I just received my brushes, ordered Friday received Monday. The quality is just extra, I did not notice any unpleasant smell apart from the smell of new (may be an improvement over the old comments?), I was very surprised at the size of the smallest brush, haha true size travel! the smallest has a "handle" of 2.5cm! but very effective. For a first wash hair I lost 2 of the 10 brushes in total! I find them just as well that the Real Technique especially for their stunning price!