ARTIS BRUSHES VS. REAL TECHNIQUES VS. MARSHALLS BRUSHES | THE BEST DUPES
Watch it also on YouTube!
The handle:
I was really surprised to see that the real Artis makeup brush handles are made out of plastic! Honestly: I was expecting that they are made out of metal! The elite mirror edition is made out of very light-weight silver plastic, that doesn´t exactly feel very sturdy or expensive and has this middle white rubber part, that helps that the brush doesn´t slip out of your hands (but this white part also gets very easy dirty from makeup residue and is harder to clean).
My Marshalls brushes (the rose-gold ones on the pics) also have cheap plastic handles, but without the rubber part. They also feel quite cheap in your hands! ;-)
The new Real Techniques blend & blur brush handles are also made out of plastic- yet they feel so much sturdier than the Artis or Marshalls brushes. They remind me on the Artis Makeup BrushCraft Collection (the more affordable line by Artis) with the matte black look. These don´t feel cheap in your hands: they feel substantial and almost heavy.
My winner: Real Techniques!
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| top: Real Techniques Blend & Blur Contour brush ($16.99) middle: Artis Elite Mirror Oval 6 ($57) bottom: Marshalls (set of 3 brushes was $16.99) |
The look:
The Artis brushes (white silver in the middle above) look nice- nothing too fancy though. I think what makes them fancy is that we know, how expensive they are! LOL!
The Marshalls brushes (rose-gold in the bottom above) look super elegant in my opinion! The rose-gold handles are gorgeous (yes, they FEEL cheap, but they LOOK good hehe!)- don´t you think?
I would not exactly say that the Real Techniques makeup brushes (black above) look elegant, but they look better than some of their other brushes (pink or purple? Why these colors, RT?). If only Real Techniques would step up the look of their brushes (OK, the Bold Metals do look good!)- because the quality of the brushes is amazing!
My winner: my personal winner are surely the Marshalls brushes, because I love the rose-gold handles! But this is of course a question of taste... and you can´t fight about taste! ;-)
The bristles:
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| from left to right: Marshalls, Real Techniques, Artis, Marshalls. |
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| from left to right: Real Techniques, Artis, Marshalls |
The Artis bristles are super dense and very soft and I experienced absolute no shedding. I absolutely love them!
I have had slight shedding in the beginning with my Marshalls brushes- considering the price though, I found this really not a big deal. I´d say overall from 3 brushes each one lost maybe 3-5 hairs. After your first wash, this problem should be resolved!
I have not experienced any shedding whatsoever with my Real Techniques Blend & Blur brushes. They feel super soft and wonderful.
My winner: all 3 brushes feel super soft and are using synthetic fibers, but since the Marshalls brushes were shedding a bit, I say this is a tie between Artis and RT!
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| on the left: Artis Artis Elite Mirror Linear 1 ($36), on the right: Marshalls (set of 3 was $16.99) |
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| in the front: Marshalls, in the back: Artis Elite Mirror Linear 1 |
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| left: Artis Elite Mirror Oval 3 ($41), on the right: Real Techniques Blend & Blur Crease Brush ($12.99) |
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| on the left: Artis Elite Mirror Oval 3, on the right: RT Blend & Blur Crease Brush |
The price:
Artis brushes are expensive y'all! The set of 3 brushes that I have retails for $105, if bought individually they are $36 + $57 + $41! Wow!
The Marshalls makeup brush set containing 3 makeup brushes was only $16.99!
The Real Techniques brushes retail for $12.99- $19.99. Amazing prices!
My winner: obviously Marshalls brushes! For $16.99 you get a whole set of brushes!
Overall winner:
Honestly, I have tried all these makeup brushes now many times for many weeks, have washed them multiple times and I was expecting that the Artis brushes must perform so much better than cheaper versions... however I find that this isn´t true...
I think what overall really matters, is the shape and size of the brush and for what you need it (foundation, powder, eyeshadow?). So, when choosing any of these brushes, just make sure you buy the size, that fits your needs.
For example: I personally don´t like the Real Techniques Blend & Blur crease brush- the shape just isn´t working for me at all- though I am overall a fan of this new Blend & Blur line and absolutely say these are great dupes for Artis brushes.
I also don´t like my Marshalls Linear brush, because it is way too big for my tiny eyes, but I still say that these Marshalls brushes are very good!
What I am trying to say is that not the brand matters, but the size and shape does!
I find that I can apply my foundation just as even and smooth with the Artis Mirror Oval 6 ($57) than with the RT Blend & Blur Contour brush ($12.99) or even the Marshalls brush (set of 3 for $16.99). Yes, the Marshalls brush was shedding a tiny bit in the beginning, but therefore it was so much cheaper!
I guess it is a tie between Real Techniques and Marshalls! Marshalls has a wide variety of packs of brushes, many under $20 and although I have only tried the rose-gold version by "Innovation Beauty", I can honestly say: for the price, but also the quality (minus a little bit of shedding) and the look these are surely amazing.
Even if in the long run the Artis brushes will hold up for years and I have to throw my Marshalls brushes away at some point: I am just not sure the price of the Artis brushes is really justified...
I did a "blind" test with the brushes too! My eyes were closed and my husband would randomly swipe the brushes on my face to make me guess, which brush he was using. Guess what: I felt no difference of the brushes- except that I could sometimes narrow it down due to the size of the brush.
Quick summary:
- 2 points for Real Techniques (for the handle and the bristles)
- 2 points for Marshalls (the look and the price)
- 1 point for Artis (for the bristles)
You can´t go wrong with any of them in my opinion- just the Artis brushes will cost you more, than you might need to spend! ;-)
BTW right now there is bogo at Ulta for Real Techniques brushes!
