Up until a few weeks ago I had sworn allegiance to the Sigma F80 Flat Top Kabuki Brush to apply my foundation. I had used it for the past 18 months, even brought a back up, and couldn’t imagine using anything else to smother foundation over my face every morning. Before that I painted my foundation on with what really was a glorified Superdrug paint brush, but at the time I didn’t know any different. It made my foundation look streaky, cakey and never really fully blended it into the skin fully, so when I discovered the Sigma F80 it was like a gift from God. However a few weeks ago I decided to purchase something that I thought may give the Sigma F80 a run for it’s money, and you know what it certainly did. In fact my new Real Techniques Stippling Brush has well and truly knocked it off the top spot! You may have seen me pick up the Real Techniques Stippling Brush in a recent haul where I expressed my upset at it’s awful shedding. Loads of you said that it must be a dodgy one so I sent it back for a replacement and I’m happy to say you guys were right – one hair has not shed from it yet and I’ve been using it constantly for the past 2 weeks. Seen as these are the 2 of the most popular foundation brushes on the market I thought I’d give them a little comparison.
The main difference between the 2 is in terms of bristle density, the bristles of the Sigma F80 are all the same length, much more tightly packed and there are more of them, whereas the real techniques is a typical duo-fibre brush with longer and shorter bristles and less of them. The dense bristles are the major downfall of the Sigma F80, it is an absolute beyatch to clean. They are both quite similar in terms of size although the Sigma F80 is slightly wider and the Real Techniques one has an uber annoying ‘stands on it’s own’ base, which makes it impossible to fit into my makeup brush cup. They are also pretty similar in price; both of these are stocked on the love-makeup website and I think the Sigma F80 usually retails for around £12 (although it is out of stock at the moment), and the Real Techniques Stippling Brush is £10.99. Good news though, from the 15th February, the Real Techniques brushes will be available in larger Boots stores – whoop! The real difference between them is the application of liquid foundation. I will always hold a special place in my heart for the Sigma F80, it has certainly helped me to perfect my foundation application, but compared to the Real Techniques Stippling Brush it now just feels a little heavy handed. As the brush is quite thick and dense, you have to use quite a stamping motion, whereas the Real Techniques brush is much more gentle and requires a more delicate technique. It’s like comparing a punch in the face, to a light tickle – I know which one I’d rather! My foundation once applied just looks much more airbrushed when I use the Real Techniques brush and I feel like I need to use less product as it doesn’t suck it up as much.
So I guess you could say I’m a Real Techniques convert. In fact I’ll let you in on a little secret – I went to IMAT’s on Saturday and purchased all 3 of the sets! Yep all 3, so I’m now the proud owner of the Eye Essentials, Base Essentials and Core Collection Real Techniques Brush sets. Â There was quite a good discount – about 25%, so I decided to treat myself. I’m completely kitted out! I used them for the first time this morning and I’m liking them so far. As always I’ll keep you updated 🙂
Comments