MAC 217's similar and affordable dupes.

Hey pretty ladies,

Since buying the well known 217 brush from MAC, I had to do a comparison review on it.

Starting off, these types of blending brushes are famous for reasons that are purely practical; which is that they are multi-use. You can use these brushes to blend in foundation (time consuming), blend in concealer, apply eye shadow, blend out eye shadow (most known for), strategic powder placement, etc. All of these uses come to a conclusion that this type of brush will be handy for anyone that dabbles in makeup, like you and me.

The MAC 217 is made from ultra soft goat hair bristles which makes blending feeling like a relaxing task rather than a chore. It is also an ideal size, rounded/dome, a little bit stiff with a fair amount of bristles and an excellent quality Japan made brush. It's a must loved brush by me as well as the rest of the beauty world. Coming in at $37, it's well worth the investment.

P.S, the numbering do scratch/rub off on MAC brushes, so I have applied some clear nail polish to fix that problem.

Now, onto the comparison.

- The Contenders -

- Bdellium Tools Studio Line 776 -

Bdellium Tools are known for treating their brushes with an anti bacterial protection on the bristles, this may not last forever after washes and spot cleaning but it is an added bonus.

- The Shape - Of the bristles are the same as the MAC 217, but smaller in size.

- Bristles - Are made from all natural fibres

- Softness - A slighty less noticeable difference in softness compared with the MAC 217

- Denseness - There are noticeably less hairs in the 776 than the MAC 217

- Quality - The quality of the bristles on the 776 are rougher and thicker than the MAC 217, however, it is a well made brush with a light handle.

- Made In - China

- Price - $7.65 at http://www.iherb.com/Bdellium-Tools-Studio-Line-Eyes-776-1-Blending-Brush/45961

(use FUF619 at checkout to get up to $10 your first order)

- Real Techniques Base Shadow Brush -

This brush is apart of the Real Techniques Your Eyes/Enhanced Starter Set which comes with 4 other brushes.

- Shape - Of the Bristles are similar, but the RT Base Shadow Brush is smaller has a slight point at the tip

- Bristles - "Ultra Plush Taklon Bristles"

- Softness - The difference in softness can be told due to the difference in bristle hairs. Since the RT brushes are made from Synthetic hairs, it does indeed feel synthetic when comparing to the MAC 217. Similar but different softness.

- Denseness - The RT brush is has thicker bristles, which makes brush feel more dense, even though it has less bristles than the MAC 217.

- Quality - The bristles on the RT brush is very good quality, the bristles don't feel rough at all, just that the hairs are slightly thicker.
- Made In - China
- Price - The Real Techniques set this brush comes in is $17.99 at http://www.iherb.com/Real-Techniques-by-Samantha-Chapman-Your-Eyes-Enhanced-Starter-Set-5-Brushes-Case/41371
(use FUF619 at checkout to get up to $10 your first order)

- Emily Makeup Brush 217 -

I bought this brush off eBay, curious to find if it offered a cheap blending brush like the MAC 217, and I've found this brand. The brushes they have mimic the MAC ones and well as the numbering. I have purchased the Emily 217, 224, and 239. I discourage buying the Emily 224 and 239 because the hairs are so rough.
- Shape - The Emily 217 brush squares a bit at the tip of the brush, as well as the hairs overall being significantly larger than the MAC 217.
- Bristles - Goat Hair

- Softness - Surprising, the softness of the Emily 217 is quite alright, but no where near as the MAC 217. It might feel a little scratchy at first, but since conditioning them with olive oil, the softness has improved.
- Denseness - Two thirds of the denseness of the MAC 217.
- Quality - I believe that this brush is made from a lower quality of goat hair compared with the MAC 217. Also, the ferrule and the handle are not the best quality either. Have the super glue at the ready.
- Made In - China
- Price - Around $5.50 from eBay, just type in "Emily 217 Brush".


- Verdict - 
There is no exact dupe of the MAC 217 here, however there are brushes that are similar that can do the same job, some maybe not so well.
The Bdellium Tools 776 and the Real Techniques Base Shadow brush are both smaller than the MAC 217, which can suit smaller eyes and smaller eye sockets which helped blending precisely easier. I love using the Emily 217 to blend larger areas together since it is quicker than using a smaller blending brush. My favourite... well I am not too sure, I love them all equally for all different things.Overall, the prices of each brush suit to how they perform, you get what you pay for.

I hope this post helps :)

EcoTools Face and Body Sculpting Brush & Airbrush Concealer Brush

Hello there lovelies!

A few months ago, I stumbled across these two brushes on iherb.com. It seems that Ecotools has changed their look with the brushes and has brought out some new additions to their collection. 

If you haven't heard of this brand, here is some background; the Ecotools brand uses cruelty-free and recycled materials to create their products. Their brushes use cruelty free talkon bristles, recycled aluminum for their ferrules and bamboo for their handles. Some of the brushes in the range come in a cotton hemp bag, which acts as reusable storage for these brushes.  The brand is very affordable and the quality is amaze-balls for the price.

