Ok, we’re at that point in the year again – new season means time to take stock of your makeup and beauty tools and see what you have, need to get rid of or need to replace. You’ve probably read a few times that a good set of brushes goes a long way in getting the most out of your makeup products. Here are two sets I’m recommending to get yourself up to speed.

There’s a new line amongst us called REAL TECHNIQUES. It was founded by vlogger/blogger/makeup artist Samantha Chapman after seeing a void in the area of makeup brushes. She wanted to create a line of brushes that were high-tech, high quality and $-friendly and at the same time easy and straight forward to use. The aluminum handles are color coated for easy identifying on the makeup table and the bristles are made of taklon so they are cruelty-free.

They have individual brushes and sets but if you are doing an overall update of your brushes, I would go for the Travel Essentials Set. It’s 3 full size brushes and the really unique stand up case that you can see on the outside case – Essential Foundation Brush, Multi-Task Brush and Domed Shadow Brush.Nicely priced for $15.99 @ bedbathandbeyond.com.

The other set of tools I recommend is SEPHORA's Advance Airbrush Set ($65 @ sephora.com). It's a nice value for your buck at $65 for the set and case - that’s breaks down to $13 a brush!! Each is vegan, as well as the case, and inside is the following brush staples: Airbrush Powder (flat powder), Airbrush Precision Foundation, Airbrush Concealer, Airbrush Crease and Airbrush Shadow. Why do they call this an airbrush collection? Still don’t know but maybe it has to do with the softness of the bristles on the skin? Ok, probably not but they are super. Synthetic can be soft!

Disclosure: Samples of these items were provided for review purposes.