My Top 5 Favourite Makeup Brushes

I have 17 different makeup brushes that I use and I love them all, but I thought I'd narrow it down to my top 5 and tell you why they're my favourites...

1. Blush - The Real Techniques Blush brush is so soft and amazing for applying my bronzer and blusher. The tapered end is perfect for contouring with my bronzer as well as applying blusher to the apples of my cheeks. Sometimes I even use it to top up my powder on my T-Zone as it's easier to carry around than the Powder brush. It also picks up just the right amount of product.

2. Buffing - The Real Techniques Buffing Brush comes in the Core Collection set. I also have the Expert Face Brush and the Stippling Brush but this is definitely my favourite for applying my liquid foundation even though it's meant for cream/powder. Out of all 3 of the brushes, this one leaves me with the most flawless finish with good coverage. I do sometimes use the others but this is the one I reach for the most to create the perfect base.

3. Contour - The Contour brush is also part of the Real Techniques Core Collection. As you can see the RT Brushes are definitely my favourite. I use this brush for applying my powder highlighter to my cheekbones, brow bones and sometimes down the center of my nose. I usually find it hard to find the right size of brush to apply my highligher but this is perfect. Oh and all RT Brushes are synthetic which makes them really easy to wash.

4. Blending - I bought this eye shadow blending brush when I was studying Makeup Artistry in college and I don't remember where I got it from at all, it was definitely a website that my tutor recommended though. I love this for blending out my shadow when I'm doing a smokey eye, it's horrible when you see people with a harsh line. I've had it for years and it's stayed in such good condition. I definitely recommend investing in a good quality blending brush as it helps create a gorgeous smokey eye. I don't know what I'd do without this!

5. Angled - This angled brush came in my brush kit when I worked for New CID Cosmetics. I use this to apply my Benefit Brow Zings powder. You do get a similar one with Brow Zings but the handle's really short, this one is much easier to hold and because it's angled, it's so easy to get the right shape when filling in my brows.

So that's my 5 favourite makeup brushes, what are your favourites?

Big Beauty Haul

I thought I'd do a post on all the beauty products I've picked up over the last few weeks. I'm not going to go into much detail on some of the products though as I'll be doing full reviews on them soon. As you can see I think I've got a slight shopping problem...

• Real Techniques Core Collection: I've already got a few of the Real Techniques brushes and absolutely love them but the Core Collection has been on my wishlist from the start, mainly because of the Buffing Brush! The set comes with four face brushes; Detailer Brush, Pointed Foundation Brush, Buffing Brush and Contour Brush. I'll be using the Detailer brush for my concealer and the Countour Brush for powder highlighter. I'm not too sure whether or not I'll use the Foundation Brush as I've already got the Stippling Brush and Expert Face Brush for my foundation, however I can't wait to use the Buffing Brush to apply my foundation as I've heard its a favourite and gives you the most flawless finish. Any tips on what to use the Pointed Foundation brush for? This set costs £21.99.

• Armani Luminous Silk Foundation 6,5: When a couple of my friends from my old work tried this foundation and gave it such an amazing review, I decided I needed it. I also heard Kim Kardashian uses it and her skin always looks amazing. When I went to my local Armani counter and asked for it the girl looked at me for about 5 seconds before suggesting I go for the shade 6,5. She tried a bit on my jaw line and it blended in perfectly. This really is the perfect colour for my skin so I was really impressed with how good the girl on the counter was as I don't usually trust them and like to pick my own shade. I've only used this a couple of times and love it so far, I'll be doing a full review on it soon. It is a bit pricey at £34 but I got my friends House of Fraser discount on it.

• Collection Lasting Perfection Concealer Medium 3: I buy a lot of products because my sister has them and has either used them on me or raved about how good they are and this is one of them. I find it hard to find a good concealer and don't usually go for a liquid but I love this. It brightens up my dark circles and hides any blemishes I have. It also lasts all day which is perfect for when I'm at work. It's also a bargain at £4.19.

• Rimmel Stay Matte Powder 001 Transparent: This is another product my sister uses on me and I've also seen Tanya Burr use it a lot in her video tutorials. I always powder my foundation once I've applied it (one thing that's stuck with me from my Makeup Artist training) as it helps it last longer and I tend to get shiny during the day. I was running out of my Chanel Universal translucent powder but couldn't afford to spend £30 on a powder right now so I decided to pick this up. I usually use a loose powder but surprisingly I'm really liking this pressed powder and it doesn't go cakey when I touch it up during the day. Also a bargain at £3.99

• Revlon Grow Luscious Plumping Mascara Blackest Black: Another product I'm not going to go into much detail with as I'll do a full review on it. My sister uses this mascara and I also seen a review of it on Kayleigh's blog. I always use up my mascaras so quickly and wanted to try something different as I usually always go for Dior Show or Benefit They're Real. I've not used it much yet but I'll let you know what I think when I do my review. It only cost £9.99 as well which is a bonus.

