The bag is soft and well-made, a love that so much attention was given to the details - the satin-like lining with an inscription and the metal zipper with an oriental design. Such a lovely bag.

I got these for the eye-watering price 75 € + shipping which wasn't cheap either. I ordered from the official website and it arrived really fast, I believe it was three days, but it is from Germany, so not that far. These are also sold on Beauty Bay, but for some reason they don't ship these in Slovenia (because god forbid we'd get free shipping with these). They are also sold in Austrian Douglas shop, I'm just no sure it's sets as well because I hear they don't have palettes. I also hear that Zoeva keeps raising their prices which is very unjust to their customers and it almost made me not order from them.

Do I think this is the perfect set? No. But, it's close. The blending brushes are outstanding and that 235 Contour Shader  as well as 231 Luxe Petite Crease deserve all the praise, but I prefer Mac's 239 for a classic shader brush to Zoeva's 232 Luxe Classic Shader, my Alverde bent eyeliner brush to 310 Spot Eyeliner and my other cut eyeliner brushes to 322 Brow Line. I would build a different set from all the brushes they have available and though you could do that by buying brushes individually, it would exceed the price of the set by a large margin. I've found two dupes: Zoeva's 230 Luxe Pencil and MAC's 219 as well as Jessup's brush from the 5pc set and Zoeva's 142 Concealer Buffer. Some brushes I know I won't use much, but there are some that are absolutely fantastic and have already become my all-time favourites. If you plan to buy any of the individually, I highly recommend 231 Luxe Petite Crease brush, 228 Luxe Crease, 235 Contour Shader and 227 Luxe Soft Definer.

Barry M (available here)

One of the best brands to pick up whilst in the UK as it still isn’t too widely available everywhere else, their Dazzle Dust are quite underrated if you love shimmery shadow but their nail paints are a must try and very affordable. They offer everything from nail care to glitter and gel effect polishes.

Bourjois (available here)

Available quite readily in Europe Bourjois has really high quality products at great prices. Although their foundations break me out I think they are a great drugstore option for anyone that doesn’t have sensitive skin. Their blushers are some of my absolute favourites but their concealers and lipsticks are also worth a look.

Collection (available here)

Very affordable drugstore brand, I personally find the Lasting Perfection Concealer a little drying but it’s very affordable and highly rated by so many people that it’s a must try.

Gosh (available here)

Surprisingly this was the hardest brand for me to pick a top product from, everything is nice but there isn’t really anything I can’t live without. Other than the Velvet liners, the lipsticks and blushers are also both really nice.

L’Oreal (available here)

L’Oreal True Match foundation is an absolute must have with a nice colour selection but the liners, neutral eyeshadow palettes and lipsticks are also worth picking up.

Makeup Revolution (available here)

Known for offering affordable alternative to cult beauty products, their palettes and lipsticks are great alternatives to highend brands.

MaxFactor (available here)

Although I love the whole range, no other drugstore brand offers better volumising mascaras than MaxFactor, I don’t have a particular favourite but all the ones I have tried have been great.

Maybelline (available here)

Great all round brand but the Instant Eye Eraser is a great alternative to highend concealers and I would quite happily swap my usual cocnealer for it. I also really like Dream Flawless Nude Foundation, Brow Satin Eye Pencil and their Color Sensational Lipsticks.

Models Own (available here)

Models Own started by offering nail polishes and I still think it’s what they do best. My favourite colours are Beach Bag and Utopia although their Hypergel and glitters are generally great ranges.

MUA (available here)

Anther super inexpensive UK beauty brand, their eyeshadow palettes are also great value for money!

Real Techniques (available here)

Probably my favourite brush brand, their original collection is still by far my favourite along with their sponge, I would personally skip the bold metals collection (although they look beautiful) as they’re pricier and not as soft.

Revlon (available here)

Revlon is a great brand for almost everything and it has quite a makeup artist feel to it. If you like lip crayons then Revlon do the best affordable ones.

Rimmel (available here)

Theres so many great items from Rimmel, the whole Exaggerate range is excellent, I love their lipsticks and I reach for their foundations and concealers regularly.

