also blended the top edge a bit more.

I used e.l.f. Baked Eyeshadow in Toasted on the lid, theBalm Meet Matt(e) Matt Gallagher and Matt Ramirez in the outer crease with Matt Smith to transition into the inner crease. I used a combination of the Wet 'N Wild The Gilded Age (LE 2011) browbone with NYX White Pearl in the inner corner and blended the White Pearl at the browbone. Rimmel ScandalEyes in Nude in the waterline, Urban Decay 24/7 Underground in the tightline and CoverGirl Lash Blast Volume on the lashes.

To test out the face brushes, I decided to apply a small cheek contour and strongly pigmented blush with the brushes. Because of my pale skin, it's easy to go overboard on contour and blush if I'm not careful.

I used Urban Decay matte shadow in Shakedown (discontinued) which I also used on my brows for the cheek contour, I mostly took the color into the hollow of my cheek with spreading whatever was left around my hairline/jaw. For cheeks, I used the Sephora + PANTONE UNIVERSE blush duo (LE 2012) in Desert Flower which is the deeper coral with strong gold shimmer. I've had difficulty with this blush in the past due to it being quite pigmented and powdery, it's easy to get way too much on my brush.

As with any duo fiber brush, dipping into powdery products can cause a lot of dust to be kicked up and that was no exception with the Contour Brush and Urban Decay Shakedown. But as long as I didn't stab the brush into the pan and tapped it off before applying, it worked fine. I feel it worked as well to give me a subtle contour as using a fluffier powder brush. I would need to use it more to get more of an opinion.

The Face Brush was a good experience, it didn't dig into the product and grabbed a very small amount. I was able to build up to the color I wanted, as opposed to getting too much and needing to blend like mad. Another nice thing was I finally got the gold shimmer on my cheeks, when using a traditional brush I have to barely tap into the pan and never seem to get the shimmer without overloading on color. Overall, very pleased!

On the rest of my face! I mixed about half a slog of Revlon ColorStay in #110 Ivory with my moisturizer this morning, later topped with Sonia Kashuk Bare Minimum Pressed Powder in Translucent Fair. Under my eyes, I applied Bobbi Brown Corrector in Light Bisque (forgot how lovely this is!). On my lips, I'm wearing NP Set lipstick in Denver.

The corrector is brightening and correcting, plus it sits well with the ever-increasing under eye dryness I have. The lipstick shade is somewhat sheer, formula is very soft (have to be careful, I bought another shade in this formula and it broke off at the base) and color is extremely close to my lighter natural lip color.

First impression has been good, but I will have to keep playing with them. And a small side note, the e.l.f. Baked Eyeshadow in Toasted is new to me as well (picked up in Target), I'm happy with how it has worked so far! I'm always a little concerned about payoff and fallout with baked shadows, but this packed onto the lid without too much work or mess in the pan. The color is a nice pinky copper that's right in my wheelhouse.

Let me know if you've tried these new brushes and what you think of them!