Oval Brush VS Buffing Brush - Which one is better?

Makeup is all about experimenting with different products and looks. The same applies when it comes to the tools you use to apply these products onto your face to create a desired look. You want something that performs amazing all around. The most favourited methods of application comes down between either using a sponge or a brush. For years I used my beloved buffing brush by Real Techniques to apply and blend my foundation onto my skin. Then the beauty blender craze came and I was hooked on using this damp sponge to apply my face products to achieve an airbrushed finish. But the most recent method of application I have been trying out has completely over taken the previous two application choices.

The oval brush has been popping up everywhere in the blogging world the past few months. They don't look like the typical makeup brush. Their size and shape are similiar to those of a hairbrush, but obviously made for your face. Do to their roundness as opposed to other brush shapes, this is what gives it the name oval. Many brands from the high end markets and lower end markets have brought out their own oval ranges with more famously known Artis Elite sets depending on size retailing at anywhere between £50-£400 and Mac's own range start at £28 per brush. Due to the expense of these brushes, a lot of more affordable brands have brought out their own oval brush ranges with Makeup Revolution with their sets and individual brushes costing under £20 and Primark's take on this style of brush has individual brushes for under £5. 

You can notice the huge difference in prices, but you might be wondering are they even worth it and how well do they perform compared to a normal standard brush? And does the price matter? Will you get a better performance from a more expensive range? Well keep on reading because I'm going to put my well loved Real Techniques buffing brush against Primark's oval brush. 

So let's start with the Real Techniques - Buffing Brush. This brush you can only get exclusively in the Real Techniques Core Collection. This is a great starter set for anyone wanting to try Real Techniques for the first time or just starting to get into makeup and you're after a great quality yet affordable brush set to start with. The buffing brush is ideal for full coverage application of powder and mineral foundations. Although I find using a liquid foundation works just as good this brush and I have no real problems at all. 

As you can probably tell, the buffing brush has quite a dense shape to it. This denseness helps to buff the foundation onto your skin and blend it out smoothly. The size really does help to make this brush easier to use and it also helps you to distribute the right amount of product evenly around your face. The bristles on this brush are also so smooth and feel soft on the skin. They feel of a high quality and I've never found any of them to break off even after owning this brush for four years. The only downside to using this brush for so long is that it does become harder to clean which can sometimes make the finish cakey and not as smooth. Also the writing on the side has worn, but can we really count that as a big negative to this brush? 

All around I really love this brush and it's evident as to why I have been using it for such a long time. It's a really great foundation brush to use to apply your product and achieve that much needed flawless finish to your face. 

If I love it so much, then why have I tried other tools and why am I putting it up against the oval?

Well... 

I had been wanting to try this style of brush for ages. I knew I didn't want to pay a lot since I wanted it to be an experiment and to see if it was an application I would prefer compared to a sponge or my buffing brush. I'd seen the Primark range popping up on Instagram and other bloggers posts for such a long time and was just waiting and waiting for the oval brushes to land in my local store. When they finally did, I jumped at the chance to try one out and once I did I completely loved how the brushes made my skin look. It was like these style of brushes were on another level compared to what I had been used to. 

Whilst the buffing brush had created an ease of use application and a even blend on my skin, and the beauty blender a natural airbrushed finish, the oval brush made my skin look radiant, healthy and flawless like no other brush or even product had before. I didn't have any cakiness appear on my skin and never found the finish to be uneven. It blended the product around my face well and made it look really good in particularly on bad skin days. The brush was also super smooth and light on my skin. It was like I would have never even noticed it was there when I was applying it around my face. I also really surprised myself when using the oval brush. I thought it would be hard to use as it wasn't what I was use to, but it is honestly so easy to use and when using circular motions you find it's almost soothing on the skin unlike the dense feel you get from the buffing brush.

The only negative I would have to mention is that mainly due to it being a more lower end product, I did find the plastic can be a little be a little flimsy if you use it too heavy handed. So it's best to be careful and use this brush lightly. Of course you'll probably avoid this all together if you went for a more higher end brush because the quality would be greater. But for Primark, what can you really expect? The performance of this brush definitely outweighs this con. Another thing is that it is more time consuming using this tool  because of how light and careful you have to be, but I definitely feel as if this contributes to that amazing finish you can achieve with the oval brush.

So which one do I prefer? 

It's clear to see that the buffing brush has been a firm favourite for my application process for many years now and one I went back to after the beauty blender craze. It's one I can always go to when I want a quick high finish application. But right now I think I definitely have fallen head over heals for the oval brush.  I love the whole concept behind this brush. It's a stand out brush amongst the other style of brushes within the market. I love how they look more luxurious and high quality just by a change in design and concept, but they also perform this way too so it's a big win. The oval brush I have due to it's average size could also be used for contouring and would make it a multi use product. 

If you haven't already tried out the oval brush tool for applying your makeup, then I would highly recommend that you do so. It's such an interesting switch in how you apply your makeup and the finish it produces is like nothing I've ever tried before. I can't fault it really and will be definitely trying out more for different areas of my makeup routine.

Have you tried any of the oval brushes yet? What are your thoughts? If not, would you be interested in doing so?

Lauren x