Back to these two brushes, I present to you the Face and Body Sculpting Brush and the Airbrush Concealer Brush.

Left: Face and Body Sculpting Brush, Right: Airbrush Concealer Brush.

You can see with the Airbrush Concealer brush, that the aluminum ferrule has changed from a silver colour to a brown, which matches the colour change in the bristles as well (to an all brown, from a two toned beige and brown). 

- EcoTools Face and Body Sculpting Brush -

Firstly, the Face and Body Sculpting Brush is massive, its the biggest face brush I have in my collection and the bristles are incredibly soft and dense.

It's amazing to apply foundation with because the denseness buffs  my foundation in like a dream, and cuts my foundation time in half. The bamboo base is very smooth and sturdy, comfortably fits in the hand and the shape of the brush overall looks lovely when it sits on my vanity. 

The only con of this product I can think of is that you need to be careful that this brush can soak up a lot of your foundation since it is very big. How I avoid this is dotting the foundation on my face first then using the brush, instead of putting the foundation on my brush.

I have not seen this brush in stores yet, however, on iherb.com it retails for $9.97.

Rate: 8.5/10

- EcoTools Airbrush Concealer Brush -

Next is the Airbrush Concealer Brush, this is also another new addition to Ecotools brush range and I am going to say already that I don't like this brush as much as the Face and Body Sculpting Brush. I have a couple of the eye brushes from Ecotools and I find that the bristles on this brush are a tiny bit rougher than the other older brushes. However, after using a bit of extra virgin olive oil with my brush cleaner, it does help soften the bristles. This brush does apply concealer nicely, using circular motions blends it well. I also like this brush to blend out harsh lines when using a cream shadow over the lid.

 

Left: Ecotools Airbrush Concealer Brush, Right: Real Techniques Deluxe Crease Brush.

I noticed straight away when I got this brush that it was very similar to the Real Techniques Deluxe Crease Brush. The shape of the bristles are almost the same, however the feel of the bristles on each brush is different. The Ecotools brush has thicker hairs, whereas the RT brush has thinner hairs, but there is more of them which makes the RT a bit more denser, but these are only minor differences. A good dupe I would say.This brush is also not in Australian stores yet, but on iherb.com it retails for $3.50.

Rate: 7/10


A little note, if you do choose to buy EcoTools, Real Techniques, Bdellium, E.L.F brushes, or other products that interest you on iherb.com,I have a coupon code that gets you $5 off purchases under $40, or it can get you $10 off purchases over $40. Coupon Code: FUF619

Look familiar? Zhousina Joursna Brush review.

 Whilst browsing on eBay for stippling brushes, I came across a few sellers with these products in my search. So they look very similar to Real Technique brushes, but do they have the same quality?

This brand is called Zhoushina, however the name on the handle is Joursna. The set of 5 brushes have a pink handle with the black flat bottom. The shape of the handle differs slightly than RT brushes and it is a more coral pink colour. Looking on eBay, it seems that this set comes in an orange colour (like the RT base brushes), and a light sky blue. The brush I got is number 4, but different sellers number the brushes differently, however they can be easily distinguished from one another. The black base of my brush came like this, it looks melted :S. However the seller gave me a refund for this, which I'm content with.

Moving away from the looks, the brush hairs itself are synthetic, soft and a little bit stiff (in a good way ;). I wouldn't think this is a true duo fibre brush (and it doesn't claim to be on eBay, or the packaging) but it does have a duo fibre design.

Its performance on applying liquid foundation produces an airbrush finish to the face, while providing the coverage potential of your foundation (the brush does not soak up the product). It does not give any brush stroke marks in your foundation, nor does it shed (in application and cleaning).

It applies powder lightly to the skin, which is nice to lightly set the foundation with loose or pressed powder. And It blends harsh contour or blush perfectly as well as applying powder or cream blush.

Top: Real Techniques Stippling brush, Bottom: Joursna Brush no.4

Left: Joursna Brush no.4, Right: Real Techniques Stippling Brush

In comparison to the Real Techniques Stippling brush, the Joursna makeup brush is definitely more softer since the RT brush is more dense, and the Joursna brush has a larger surface, which makes the application of foundation/powder/cream more faster. I find the Joursna brush applies powder product easier, and blends makeup better, but I prefer using cream products with the RT stippling brush.

Now ladies, this is the best bit, the price. I bought this Joursna brush off eBay for $3.79. No, that is not a typo, it’s actually pretty legit. And sellers offer free shipping with this product. The only downside is, since the sellers are based in China and Hong Kong, delivery is going to take around anywhere between 3 to 6 weeks, but check with the seller on delivery times.

You can find these brushes on eBay, type in “stipple brush”, tick the location box to “worldwide”, hit the “buy it now” tab and sort by “Pricing + Postage: lowest first” and they should come up in the middle-end of the page. The reason I'm not including the sellers name is because of the defect on the brush I received.

Rate: 9/10.

- UPDATE!!! -
I purchased another one of these brushes from the same seller, and it sheds like crazy. So be careful when purchasing, since the brush is so cheap, there is more of a chance to have problems when manufacturing the product and quality control may not be top notch.