Hello!
I’ve recently been coming to terms with the fact that I need to spend a bit more on my makeup brushes, and even more importantly, actually learn what they are all for. So I’ve been scouring the internet for a good price on some Real Techniques brushes.
Why Real Techniques? Glad you asked. They have a great reputation, they’re pretty, I’ve seen Youtubers using them so I have at least a vague idea what they are all for, and I have a RT Miracle Sponge and it’s bloody lovely.
Pretty much instantly I noticed that depending on where you’re buying your brushes, you can end up paying almost twice as much as you needed to. So, like all modern girls, I made a spreadsheet.
| Real Techniques | LookFantastic | Feel Unique | Boots | Superdrug | Amazon | All Beauty | Justmylook | Fragrance Direct | Beauty Expert | Argos | |
| Eyes Starter Set | £13.37 | £16.79 | £20.99 | £21.99 | – | £11.89 | £12.95 | £12.95 | £18.99 | £16.79 | £19.99 |
| Flawless Base Set | £16.42 | £18.39 | £22.99 | £19.99 | £19.99 | £14.53 | £14.80 | £14.50 | – | £18.39 | – |
| Core Collection Kit | £9.85 | £16.79 | £20.99 | £21.99 | – | £13.95 | £13.95 | £13.90 | £18.99 | £16.79 | £19.99 |
| Sponge Twin Pack | £8.61 | £8.79 | £10.99 | £9.99 | £9.99 | £7.26 | £8.65 | £8.20 | – | £8.79 | £10.99 |
| Brow Set | £16.42 | 18.39 | £22.99 | £19.99 | £19.99 | £14.53 | £14.25 | £14.20 | – | £18.39 | – |
| Sculpting Set | £14.78 | £18.39 | £21.80 | – | £19.99 | £16.08 | £15.50 | £15.50 | – | £18.39 | – |
| Ultimate Base | £13.96 | – | £22.66 | – | £19.99 | – | – | – | – | – | – |
If it isn’t obvious, a hyphen means the site was out of stock, or never stocked the set in question. Prices in bold are the cheapest I found for the product in question. Prices correct as of 02/11/2017.
So we’re comparing the cost of seven different Real Techniques sets (normal ones, nothing limited edition or fancy), at 11 different online retailers. But this isn’t as simple as how much each set is listed for, otherwise we’d all be racing over to realtechniques.com, when in reality, if you’re a UK resident that’s the last thing you want to be doing.
Below I’m going to detail the best and worst of these sites, and any deals they’re offering. Plus the secret bundle deals that blow all this out of the water!
The Gritty Details
Realtechniques.com
Real Techniques’ own site doesn’t add VAT until checkout, and seems to be shipping from the US. That £9.85 core collection and £13.37 starter set doesn’t look so great once you add them to your bag and realise they’re actually going to cost you over £36, and that’s before we factor in the £15 in customs charges!
LookFantastic and Feel Unique
LookFantastic may look fantastic (aha. ha.) but those prices are part of a 20% off deal that’s limited time only, but they’re doing better than Feel Unique so props to them. If you spend £25 on the brushes at Feel Unique, you get some free brush cleaner. Exciting. If you manage to spend £120 on their site they’ll give you this beauty bag. Worth it if you’ve gotta buy a lot of beauty gifts this winter.
Boots and Superdrug
Boots and Superdrug both include most of the sets listed here in their respective 3 for 2 offers. Superdrug are offering this deal on almost all of their cosmetics, plus you get a free key ring. Boots seem to be offering it on almost all their cosmetics too, but no free key rings, and it doesn’t cover their luxury beauty (Benefit, Clinique, Lancome etc) but does cover Smashbox!
The others
Amazon is the cheapest place to buy two of the sets, and the rest are only a few pennies off. Plus they’re all eligible for Prime, which is great.
The last place I’m going to comment on is Justmylook, which has overall the best prices. But that’s not all. Here’s the secret treat for all of you who made it this far, they have some insane bundle deals….
This is £26.90 from Justmylook. It contains a starter set, core collection, and brush cleanser.
From other stores this combination would cost:
Boots: £43.98 (using 3 for 2)
Feel Unique: £48.97
Amazon: £30.57
This is the one I bought. It’s £29.99 from Justmylook, and contains a core set, starter set, brush cleanser, and miracle complexion sponge.
This combo would set you back:
Amazon £35
£51.48 from Boots (incl. 3 for 2!)
£44 from Look Fantastic
£55 from Feel Unique.
This bundle is £36.95 and swaps out the eye starter set for the enhanced eye set. This contains an eye shadow, crease, fine liner, and shading brush, as well as a lash separator. (For reference the starter set contains a crease, base, accent, fine liner, and brow brush, and honestly I think I prefer that.)
I’m not going to work out how much this would cost everywhere, because I wasn’t originally recording the price of the enhanced eye set, and I can’t be bothered to go back through all eleven sites working out who has it in stock and how much it costs and if there any deals on it etc. It’s probably a good deal though. Apparently it’s worth £58, which sounds about right.
To top this off Justmylook also carry other great brands, like Urban Decay, LA Girl, Milani, Dermacol, the Balm, etc. They also offer free, tracked, 48 hour delivery, on all orders.
The take home message here is that whatever you’re buying, shop around.
Here are my top tips:
- Visit 10+ different shops. Repeat following steps for each.
- Add everything you want to your basket.
- Start through the checkout process to find out exactly what all this stuff will cost you (I’m looking at you, realtechniques.com!)
- Always google for discount codes. Always.
- Abandon your cart for a few days, and enjoy all the emails offering you 15-20% off to finish your order.
University drop-out, pretend artist, makeup enthusiast. Uses too many brackets when writing. Can’t be stopped.
[…] take into account Just My Look already sells stuff pretty heavily discounted. It’s the site I got a huge Real Techniques bundle from (two sets, cleaner, and sponges), for close to half the RRP – they’re still doing that […]
That’s some great tips Leah. It’s definitely worth doing so when hunting for new makeup brushes