Real Techniques Bold Metals Brushes ($15.99 to $25.99) is a new, permanent collection of synthetic brushes. There are seven brushes in all–three for eyes, four for face–and they come with either silver, rose gold, and gold-hued handles. The brush heads are primarily white that fades to color at the base. I haven’t played with these for more than a couple of days, so I don’t have too many thoughts to share, but here are some initial impressions:

• Some of the shapes seem more specific, so if you prefer brushes that can be used for a variety of things, or are only building your collection, you may want to shop in person.
• The #200 and #201 brushes are quite large (almost covering my entire eyelid), so they are better for looks that only consist of one or two eyeshadows.
• The handles hold fingerprints easily, and they always look dirty to me as a result (smudges everywhere). The handles are also very long and taper towards the tip, and they are faceted, to prevent rolling off tables and counter tops.
• I noticed some very small nicks and dents throughout the collection, and the brushes themselves could have been cut better–there were a few obvious fibers that extended past the general shape of the brush. The handles don’t feel as weighty as I would have expected, though they don’t feel so lightweight that they feel cheap, but I’ll have to play and hold them more to get a better sense of weight as well as balance.
• They seem soft enough, but once I’m able to use more of them and for longer, I’ll have a better grasp on how soft, relative to the type of application, and things of that nature. I did compare the large powder brush to Make Up For Ever’s #128 (which is a go-to powder brush for me and also synthetic), and the Make Up For Ever bristles were noticeably softer–I was curious if these would be some of the softest/smoothest synthetics on the market.
• I look forward to seeing how the contour brush works with cream contours (I’ve only used it with powder so far), as well as trying out the triangle foundation brush to see how it fits in the nooks and crannies of the face.

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Real Techniques Bold Metals Brushes

Real Techniques Bold Metals Brushes

Real Techniques #100 Arched Powder Brush

Real Techniques #100 Arched Powder Brush

Real Techniques #100 Arched Powder Brush

Real Techniques #100 Arched Powder Brush

Real Techniques #100 Arched Powder Brush

Real Techniques #100 Arched Powder Brush

Real Techniques #100 Arched Powder Brush

Real Techniques #101 Triangle Foundation Brush

Real Techniques #101 Triangle Foundation Brush

Real Techniques #101 Triangle Foundation Brush

Real Techniques #101 Triangle Foundation Brush

Real Techniques #101 Triangle Foundation Brush

Real Techniques #101 Triangle Foundation Brush

Real Techniques #101 Triangle Foundation Brush

Real Techniques #200 Oval Shadow Brush

Real Techniques #200 Oval Shadow Brush

Real Techniques #200 Oval Shadow Brush

Real Techniques #200 Oval Shadow Brush

Real Techniques #200 Oval Shadow Brush

Real Techniques #201 Pointed Crease Brush

Real Techniques #201 Pointed Crease Brush

Real Techniques #201 Pointed Crease Brush

Real Techniques #201 Pointed Crease Brush

Real Techniques #201 Pointed Crease Brush

Real Techniques #202 Angled Liner Brush

Real Techniques #202 Angled Liner Brush

Real Techniques #202 Angled Liner Brush

Real Techniques #202 Angled Liner Brush

Real Techniques #202 Angled Liner Brush

Real Techniques #202 Angled Liner Brush

Real Techniques #300 Tapered Blush Brush

Real Techniques #300 Tapered Blush Brush

Real Techniques #300 Tapered Blush Brush

Real Techniques #300 Tapered Blush Brush

Real Techniques #300 Tapered Blush Brush

Real Techniques #300 Tapered Blush Brush

Real Techniques #301 Flat Contour Brush

Real Techniques #301 Flat Contour Brush

Real Techniques #301 Flat Contour Brush

Real Techniques #301 Flat Contour Brush

Real Techniques #301 Flat Contour Brush

Real Techniques #301 Flat Contour Brush