Does the price make a difference?: Contour Brushes

From left to right- Bold Metals Collection by Real Techniques 301 flat contour brush, Real Techniques Sculpting Brush and the Charlotte Tilbury Powder and Sculpt Brush.

Contouring has become very fashionable and popular. Although it can be hard there are hundreds of products on the market designed to try and help you out. In this blog post I am going to review some of the brushes I have tried out. They all vary in price and give very different effects.

Starting with the Real Techniques Sculpting Brush. This is the cheapest of the three brushes at £9.99. I think that this brush is perfect for a day-to-day soft contour look. As it is quite big it doesn't give you the most defined look. With its angled shape its really good for bronzing up the face while giving a slight hint of definition. Therefore it would be a great brush if you are just starting to learn how to contour or for a more natural looking makeup. The brush is made with synthetic bristles which are super easy to clean and take care of. It is also very densely packed and being honest I think its too much as it means it picks up a lot of product and it can be hard to be accurate and achieve your desired look. With all this being said I actually love to use this brush for applying foundation, especially slightly thicker fuller coverage foundations which require more blending. 

The Bold Metals Collection by Real Techniques 301 Flat Contour Brush at £22 is great for a super defined cheekbone. The density and shape of the brush allows you to create a perfect line where you want your shadow to be. However what really lets this brush down is the fact that its near impossible to blend the product to make it look close to natural and you must apply the product with a light hand. It definitely requires a fluffy brush or the excess on your foundation brush to blend the product out. As well as this it is only really good for contouring the cheeks as its a little too big and flat for anywhere else on the face. Although these things let the brush down it is really good for creating makeup looks for special events or going out, especially if you want to cheat some killer cheekbones!

Lastly, and definitely my favourite, the Charlotte Tilbury Powder and Sculpt. When I brought this brush I was very apprehensive as £35 is an awful lot of money for a brush when you can find such good budget options. I already had the bronze and glow palette by Charlotte Tilbury which I constantly use and I was desperate to try the brush that went with it. After debating whether to get it I finally gave in and it was 100% worth the money! I use it most days I wear makeup as you can change how dramatic you want your contouring to be, just by changing how heavy handed you are with the brush. The tapered shape to the brush means unlike the others it blends the product at the same time as applying. To me this is saving a step every morning when applying my makeup while making sure it doesn't look super fake. The point to the brush allows you to apply product directly where you want it making it so effective and easy to use. If you have the spare money and contouring is something you would like to perfect I think its worth the investment.

Thanks for taking your time to read this blog post,

Kirsty xx