Once upon a time, when I was a small Megan, I applied my makeup thusly: foundation with fingers, blush with the teensy brush that came in the compact, mascara via mascara wand, chapstick straight from tube.  Obvious problems there – primary of which is that if I went out in that much makeup now, people would think I had consumption.  But aside from the fact that apparently I am fading like a flower, what the hell is with that teensy brush they give you? My cheeks are quite a generous portion of my face, while that brush was doll-size.

My search for a better tool than these stubby fingers has eventually led me to this point – trialling makeup brushes I heard about on Youtube.  Real Techniques (by Samantha Chapman) came to my attention because I watch makeup tutorials by Sam, and her sister Nic, on their Youtube channel pixiwoo.  I then went on a jaunt to Sydney last year and came across the brushes in Priceline.  In my insanity, I bought one.  I knew you couldn’t get them in New Zealand, yet I only bought one *shakes head in disappointment with self’s inability to make good decisions*.

Well, I think I can sum up this review by saying: I now own 11.

These brushes are extraordinarily good.  They’re all synthetic, which is nice for our vegetarian and vegan buddies, with aluminium handles.  The base of the handles is flat, which means you can stand the brushes up.  I find this super handy when I am at the gym and don’t want to lie my brushes on the benches and then rub them all over my face.

I have not experienced any shedding with these brushes and they re-shape perfectly after washing.  They haven’t stained and they dry very quickly.  I absolutely love the expert face brush and the buffing brush for applying foundation, and the detailer brush, base shadow brush, and deluxe crease brush are perfect for every kind of eyeshadow application I need to do.  The bristles are beautifully soft and dense and the handles are just the right length and balance in my hand (even with the heavier rubberised bases).

They are also incredibly price-competitive.  I have the following (prices in USD):

• the blush brush: $9
• the expert face brush: $9
• the core collection set* (detailer brush, pointed foundation brush, buffing brush, contour brush): $18
• the starter set for eyes (base shadow brush, deluxe crease brush, accent brush, pixel-point eyeliner brush, brow brush): $18

That means I have spent approximately $NZ65 on 11 brushes, or a little less than $6 per brush.  I also spent $15 on shipping, so let’s say $80. Let’s compare that to the brushes that I consider are similar in terms of accessibility – the Manicare brushes available at Farmers.  If you had $80 to spend on those brushes you could buy:

• the foundation brush: $26.99
• the angled blush brush: $22.49
• the powder brush: $27.99

…and you’d have $2.50 in change. You’d also have three brushes which, in my opinion, just are not as good as the Real Techniques brushes (and I do own a couple of the Manicare brushes, purchased before I discovered Real Techniques and my powder brush STILL sheds after three years!).

Seriously, I cannot emphasise enough how great my experience with these brushes has been.  If you have been considering buying some entry-level makeup brushes but thought MAC was too expensive (because you guys, you can spend hundreds on brushes if

you go top of the line**) then I strongly recommend buying just one set of these and seeing how you like them.  I’m already planning my next little order…

You can purchase the Real Techniques brushes at: www.iherb.com.  You can also check out the Real Techniques website (link above) for tutorials and detailed information about the brushes and sets.

*The sets also come with handy brush cases that turn into a stand.

**please note: definitely not implying MAC brushes are top of the line.  If you want a nice sense of what brushes can cost, look up the Tom Ford, Suqqu and Hakuhodo brushes. Yikes!

Look, I had my legs out today and I didn’t need a jacket. That’s summer around these parts, so I am going to write this post and knock on wood, because if I don’t get to start wearing my nice summer shoes and dresses soon then I may cry.

The great thing about winter is being able to hide under layers of clothing and blame the wind and lack of sunlight for your pallid girl-from-Twilight complexion. But those days are over, and now you may want to defoliate, exfoliate, and paint those toesies a pretty colour. If not, then you are going to have way more time than me this summer to make cocktails and organise pool parties. I salute you.

If however, like me, you wish to have a (fake) tan and just generally have an excuse to buy fun new things from our friends at Farmers, please read on.

Summer = tan. But tan = early death. So the first product in my summer arsenal is always fake tan. I’ve used Piz Buin a lot, since my Mum used to use it and introduced me to it, but since the arrival of gradual tans things have gotten a lot more convenient. So much so that I don’t think I would trust myself to do a proper fake tan job now. I’m currently using:

Now, the colour is good, it’s non-streaky, I don’t mind the smell too much,

but the spray thing is useless. I spray it into my hand and then apply (I paid good money, I will use it up). So it might pay not to buy the gimmicky spray version.

In summer I also want to look well-rested and “glowy”. Get ready for my number one product of all time (and not just summer, all year round) – I recommend this product 100%. It is:

This is the Maybelline Dream Touch Lumi concealer. It is wonderful. It brightens, it doesn’t crease, and it’s basically the best concealer I have ever used. It makes me look awake even when I’ve had five hours of sleep.

For additional glowy-ness, I recommend a good highlighter. This product is ridiculous, I know. But trust when I say that it does make a difference for night-time “yes, I look naturally fabulous” makeup. The one I love is discontinued (dang it, Natio) but for overall glowy-making goodness, I hear Mac’s Strobe Cream is good. Someone try it and tell me whether I should buy it.

This summer has a very distinct beauty trend, which I plan to embrace whole-heartedly, even though I think beauty trends are dumb. Get the chapstick out girls and drink plenty of water because it’s time for a bright coloured lipstick. My personal summer selection is:

Revlon's Love that Red

Rimmel Funtime Fuschia

Chi Chi Lah de Dah

Yup. Red, hot pink, and a lipstick that is bright orange regardless of the outrageously poor photo quality above.

We gotta look after the tresses and with my curly mop this is particularly important. I already use Kerastase’s Ultime product which I highly recommend. It smells amazing and it is the reason I haven’t had a cut in 6 months and don’t have any split ends. Hooray! Summer is a great time to start using a good quality conditioning product as your hair gets pretty dry from the sun and salt water combo. V05 oil treatments are really good too, and are super cheap times which is cool if you have masses of hair.

Finally, don’t forget the sunblock on your face AND your decolletage at a minimum, and break out the waterproof mascara because you never know when an impromptu after-work swim will happen. Have a FAB time this summer and remember that having fun and enjoying all the good stuff out there is what will really enhance how gorge you are!