At the beginning of the year, I greeted everybody with a post on the Real Techniques Blush Brush, because it made my Top 12 of 2012 list. I gave the blush brush a whoopping 6/5, and that essentially made it Holy Grail status.
In this post, I come to you with another blush brush. It is a stippling brush, but I only use it as a blush brush. I will reveal the unique characteristics of this, and what it really can do for you that sets it apart from the blush brush. At the end, I will decide which one I really like better.
Real Techniques Stippling Brush
Available: Online at love-makeup.co.uk at 10.99 pounds, or in Singapore, you can find Real Techniques at Shins outlet (Changi City Point, Tampines Mall) at a marked up price that is equivalent to when you add shipping costs to love-makeup.co.uk.
Volume: 1 piece.
Star Properties: A dual fibre brush for creating an airbrushed high definition effect with any type of makeup. Ultra plush synthetic taklon bristles, hand cut and 100% cruelty free. (As on love-makeup.co.uk, 19 June 2013).
Packaging
Packaging is the standard Real Techniques plastic case that is clear on the front, and has all the description and Samantha Chapman's face on the back.
While the packaging is good quality and attractive in a professional way, it is not re-usuable at all. I pretty much threw all mine away after taking pictures.
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| So this is basically supposed to create airbrushed, high-definition results with all types of makeup. I do suppose that means regardless of whether you use it for foundation or for blush. |
What can I say? It is the signature taklon that Real Techniques brushes all have, and it's incredibly soft, yet strong and firm.
These bristles are a joy to glide over your face. (I secretly like to brush the back of my hand with these good brushes. =P Not a secret anymore.)
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| Just have to include this in case you're wondering what the initial stage of this brush looks like. |
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| This photo is here because I think this photo is artistic. |
I am not too sure why I put two photos of the bristles from the top view. My gut feeling tells me that it will be useful.
You can see how well the round shape is holding up after half a year of use. I spot clean with the Sephora Brush Cleanser, and deep cleaned this once. (From the look of this photo, it is time to deep clean again!)
Looks like it has flayed very slightly because I love pouncing this on my cheeks, but it is otherwise as good as new.
How I Use It
I normally pounce this brush twice into the blush, then pounce it many times a bitty-bit below my cheek bone. You can actually see that spot on my cheek where I first place the brush on, in the photo below.
After that, I blend the blush out by starting from that initial spot, and gently pouncing backwards, towards the top of my ears.
I then go all around that initial spot, making sure not to bring the blush below the lowest point of my nose, and also not to bring the blush closer than two-fingers' spacing from the side of my nose.
I keep repeating this motion of bringing the blush upwards, and going around the initial spot, constantly pouncing the brush gently, until I get the desired gradient and blended effect.
And the result is as shown below.
***Warning: Long essay ahead. Grab your coffee/tea now.***
Comparison of Application Technique to Real Techniques Blush Brush
This technique of applying blush is vastly different from the technique that I use with the RT Blush Brush. With the RT Blush Brush, I basically start application at a point right under the outermost edge of my eyes, closer to the side of my nose, then I will roll the egg-shape brush upwards to the top of my ears.
With the Blush Brush, the overall effect is cuter, and younger, like those blush you see on white rabbits in cartoons.
With the way I use the Stippling Brush, the effect is a classic look, with the blush right where you traditionally know it should be - on the highest point of the cheeks when I don't smile (so that I look like I am happy and smiling even when I am not smiling).
(If I apply blush on the apple of my cheeks, it will look like my cheeks are dropping when I don't smile, because that point, where the apple is, is actually below my nose. So I never apply blush on the apple of my cheeks, as it will make me look permanently unhappy and older.)
LOL, after writing all those, I feel like the difference is actually quite subtle that unless you see me everyday, you probably wouldn't know! It is like how people around you notice that you look different today when you suddenly change your lipstick or your blush, but they can't quite pinpoint what you've changed.
Comparison of Amount of Colour to Real Technique Blush Brush
I think this one is quite obvious. The big Blush Brush takes more powder than the small Stippling Brush. And I realise that there is some alliteration in my previous sentence, Big Blush, and Small Stippling. =P
This means that if you use the same application technique, and amount of strength for both brushes, and you use each brush on different cheek, you will have one cheek redder than the other.
Comparison of What Type of Blushes I Use Each Brush For
Essentially, this means that the Blush Brush is more suitable for blushes that are not so well-pigmented.
