Real Techniques Starter Kit- DUPE BRUSHES?!

It's no secret, Real Techniques brushes have recently become huge. And for some people, the price tag on them may be slightly too much. Personally I have nothing against them myself, in fact, I have a fair few myself and love them! I have recently purchased the Starter Kit (which I got for an amazing deal!) but before purchasing it, I'd actually ordered a set off eBay from an unnamed brand. (The eBay Set). 

I feel I have found some very good brushes at a price anyone could afford. Although my set from eBay was only £3.40, and had free P+P, I did have to wait roughly two weeks for them. But I was chuffed with the quality when they came. On the other hand, my Real Techniques set also came from eBay, but I actually only paid £9.00 for the whole set, also with free P+P, and was here within 3 days. The only reason I got them so cheap was because I had a £10.00 off voucher, otherwise I probably wouldn't have brought them. 

Above is the Real Techniques starter kit, containing (from left to right) Deluxe Crease Brush, Base Shadow Brush, Brow Brush, Accent Brush and Pixel-Point Eyeliner Brush.

Above is my set from eBay. From left to right Precision Round Brush, Precision Angled Brush, Precision Flat Brush and Precision Tapered Brush. 

There are many differences with both sets, firstly, there were only four brushes in my unnamed set. There is also a wider range in the Real Techniques kit. But the similarities below are clear in my eyes. 

Firstly, the Base Shadow Brush from Real Techniques (the purple one) and the Precision Round from eBay. Both of these brushes fit the same purpose of applying shadow all over the lid. The Real Techniques one being much fluffier, leaving a softer finish, but the unnamed brand is much more compact, meaning you can really pile the shadow on to the lid. 

Secondly, the Real Techniques Deluxe Crease Brush and the unnamed brand Precision Angled Brush. Again, the Real Techniques is much fluffier compared to the unnamed brand, but to be honest, I prefer that the unnamed brand has a slight angle to it. This means you can quickly blend darker shadow in to the outer corner, but the more you work with it, the softer the shadow. 

Finally, the Real Techniques Accent Brush and the unnamed brand Precision Tapered brush. This time, the Real Techniques Brush is by far superior. I love to use this on a darker eye, as you can really pack on dark shadow to the outer corner. The Tapered Brush from the unnamed brand is a little too big for 'precision'! 

Thank you for taking the time to read this post. I'm aware that these are not exact dupes, but they are a good affordable alternative, and I wanted to share a very good set of brushes which will do the job for any eye look. They are all very soft, and synthetic so easy to maintain.

Thanks again! :)

A Focus on Barry M Cosmetics

Like most girls, I have always had a  love for a good nail polish. I've been buying Barry M Nail Paint for years now, and still remember the first shade I purchased. Although this post will be more of a focus on their make up range. I have 41 Nail Paints now (yes, I counted!) so I will hopefully post later about those, as I have a true love for them.

The first product I'm going to talk about is the Natural Dazzle Bronzing Powder. I purchased this when I had actually gone to Selfridge's in search of the Nars duo with Orgasm and Laguna. When I was told it was not sold in store, I didn't really want to leave with two full size products. Later on in Boots I found this. It was on offer, so it was coming home with me. As you can see, it is a matte shade. It's perfect for everyday and I use this to contour and on my temples every morning with an Avon angled brush. It leaves a really natural, but bronzed look. I also love that this is so easy to blend I don't end up with huge brown lines! For £5.99 I feel it is very affordable!

 The next product is one I always go back to, their blushes. I went to purchase my go to shade, bl7, but my Superdrug had sold out :( I decided to push myself and go for quite a bright and daring shade. Something I would normally steer clear of. This is a good dupe for Nars Orgasm in my eyes, and I have been considering buying it for a while! It does come out quite sheer, and gives the tint you'd expect, but it is very buildable and can create a very bold cheek. This retails for £4.59, well worth it as my previous ones have lasted 6 months and even comes with a small brush that I don't use. 

I feel this product is the most exciting of them all, the new Natural Glow Palette. I actually ran down to the shops the day this was released, and probably looked like a mad woman smiling to myself at the Barry M stand.

The palette contains 6 neutral eye shadow shades and a blush. The first 3 being the warmer browns. These were the reason I brought the palette. I have used these both day to day, in a neutral look and built them up for quite a bold eye. They are all very wearable, but can be built up to a softer smokey eye. They blend so well, and I would really recommend them. This was my first experience using Barry M eyeshadow, the pigmentation is very wearable, and has quite a good pay off if you build them up.

The last 3 shades are the softer, cooler tones. They are quite pink, so are the almost 'your eyes but better' shades. I don't really wear these, but sometimes use the pink/white in my inner corner and use a small bit of the purple in my crease to create a soft look but also to contour the eye. This retails for £6.49, which is a steal in my eyes!

The liquid eye liner, which retails for £4.79. I normally steer clear of liquid eye liner and tend to stick to the felt tip applicators if I am going to use it. This was actually one of my birthday presents from my boyfriend, which at first I thought, oh shit, I don't use this! But thankfully I fell in love with it, so thank you for the big push! I mainly tend to use this when I do quite a dark eye, and use a very thin line. The applicator is very pointy, but not too sharp, so you can get a really defined line. You can also build it up. The pigmentation is amazing, after one stroke you're done as it's just so black! 

Next are the Lip Glosses. I only own two of these, as I can become a bit of a lip gloss hoarder, so I do have to hold myself back! These come with the standard doe foot applicator. The pink one is lgw4, and I have to admit, this is not what I expected. I foolishly picked this up one day without swatching, thinking it's be a nice, sheer pink. I was wrong. The swatch on the left shows it comes out exactly the colour it is in the tube. Although I have found this is good to wear over bright lip sticks for work, and it gives them a milky look. The clear, glittery one is absolutely stunning, and I wear it both on its own and over lipstick. Unfortunately I got this free with a can of Impulse, so it doesn't have a shade. But the Impulse cost me about £1.49, with the lip gloss. As these retail for £4.49, I got myself a bargain! these do last on the lips very well, and I actually struggled to get the swatches off my hand!

This product is one I feel doesn't get enough justice. The Glossy Tube. These are £3.99, and I always keep mine in my handbag as a top up. The shade is gt6, and has purple and blue shimmer in it. It's stunning on the lips, and my boyfriend actually remembers how shiny my lips were when he first met me, because I was wearing this! I have had a few of these. They are perfect just to throw on in the mornings, on their own or over lip stick. I highly recommend these! There aren't many shades, but there is a good colour range.

The final product is the Lash Vegas mascara. This is a fairly new product. I actually got this as a free gift when I spent £9, so I wouldn't normally buy it. I haven't even opened it yet, but I've mainly put this in to remind me to write a review when I do! This retails for £6.49.

Finally, the make up brushes. They seem to have brought out quite a wide range, but I only have the two. The first being to Powder Brush (the pink one). This isn't the softest brush in the world, I'm not going to lie. But it isn't too rough. I actually use this when my Stay Matte powder has hit pan badly, and it picks up every last bit when my Real Techniques brush is too soft. This retails at £5.99. The other one I own is the Eyeliner Brush. Just a bog standard angled brush. I actually use this to fill in my eyebrows with powder, and it's perfect! My Real Techniques Brow Brush is too thick and just doesn't do as much of a good job as this does. This retails at £2.99.

Thank you so much for taking the time to read all that! Took me long enough to write it. Please also note that I often get Barry M products on offer, and there's normally some kind of offer going on!