Fake Mac Brush Set!!! + How to spot them

So I got this set of 24 make up brushes from 'MAC' off Ebay.......



I really should have done more research before I got this :/ But there were only 3 left and they were going for crazy cheap so I bought these for about £35.

This is what it looks like when opened, minus all the labels I stuck on myself (I still have no idea what all these brushes are for and how to use them :/ I mean I know the basics but I was guna learn more with the MAC brushes that were going to last forever XD)



Here are some of the reasons how I realised that these brushes were fake.

1. Evidentally MAC no longer does brush sets.

Due to the fact that people can split them up and sell them on as individual brushes or something like that... So my set of 24 were obviously a fake. (I hear in certain special occassions, MAC does release a limited holiday edition brush sets. But they are mini brushes, not full sized! This little fact though, im not sure how true it is... so dont quote me on it)

2. Marks on brushes.

My brushes (even though brand new) had this glue and something that looked like tobacco stuck on it that refused to come off. Do you really think that MAC, supposidly one of the top make up companies would let their brushes go out looking all dirty? :/ I think not!!

3. Two very different brushes labelled with the same number

Both brushes labelled 195. As you can see the brushes arent even similar.

4.Brush Quality

 So above is the picture of my 252 brush (large shader brush) and on the right is a picture of an actual MAC 252 brush. As you can see, my brush looks a lot sparse than a genuine MAC brush. Also, my brushes are losing hairs already D: ALREADY. ( I've had them for about 3 days).

5. Sponge Applicators.

Evidentally, MAC doesnt sell sponge applicators. So the fact that I've gotten one from MAC is ridiculous :/ This brush has been labelled 202. That brush number doesnt even exist!!!

Also I thought I would add as well, the seller I bought this from included a list of the brushes that would be in this set, 3 of which werent even there, and I had several brushes in there that were either like the 195 brushes and had two of (2 totally different brushes) or had random brushes that werent included in the list.


So those are the things I spotted with my brush set, they aren't genuine MAC brushes, but the brushes themselves are soft and are quite good for applying make-up, so I guess I cant complain too much. The seller I bought this from has been contacted but so far, no reply. -__-

I think what I will do is just use these brushes and if I like them and I learn more about them I'll start replacing them one by one with actual MAC brushes.

So when searching for MAC products, avoid the ones with sponge applicators.

Take the palette in the picture above for example-a supposid MAC eyeshadow palette with a sponge applicator? If you see one of these you know that you should avoid them. Also, I've been informed that MAC do not sell eyeshadow in anything but round shapes :/ Now I think about it, I've never seen MAC eyeshadow coming in rectangular forms.

Also, avoid the MAC products that include a mirror. I've been told that MAC do not do palettes with mirrors included.

So the picture above has all three XD a classic sign that it's a fake.

I also hear that the MAC eyeshadow palette of 120 and 180 are all fake. All MAC eyeshadows are labelled!! (As are the brushes. But dont just go by the fact that the brush is labelled to take it to be the real deal.....)

A word about the gel eye liners that MAC sell...... I've been told that MAC will always sell the eye liners on their own, WITHOUT the brush. So if you see one being sold with the brush, that would be......a fake.

I think thats about everything I know so far about the fake MAC products. I hope it helps.... whoever may come across it at some point!

*please note... After posting this post, my case with the false MAC brushes on Ebay have been resolved (the seller never responded, Ebay gave me all my money back).

Define-A-lash Mascara by Mabelline

Today i thought I would do a review o Define-a-lash by Mabelline.

Being Asian, I have the typical short, barely-there eye lashes that Im constantly trying to extend. I've tried many different mascaras over time and I still havent found a mascara that gives me enough length :/ I mean the extreme, literally false lash-like looking eye lashes... but maybe Im just expecting too much from a mascara? XD

Anyways Define-A-Lash by Mabelline, I had previously bought from Superdrugs and I hadnt been too impressed with it and had written it off and moved onto some other mascara-but I recently dug this out and tried it out and I was actually pretty surprised at how much better it was than I thought it was at the beginning. Just so that you can get a clearer picture, heres a picture of my eye lashes without any mascara-they've only been curled:

After First Coat:

After 2nd coat:





Side View:

As you can see, the first coat didnt really do much, but the second coat did make a bit of a difference. The good thing about this mascara was that it didnt clump after the second coat, and it held my curls pretty well thoughout the day. The brush was pretty standard-as you can see from the picture of the mascara righhht at the top, so its easy to use, the packaging was pretty simple, I would give the packing 4/10, as it didnt draw my attention too much. The thing I didnt really like about this was that even though it gave me pretty good length, due to the fact that I use quite heavy eyeliner on my eyelids for make up, when thats on the mascara doesnt really show :/ So for me I needed it to give me more of a dramatic look and a lot more length, and I didnt feel that this mascara gave me THAT much length so because of that, I would give this mascara a 7/10.

Red MUA nails with black dots +matt effect

This is a post on a shade of red nail polish from Superdrug-a brand called MUA make up academy.
Unfortunately the polishes dont come with names :/ so I guess all I could say is that its a shade of red.

The thing I love about MUA is that it is SO cheap :D So far they have a line of nail polishes, liquid eye liners, blushers, eye shadows etc (so quite a lot of the basics) and they are all currently being sold at £1.00.

I am particularly into their nail polishes because sometimes you are just looking for a basic colour and you dont want to pay such ridiculous prices for one :/

So there you go, basic red polish from MUA. The picture above is with two coats. For a cheapy nail varnish MUA stays on your nails surprisingly long, which is good :).

Appologies for it being a little sloppy :/ This picture above is just with basic black dots put on the top of the red coat, kind of like a lady bug :D I actually didnt like how shiny my nails looked though, so I applied some GOSH Matt effect polish on it:

This amazing polish turns shiny nail polishes to look all matt like when used as a top coat XD which i quite like.

Now for the products used today:

SO TOUGH: Nail Hardening polish as base coat

MUA Make up Academy-a red shade

GOSH Matt effect Nail Polish as top coat

Ta-daaaaa

Nail Buffer Blocks =]

Ok people that know me probably all know im a bit of a nail junkie... so this blog thing will most likey be about nail art/nail polishes..

Todays subject-Nail buffer blocks. The one im using today is Cosmopolitan 4-way nail buffer. It was £2.50 from superdrugs.

Each side does different things:

1. Even Out Ridges- Works as a nail file

2. Smooth nail surface

3. Buff nail surface

4. Shine nail surface

You basically put it flat against your nail and rub the block onto it a few times from side 2 to side 4. It makes your nails super shiny-which is just amazing, and particularly for me, this nail buffer block is great because it seems to somehow harden my nails. My nails tend to be pretty brittle and they chip off easily and using the nail buffer block prevents that from happening greatly.

 Obviously I use nail hardening base coats before I use nail polish, but it doesnt seen to be as effective as using a nail block from time to time :)

You can tell from the picture below how much it has actually worked in terms of shine:

The nail on the left is the one I used the buffer block on, and the nail on the right is the one without. As you can see the one on the left looks a lot more buffed than the one on the right :)

These are just more pictures so you can really see how shiny the buffer blocks make your nails go :D
Overall the nail blocks get 10/10 from me, its ridiculously simple and effortless to do, plus it tackles the nail chipping problem so :D :D its awsome.

So it begins...

TA-DA.

My first blog. XD

I've just created another way for me to procrastinate and avoid doing my work.

*waves*

helloooooo