For me, Real Techniques have always been one of the best makeup brush brands on the high street. Not only are they affordable but they're great quality and last incredibly well. After the launch of their more premium collection, Bold Metals, I was wondering if the core collection might take a back seat but I'm glad to say I was wrong as they've just released the fantastic Sculpting Set.

 

Contouring has been a massive trend over the past couple of years and the Sculpting Set is going to be your new brush BFF if you're looking to highlight and contour. It's a three brush set - two are new and one is a reissue - with a setting brush, fan brush and a sculpting brush.

My favourite of the three is the Sculpting Brush which is the perfect shape and size to help get a chiselled cheekbone look. It has short, densely packed bristles which allow you to work with creams and powders, blending the product in for a natural finish. Because of the bristles, it does work a little better with cream products than powders, and it fits perfectly in the hollows of your cheekbones.

The Fan Brush is great for when you want a very light application of any kind of powder product. The shape and density of the bristles means that this only picks up a light amount of product each time, so if you're worried about over-doing things then this will be a great brush to have. Sweep it over cheeks for a natural blusher flush or for applying highlighter to the tops of your cheekbones.

While the Setting Brush might be a reissue, I think it's a great brush to have. It's the perfect size to apply a small amount of powder to help set your makeup and it's soft enough not to disturb your foundation underneath when you use it. The shape also means you can easily get in to smaller areas around your nose without any issue at all.

Like the rest of Real Techniques' brushes, these have all been colour coded to help make finding the right brush easy; the Sculpting Set all feature pink metallic handles which definitely makes them stand out from the rest of the brushes in my collection! The bristles are the usual cruelty free synthetic hairs which really seem to wear well and last forever so although these might be a more budget option, there's definitely no scrimping on quality.
The Sculpting Set is available now from Superdrug and costs £20.99. 

The stick design and cream formula makes these a great bet for people in a hurry or for those who aren't quite sure where to start with contouring. The Sculpting Contour is the perfect size for the under cheekbone area - suck those cheeks in and run the Chubby Stick down from the middle of your ear to about halfway down your cheek and blend upwards using your fingers. 

Benefit’s Roller Lash is described as being a super-curling and lifting mascara, and is billed as being ‘a curl’s best friend’. What makes Roller Lash so innovative is its ‘Hook n’ Roll’ brush which has custom-designed hooks to help catch, lift and curl every single lash. The formulation is supposedly ‘lightweight’ and is able to hold a curl for up to 12 hours. The brush is definitely unique to any other mascara I’ve tried although interestingly enough, Maybelline’s new Lash Sensational Mascara’s wand is very, very similar although there are no hooks on the wand like Roller Lash. 

I am fully aware mascara is such a personal product that will work for some people, and not for others but never have I been so impressed by a mascara with the first application especially as mascaras are never the best when new.. I find that they improve a few weeks after opening, when the formula has dried out a little.

The bristles are really well spaced out, thus being able to catch, coat and comb through every single lash so every lash is coated but combed out too to stop any spidery clumps forming. I was more than impressed with just one coat, but I have tried layering to two and three coats which is does really well if you prefer more statement lashes. It somehow magically curls every single lash so you can see them which is a flippin’ miracle for me and my straight pitiful lashes as you can’t normally see them. Once applied to the lashes, the amazing curl stays in place throughout the day without it crumbling and smudging onto my lower lashline which makes my sensitive eyes very happy.

What's your favourite mascara?