I LOVE using the Blush Brush for Benefit Sugarbomb and Essence Multi Colour Blush, because those blushes are the ones that are so hard to get colour from! With a normal brush, I need some 40 swipes to pick up enough colour from Sugarbomb, but with the RT Blush Brush, I only need to swipe some 10-20 times.
If you try using the Stippling Brush for Sugarbomb, you can wait till the cows come home, and not get much colour.
Comparatively, I love using the Stippling Brush for those ultra pigmented blushes like NARS Gilda, Orgasm, Angelika. I find that it saves me a lot of consideration when I put on blush. Previously, when I was still using the Blush Brush for my NARS blushes, I found that I needed to be really careful how many times I dip into the blush.
My habit is that I love dipping multiple times into one blush, regardless of the blush, and regardless of the brush. I just love dipping it. So when I was still using the big Blush Brush, I had to consciously tell myself to count. I will go one-two, okay, enough enough, enough, in my mind. It was very troublesome to keep counting consciously when I only have 30 minutes to get ready in the morning.
Back then, I had the Stippling Brush lying around after I threw away the packet, and I thought, hey, why not? I picked up the Stippling Brush and started using it for NARS, and I haven't look back since.
(I keep using NARS because I am testing all them. I still keep the RT Blush Brush on my vanity for when I suddenly want to use my Sugarbomb and other less pigmented blushes. Sugarbomb is still my all-time go-to.)
Other Things That You Could Use Stippling Brush For
I actually started out testing this brush with foundations. But I found that the application is soooooooo, extremely, thin, that I was just not comfortable with it.
I think using a stippling brush to apply foundation is probably only for people with ultra perfect skin, and very young teenagers who still do not suffer from acne. Like if you were a child-model, or child-actor, for your school drama/dance/piano performance, etc.
Either that, or the foundation you use is incredibly pigmented, industrial/stage/pro-grade ones, like Graftobian, Ben Nye, etc. The commercial, mass market foundations are more "diluted", with a lower percentage of pigments, so they generally don't require ultra-sheer application (or you will lose the intended coverage).
Anyway, Samantha Chapman has colour-coded the Stippling Brush as pink, so I guess, she herself intended this to be used for cheek products, highlighters, etc, and not foundations.
That said, this is a great brush for general all-over highlighting! Personally, I like to take the leftover blush colour and just swipe it down my nose. It's amazing. But if you do this, your blush has to have some highlighting specks in it. I only do this when I use something like NARS Deep Throat, because it has gold specks. This technique does not work if your blush is pure matte. It will just look like you have this orangey/pinkish strip on your nose.
Price
Not cheap. But it is a great price for a brush of this quality. Normally, you wouldn't get such brush with the same amount of money.
Oh dear. I wrote an essay. If you've read everything until this line, I salute you.
Me Loves this Stippling Brush! 5/5.
Can't find anything wrong with this.
It was made perfect, no shedding, finely cut, feels soft but firm. And the usage is really smooth too. I can always get the desired blush look I want. This allows precise application because it is so small. It can also be used to brush highlighter all over.
To answer the question about which blush brush I like better, I'd say, both! Haha, cliche answer. But I do love both equally because I use them for entirely different purposes. I use the egg-shape denser and bigger Blush Brush for my less-pigmented blushes, and the precision, less dense, Stippling Brush for the ultra pigmented blushes.
If I could only buy one, hmmm, I would choose the Blush Brush because that is my first-love out of all the RT brushes. I can still remember and taste the moments that I got so delighted with what it can do. And I didn't experience those moments with Stippling Brush because I already expected it to be good. I guess, this is personal. =) (This is a very emotionally-charged and illogical answer, so don't take my word for it. You may like the Stippling Brush better because it is more versatile.)
Yes, I lied about them being equal. T_T I gave the Blush Brush 6/5, and I only give this 5/5. They are both full marks brushes, but my heart already went to the Blush Brush.
Reply to comment(s):
Hi Autumn, I agree with you that the Etude House stippling brush does not work at all. That was my very first stippling brush. Subsequently, I have only bought EcoTools stippling brush and this RT one. Both of them work wonderfully for me with blushes.
That said, I also own the Lunasol blush brush, and I must agree that it is the ultimate soft brush and works really well. I just have not blogged about it. =)
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