• Benefit Brow Zings Dark: I've used my sisters one of this for months now and always love my eyebrows when she's used this on me. My eyebrows are so sparse with no shape if I don't fill them in and I'm such a fan of bold, statement brows so I thought it was about time to buy one of these for myself. Brow Zings costs £22.50 and I'll also be doing a full review on it soon.

• Rimmel Scandaleyes Kohl Eye Pencil 005 Nude:  I've seen this liner on a few beauty blogs recently and decided to pick one up when Boots 3 for 2 was on.  I use this on my waterline and it really brightens up my eyes, especially when I haven't had much sleep. 

• MAC Kohl Eye Pencil Feline: I've always got a black kohl liner in my makeup bag and usually reach for Rimmel Jet Black, but yet again my sister used this product on me and it lasted all night! I love finishing off a smokey eye with a kohl liner and this one's perfect, I can't wait to use it tonight. It's a bit pricey for an eyeliner, it costs around £15 but it's totally worth it. 

• MAC Lipstick Pink Nouveau and Creme D'Nude: I've now purchased my 11th and 12th MAC lipsticks and was thinking about what colours are missing from my collection. I didn't have a light pink or a true nude so decided to go with both of these. These are great everyday colours that can be worn all year round and Creme D'Nude will look great with a dark smokey eye on a night out, I love dark eyes and nude lips! These cost £14 each.

As you can see I've spent far too much money on beauty products lately but I just can't help myself. I think I need to go on a beauty spending ban!

Real Techniques Expert Face Brush

I've been wanting to try this particular Real Techniques brush ever since I saw it being used in Pixiwoo and Tanya Burr's YouTube tutorials. I already own the Blush brush and the Stippling brush which I love and my sister has almost all of them which she's used on me while doing my makeup, so I'm a big fan of these brushes.

The Expert Face brush is firm and broad for which is perfect for the application and blending of liquid or cream foundations. All the brushes have 'ultra plush' Taklon bristles which are super soft and help create a flawless, HD finish. The fact that they're synthetic means that they're really easy to wash which is a bonus because I hate washing my brushes. The brushes are also cut to the perfect shape which I love because they're so light and easy to hold while applying my makeup.

I was using the Stippling brush to apply my foundation before I bought this and sometimes used my sisters Buffing brush from the Core Collection. All three of these brushes have multi-uses and can be used to apply powder, cream or liquid foundation. I recently watched Sam's video in which she tells you the difference between the three brushes which I found really interesting so give it a watch. I also sometimes use my Stippling brush to apply my Chanel Univiersal bronzer, but it can be used for highlighters and blushers too.

So, whats my opinion? Goodbye foundation application with my Stippling brush! I love the way my foundation looks after using the Expert Face brush. Sam said she uses the Stippling brush for light coverage foundations, so I'll be sticking to the Expert Face brush from now on as it gives more coverage and a flawless finish which I prefer. It was also a bargain at £9.99 and I got it as part of the Boots 3 for 2. Next I need to get my hands on the Core Collection so I can compare the Buffing brush to these two. Although in the video Sam says the Buffing brush is more for use with mineral and powder foundation.

I think the Real Techniques brushes are amazing and there's no need to spend ridiculous amounts of money on high end brushes when you can get these for such a reasonable price - I prefer these to my MAC brushes! Have you given in to the hype and bought the Real Techniques brushes and if so, what's your favourite?

Beauty Haul

• Real Techniques Blush Brush - When I was in Ibiza I lost my powder/bronzer brush on a night out so this was the first thing I needed when I got back. I love the Real Technique's brushes and decided to get the blush brush as I thought the powder brush was slightly too big. It's so soft and perfect for applying my powder and bronzer. I think it's a bit big for blusher, does anyone else find that? It costs £9.99 from Boots.

• Louise Gray for Topshop Lipstick in 'Legend' - As soon as I saw the Louise Gray Topshop collection I was drawn straight to the bright pink lipstick. When I was in yesterday and saw how gorgeous and bright it was in real life, I couldn't resist and had to buy it. Its £10 which is £2 more than the regular Topshop lipsticks but I think it's worth it for the beautiful packaging. I wore this to work today and loved it.

• Neutrogena Visibly Clear Blackhead Eliminating Daily Scrub & Pink Grapefruit Facial Wash - When I came back from my holiday I noticed that the heat and all the sun cream had clogged up my pores and I had quite a few blackheads. In boots it was 2 for £5 on all Neutrogena Visibly Clear products so I decided to try them out. I picked up the blackhead scrub which exfoliates the skin and is meant to unclog pores to reduce and prevent blackheads and I got the grapefruit facial wash purely because it smelled amazing. I've never used these products before, does anyone know if they're good?

• Essie 'Mojito Madness' - Essie nail polishes are my favourite at the moment and when I was in Boots yesterday this colour caught my eye and I had to get it! I don't have a nice green in my nail polish collection and this is such a gorgeous colour when it's on my nails. It cost £7.99.

These are a few of the products I picked up when I was in town yesterday. I don't have my camera at the moment and the pictures are taken using an iPhone. What beauty products have you picked up recently? 

Melissa

xxx