The first item from my mini Wal-Mart haul yesterday was a 'highlighter' brush.
Paris Presents Highlighter Brush $4.98I put highlighter in quotations cause that's what it says on the package but I think it looks more like a brush for liquid foundation and that's what I plan on using it for. I've been aching for a nice duo fiber brush such as MAC's 187 for awhile but haven't been willing to drop $42 for it yet. I figured I'd give this a try as it's under $5. I could tell right away it was no true dupe as the handle is shorter and thicker and head seems shorter and wider, but I just wanted a brush that could do the same job cheaper.
MAC 187 Duo Fibre Brush $42.00 (drool)At first I thought it was just a no name brush but after looking for a minute I found Paris Presents on the back in small writing. I've personally never heard of it before so have no idea about the brand. Have you ever heard of it? It's not even listed as a brand on MakeupAlley (my beauty bible for reviews so to speak). According to its website it "creates and distributes makeup tools, bath and body products, travel accessories, nail and specialty beauty products at affordable prices." I looked over the site and there didn't seem to be much there. Apparently they have several brands but none which I've heard of (Body Benefits, Body Image, Razz, Ms. Manicure, Ms. Pedicure, Ms. Makeup, and EcoTools). The brush I bought isn't even listed on the site.They do have some eco friendly 'green' options so if you're into that kinda stuff I'd say check it out.
Back of the packageThe brush comes in a nice pretty thick plastic case and even has a metal button snap so I suppose you could save it and use it for travel etc. However as soon as I started to pull it out of the case my hope of finding a MAC dupe were crushed. I've felt a MAC 187 they are soft and flawless. This, not so much. As soon as I touched it I could feel how coarse and rough the black natural hairs were. The way the package is you have to pull the brush out against the grain of the hairs and many were badly bent and sticking out at odd angels. It started shedding right away. Looking at it close (which I hadn't done in the store) you can see the black hairs are uneven across the top of the brush. The white synthetic hairs however are very smooth, soft and even however, so it's too bad the black hairs ruin it.
In the above shot you can see some of the hairs sticking out on the sides, shedding, and the uneven cut of the black hairs in particular. And honestly, I think this picture looks much better than it does in person.
Here's another shot of the head but on a darker background to give you some contrast for the white bristles.
Another bummer with this brush is it's not round. It's suppose to be, cause both the handle and the ferrule are, but the actually head has been squashed and I can't seem to bend it back into shape.
In other thoughts about the brush the handle is nice, unremarkable, but nice, and the brush has a nice overall weight and length to it. Unfortunately the texture and condition of the bristles has instantly turned me off of this brush. I guess you get what you pay for after all. In all fairness I haven't washed it yet, so hopefully it will finish shedding, soften up and bit, and round out. I'll test drive it for a bit more and give another update later after I've given it a fair chance.
Packaging: 4 of 5
Handle: 4 of 5
Bristles: 2 of 5
Overall: 3 of 5
Buy again?: Not right now. I'll try it out for a bit more before I make my final call though.