Sleek Makeup (available here)

Has a special place in my heart as I use to blog about Sleek endlessly when I first started blogging. Palettes, blushers and Matte Me in Birthday Suit are all well loved in my collection.

Soap & Glory (available here)

Slightly higher price point in comparison for drugstore products but I adore their body products. Other great product include Brow Archery, Supercat liner and Thick & Fast Mascara

Topshop (available here)

Not strictly drugstore as it’s available only in Topshop stores but a great price point. All the lip products, blushers, bronzers and nail polishes I have tried have been fab but the glow highlighter has to be the best cream affordable one I own.

Would love to hear your drugstore recommendation in the comments, are there any drugstore secrets I am missing?

 

As you all know, Real Techniques released a brand new set of brushes in the guise of their 'Bold Metals' Collection. 7 brushes that are described as premium brushes aimed at professional makeup artists and makeup fanatics. The brushes come in three colours, GOLD, SILVER & ROSE GOLD.

Recently, I’ve read many blog posts from the ‘Starting Off Project’ designed for makeup beginners. I really wish that I’d heard about it earlier, because I love the idea. Because of this idea, I have decided to share a selection of makeup and beauty products that I would advise you to begin with!

By no means feel like you need to use every single one of these products, it’s just a brief idea of the sort of things I think are good from the drugstore!

 

 

♡ Rimmel Lasting Finish 25 Hour Foundation in the shade 201 'classic beige'
♡ Nivea Tinted Moisturiser in the shade 'Natural'
♡ Collection Lasting Perfection Ultimate Wear concealer in the shade 3 'medium'
♡ Rimmel Stay Matte Powder in 001 'transparent'

 

 

 

♡ Maybelline Falsies Waterproof Mascara
♡ Ardell False Eyelashes 'Demi Wispies'
♡ Maybelline Color Tattoo in the shade 'On and On Bronze'
♡ Maybelline Eye Studio Lasting Drama Gel Eyeliner 24hr in the shade 01 'Black'

 

♡ All Real Techniques brushes. My favourites (if i had too choose) are probably Buffing brush, expert face brush, blush brush and the deluxe crease brush.

 ♡ Soap and Glory Sexy Mother Pucker Lipgloss in the shade 'Candygloss'
♡ 17 Mirror Shine Lipstick in the the shade 'Beehive'
♡ Revlon Super Lustrous Lipgloss in the shade 'Kiss me Coral'

 

   

For me, Real Techniques have always been one of the best makeup brush brands on the high street. Not only are they affordable but they're great quality and last incredibly well. After the launch of their more premium collection, Bold Metals, I was wondering if the core collection might take a back seat but I'm glad to say I was wrong as they've just released the fantastic Sculpting Set.

 

Contouring has been a massive trend over the past couple of years and the Sculpting Set is going to be your new brush BFF if you're looking to highlight and contour. It's a three brush set - two are new and one is a reissue - with a setting brush, fan brush and a sculpting brush.

My favourite of the three is the Sculpting Brush which is the perfect shape and size to help get a chiselled cheekbone look. It has short, densely packed bristles which allow you to work with creams and powders, blending the product in for a natural finish. Because of the bristles, it does work a little better with cream products than powders, and it fits perfectly in the hollows of your cheekbones.

The Fan Brush is great for when you want a very light application of any kind of powder product. The shape and density of the bristles means that this only picks up a light amount of product each time, so if you're worried about over-doing things then this will be a great brush to have. Sweep it over cheeks for a natural blusher flush or for applying highlighter to the tops of your cheekbones.

While the Setting Brush might be a reissue, I think it's a great brush to have. It's the perfect size to apply a small amount of powder to help set your makeup and it's soft enough not to disturb your foundation underneath when you use it. The shape also means you can easily get in to smaller areas around your nose without any issue at all.

Like the rest of Real Techniques' brushes, these have all been colour coded to help make finding the right brush easy; the Sculpting Set all feature pink metallic handles which definitely makes them stand out from the rest of the brushes in my collection! The bristles are the usual cruelty free synthetic hairs which really seem to wear well and last forever so although these might be a more budget option, there's definitely no scrimping on quality.
The Sculpting Set is available now from Superdrug and costs £20.99.