MAC 217 For £1?

So I've been testing out these MAC 217 dupe brushes for a good few months now and I thought it would be about time I share my opinions on them!

I ordered a MAC 217 dupe for 99p on eBay out of curiosity as I had seen someone on Instagram purchase some. I also caved in and bought the real MAC 217 brush, and thought this would be the perfect opportunity to compare the two.

On the left you will see the 99p version, and on the right the £19 MAC one.

When I first received the eBay brush I was highly impressed. Fall out of the bristles was minimal and the brush seemed very soft. First impressions of the MAC brush was even higher, no fall out and the bristles where unbelievably soft.

After a few washes the eBay brush became slightly less soft, which was expected, but still usable. The shape had changed slightly, but still was good for blending out eyeshadow. The MAC brush held up very well after the first few washes, I couldn't notice a difference.

After a further amount of washes the eBay brush is still performing well, the shape has change a lot  and the bristles have become more scratchy the more I blended, but still is usable. But the MAC brush is as good as when I first bought it!

Overall, I think the eBay brush is good for using alongside the MAC 217 brush, but without the 217 brush, my eye makeup doesn't look as good! I think you should try out the eBay brush (what have you got to loose?!) and then purchase the 217 if you're not really feeling it! For the price you pay I definitely think the MAC brush is worth it, as it's going to last you for years without needing to purchase a new one.

So what are your opinions on the MAC brushes compared to your bog standard ones? Let me know in the comments!

Olivia x

The Best Eyebrow Products!

So today I'm talking eyebrows! I absolutely loving filling in my eyebrows and achieving that full looking brow. I have quite thick brows naturally, but these are the products I use to make them look more defined and less messy..!

I use a brow powder, pencil and gel! But this combination creates gorgeous looking brows!

Now first of all I need to tell you about the Seventeen Brow's That brow kit! This has the best brow powder I have ever tried. I've gone through one, and I'm on my second. The rest of the products in the kit are also good, but I've found better. This palette is six pounds, yes, six pounds! The only major downside is that it only comes in one colour. Luckily this shade matches me perfectly. I use the shadow in the kit to fill in three quarters of the brow.

The next product I use is the MAC brow pencil in Lingering. This is also an amazing product! I use this lightly to fill in the front of the brow. This is perfect because you can draw in individual hairs, and create a much more natural look. 

The last product is the Maybelline Brow Drama Sculpting Brow Mascara in medium brown. I'm also on my second one of these! This holds the brow perfectly, and gives a little extra colour to the brow. I'm not 100% sure on the brush, but the product inside is amazing.

Let me know in the comments what your favourite brow products are! 

Olivia x

The Best Powder Ever?

Now I'm not one to rave about a powder, but this deserves a mention! This is beats all powders, it's just amazing. Now I'm talking about the Bourjois Healthy Balance powder. You've probably heard big beauty bloggers like ViviannaDoesMakeup talk about this and say how much they like it, and I completely agree with them.

From the picture above you can see how much I've used, which I think really does show how much I love this. It's very finely milled and gives a small amount of coverage. It reduces the amount of shine I get throughout the day, but doesn't leave your face looking cakey and dull, it leaves a nice (I guess healthy!) look to the skin. I would 100% recommend this to anyone! It is more of a pricey powder considered its from Boots/Superdrug. It's priced at £8.99, but I have heard it is a very good dupe for one of the Chanel powders! 

I hope I've enlightened you to an amazing product! Let me know in the comments if you've tried it or you're going to!

Olivia x

Kylie Jenner Lips For All Budgets

Over the past few months everyone has been drooling over the Kylie Jenner nude lip. Whether you believe it is created by overdrawing the lips, lip fillers, or maybe both, that's up to you. But today I'm going to be sharing the lipsticks and pencil I have found which will be available for everyone, no matter your budget! 

Going in price order, I'll start with the Kiko lip pencil I have found. This is from Kiko's affordable range, and it's their smart lip pencil in the colour 704, brick red. This is a deep mauve/red colour, which can be used to line the lips and fill them in. I recommend using a lip balm underneath as they can be quite drying, but that can be easily forgiven as they're only £2.50 a pencil! They also have a good lasting power, which is always a bonus!

Next up I have another Kiko product (I'm loving Kiko at the moment!) and it's their Velvet Matte Lipstick in the shade, 602, natural rose. First of all I need to mention the packaging! The packaging of these is gorgeous. It feels very luxurious, and much more expensive than the £6.90 price tag. These lipsticks are super creamy, and not that drying for a matte lipstick. This is more of a lighter version of the nude Kylie normally wears, so perfect for anyone wanting more of a subtle look. 

The last lipstick is from MAC. You might of seen this in my recent haul, if not, you can check it out here! I have been loving this lipstick recently, it's very creaming and not overly drying. The shade is spirit, which is very similar to velvet teddy, which is out of stock everywhere! This is very close to the shade Kylie actually wears (which I do believe is either Soar or Whirl lip liner?) so this is great if you can't find those shades anywhere. This is the highest priced lipstick out of the bunch at £15.50, but you really do get what you pay for with MAC lipsticks. 

So I hope you enjoyed this post!

Let me know what's your favourite in the comments! 

Olivia x

Nails: The Best of the Red's

So today I'm talking nail varnish...

While at school I have to keep things on the down low, by wearing mainly Barry M Lychee over and over, but today I've ventured out and experimented with some reds!

From left to right: Rimmel, Nails Inc, No7, OPI

Above I have picked out a variety of reds! From a near orange red, to a deeper red. 

First of all, my personal favourite out of the bunch would have to be the OPI one, but one annoying thing would be that I cannot find the name of it anywhere! Is it just mine or don't they print the names on the smaller bottles?! The formula of this polish is lovely, goes on very easily and dries relatively fast too.

The next one also has had its name rubbed off, and thats the No7 one. I've had this for some time and they've repackaged and possibly changed the formula, I'm not entirely sure... I do love the colour of this but I hate the formula, It's so thick and literally never dries! I'm sure there are better ones on the market.

The next two are very similar in colour, and to be honest, are equally as good. The Rimmel one is in the shade 030, and the Nails Inc one in St James. I like both, but would repurchase the Rimmel one as it's a third of the price, and performs almost exactly the same. They both are your classic red colour, which every girl needs!

So I hope your enjoyed reading me blabber on about red nails!

Leave me a comment with any blogpost's you would like me to write!

Olivia x