Hey guys,
I hope you're doing fantastically well.
I'm here with a very exciting blog post.
The idea came to me randomly when I was browsing Ebay.
I saw a lot of dupes of high-end products there as well as some original cheap products and I thought it would be interesting to try them out and tell you whether they are a good alternative for those of us who can't or don't want to spend the money on those products but want to get the effect that they would give.
DISCLAIMER: I will be referring to these products by the name of the original brand names but I am fully aware that they are (most likely) knock-offs or dupes.
Let's dig in.
First of all, I bought this brush set.
Price: £3.99
It consists of 10 brushes : 5 face ones and 5 smaller ones for eyes or small details.
They are synthetic with a wooden black handle and silver metal detailing.
They are all super soft and they feel very sturdy. The hairs don't fall out, don't irritate the skin and the handles don't wobble.
I found the face brushes to be fantastic. They distribute the product evenly and can be used in numerous ways. In addition, they can be used for both cream and powder products as they are synthetic and therefore they don't soak up the products.
The smaller brushes are good as well but not as great. My favourite one is the pointy detail brush. The issue I have with the others is the fact that the bristles are not very dense and therefore they do not apply very much product. However, this means that they blend well and are great for when you want to apply a wash of colour e.g. when applying highlighter or doing a quick everyday look.
I would definitely recommend these as the face brushes are fantastic and even if you don't use the eye brushes, it won't be a waste of money as the set is only about £5.
Rating: 4.5 out of 5
*Please excuse the fact that they're dirty. I used them for a tutorial which is coming soon right before taking the picture and I didn't have time to wash them.*
Next, I got the Kat Von D Shade & Light Eyeshadow Palette.
Price: £12.99
This palette includes 12 matte neutral shades in both cool and warm tones.
The shadows are quite well pigmented, smooth and blendable. However, they do kick up a lot of powder dust when they are picked up. In addition, the lighter shades don't show up super well especially on someone who is as pale as me.
The mirror and the packaging is of very good quality however
I have looked at swatches of the original Kat Von D palette and this seems to be not as pigmented as that one. Nonetheless, it is still a good palette but I think for the price Makeup Revolution Palettes are better and I would pick those over this one if I had to choose.
Rating: 3 out of 5
The subsequent item that I picked up is the Anastasia Beverly Hills Contour Kit in Light Medium.
Price: £10.99
This palette/kit includes 2 highlight shades: one pink and one yellow, a highlighter and 3 contouring/bronzing shades.
The shades are all pigmented, smooth and blendable. I will say that the highlighter (shimmery shade) is not as strong as I would like but it's pretty nonetheless. In addition, the packaging is of good quality and is sturdy.
The only downside to this product is that it does not come with a mirror which would have been handy. However, as far as I am aware the original doesn't come with a mirror either so I guess in that sense it's spot on with the original.
I would definitely recommend this product if you are looking for a good contour kit and/or if you want the original one but can't/don't want to spend money on it.
Rating: 4.5 out of 5
Next, I picked up the Too Faced Love Flush blush palette.
Price: £13.99
This palette includes 6 blushes, ranging from warm toned peachy shades to cool pinks and mauve purples.
All of the blushes are of great quality as they are are beautifully pigmented and bendable.
The packaging is super cute, light and sturdy and the mirror is of good quality.
Rating: 5 out of 5
I also picked up the Anastasia Beverly Hills Dipbrow Pomade in Medium Brown.
Price: £6.99
This products is fantastic! It actually does magic to my eyebrows. Well, maybe I'm exaggerating but it is great. It's easily to apply precisely, it's super long lasting and smudge proof. It also gets bonus points because I've been receiving an elevated amount of compliments on my eyebrows since I started using it.
Rating: 5 out of 5
I also got another product from ABH. This was the Glow Kit in Gleam.
Price: £13.99
This kit includes 4 highlighters: one pink one, one bronzing one and two cool tones ones. All of them are nicely pigmented and do not have any chunky glitter in them and give a glowy, healthy, wet appearance to the skin. However, the shades don't feel super buttery and soft when touches and feel quite dry instead
The packaging is sleek, light and sturdy but again it doesn't include a mirror which is inconveninent albeit accurate.
I would say that the Highlight Palette is just as good plus it includes shades that very more from each other (the two cooler shades are quite similar) and is a bit cheaper (£8) so I don't think this kit is a must have
Rating: 4.5 out of 5
Furthermore, I picked up the Too Faced Sweet Peach Palette.
Price: £13.99
OMG, I honestly can't believe this is not the real thing. The packaging and mirror are of the same quality as my original Too Faced Semi-Sweet Chocolate Bar Palette. The eyeshadows, are of the same quality too as they are also soft, blendable and pigmented albeit some are less pigmented but that is the same in the original palette. Plus, it smells like peaches!
Rating: 5 out of 5
My final purchase was the Kylie Lip Kits in Dolce K and True Brown K.
Price: True Brown K £8.50
Dolce K £12.50
This was a great find. These liquid lipsticks are pigmented, long lasting and not super drying. I will say that True Brown K is a little bit more patchy but after a couple of coats it looks even and stunning. They also smell like chocolate which is just delicious. In addition, Dolce K is super flattering on my pale skin and I've received numerous compliments on it but the one that stood out to me the most was one I received from an elderly lady who kept telling me how beautiful and flattering it looked on me which just warmed my heart.
The lipliners are super soft and pigmented too. I will say that the Dolce K liner is a lot more pink than the liquid lipstick but somehow when the liquid lipstick is layered over it it looks perfect.
However, I have a couple of bones to pick. First of all, they do not wear down in the best was as they just come of in the middle and stay completely put every where else which is not super problematic with a nude tone like Dolce K but True Brown K (wouldn't you know, it's brown!) it can end up looking pretty bad. Then again, that is common with most dark liquid lipsticks so I don't think it's a huge issue.
My biggest disappointed was the True Brown K lipliner as it is cracked in the middle so I can't use it as it just crumbles to pieces and it is impossible to sharpen. I believe that this is most likely are one-off dud as the Dolce K lipliner is fine but I thought it was worth mentioning anyhow.
Rating: 4.5 out of 5
I hope you enjoyed this post and that maybe you found something that caught your eye.
I'll see you next time.
Mollie
xxx
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