Hi Ladies! The popular Real Techniques brand has launched a new metallic look — which feels very Abba Gold-disco — with a few new (and funky) toe shapes.
Being sold exclusively at Ulta in the US and Boots in the UK, the new metallic Bold Metals Collection by Real Techniques is quite reminiscent of a style of brush Sephora did a while back, with pointy toes that slid into a unique holder. It was called the SEPHORA COLLECTION 24 Karat Gold Mine Brush Set and it sold for $45.
While there’s no special holder here, we do note some interesting toe shapes, like a triangle foundation brush. The prices are also a little higher than standard Real Techniques brushes – like almost twice the price.
The Bold Metals 101 Triangle Foundation Brush, for example, retails for $23.99 at Ulta, while the other foundation brushes sold by the brand are under $10.
There’s also a color-coding thing for this 7-brush collection, even though it only has a few brushes:
- Gold = Base
- Platinum = Eye
- Rose Gold = Finish
The triangle is the most unique of the new toe shapes. Of the toe, the brand says:
Real Techniques Bold Metals Triangle Foundation Brush.
“The largest of the three sides is ideal to cover large areas of the face. Use the cross-hatching technique to blend the product into the skin for full coverage. The 2 angled sides can be used for full coverage under eye, and for blending seamlessly around the nose. The pointed tip is an added bonus for spot coverage. Since the brush has 3 sides you can use 3 colors, and still blend flawlessly.”
We’re curious what people think about this triangle-foundation-sponge-turned-brush approach, but so far, the customers at Ulta aren’t buying it. As of time of this writing, the brushes received 2.8 stars out of a possible 5. And some customers are so-not happy.
Eatsushi on Ulta’s comment board writes: “I bought every single one of these brushes, and they’re not that nice, they’re prettier then the original ones, but I like the quality of the older version 100 times better, the brushes are rough, especially the triangle brush, it streaks and it’s scratchy on the face. pay a little bit more …”
Which just goes to show you that fiber quality really, really matters, and you should be suspicious of clever packaging. According to the “staff expert” at Ulta: these brushes feature “synthetic bristles made of PBT, a form of Taklon.”
As we’ve written here before, Taklon is an older synthetic brush fiber that, some experts say, does not pick up or apply product as well as some of the newer fibers on the market, such as PTT, Natrafil or Taiki’s Tafre.
For the price, and we’re going to add it up here below, you can absolutely do better than this collection. Unless you’re buying on looks alone. Which is a thing for some people.
Here we go:
- Bold Metals 101 Triangle Foundation Brush. $23.99.
- Bold Metals 100 Arched Powder Brush. $25.99.
- Bold Metals 301 Flat Contour Brush. $25.99.
- Bold Metals 300 Tapered Blush Brush. $23.99.
- Bold Metals 201 Pointed Crease Brush. $15.99.
- Bold Metals 200 Oval Shadow Brush. $15.99.
- Bold Metals 202 Angled Liner Brush. $15.99.
The grand total for this is $147.93. Which is — holy smokes — honestly quite a lot for this brand and the type of brush fiber used. Check out our brush sets here for a better value.
You will notice if you watch the videos below that many of the reviewers mention the high prices of these brushes for the brand. I should also note, as one of the reviewers notes, quite transparently, that she is partnering with Ulta on her video. You might want to consider that the other video reviewers are doing the same …
This isn’t the first time Real Techniques has (arguably) had a dud brush set. I bought a white Limited Edition Duo Fiber brush set by Real Techniques a while back, and while I thought they were very pretty, and even uniquely pretty, they were some of the worst brushes I had used in years for actual application. It was really disappointing, despite the relatively cheap price, because I really liked the handles and their tactile feel so much. But the brush fiber was very disappointing.
You can get more information on Real Techniques Bold Metals set, which launched in mid-January, here.
Sarah A. Webster
My Brush Betty