Blush Brush /£9.49 :Although this is marketed as a blusher brush, I tend to use this for powder or bronzer instead. Like the multi-purpose brush, this brush is very dense making it easy to pack colour whilst being excellent at blending. The domed-shape design moves easily along the contours of the face and deposits the perfect amount of blusher, bronzer or powder - perfect for the hollows or apples of your cheeks!

Kabuki Brush / £11.99: Surprisingly, this brush is less dense that the other two face brushes. That said, this brush is by far the softest of the four and is perfect for applying a light dusting of powder to set your makeup.

Blending Brush / £4.99 : This reminds me of a slightly longer and less dense version of the MAC 224 Blending brush. In theory, this brush would be perfect for placing shadow on the outer corner and blending out colour in the crease. Unfortunately, this brush is too big for my eyes and ends up getting eyeshadow everywhere. Instead, this brush is ideal for adding a brow highlight or applying highlighter to the bridge of your nose.

Overall I have been really impressed by the LAB 2 brushes, though if I were to pick a favourite it would definitely be the Multi-Purpose brush! They have all washed really well, have not shed any bristles and are all incredibly soft. They are competitively priced compared to my trusty Real Techniques brushes so are definitely worth taking a look at when next in Superdrug.

Have you tried LAB 2 brushes?

Beth x

You may have seen me ramble on about the infamous Real Techniques brushes, namely their face brushes, however there has now been a now-not-so-new foundation tool in town, the RT Miracle Complexion Sponge and this really is a miracle worker.

Where you thought your foundation looked amazing before, you NEED to try this. When held under running water, and the excess rung out, this sponge expands to over twice its original size and makes your foundation much more flawless yet natural looking.

If you have trouble with a certain foundation caking when you apply it, as I did with the apparently cake free Rimmel Stay Matte, this helps to significantly reduce this while also allowing you to build up the coverage.

The sponge has a wide flat side, a rounded pointed end and and a more precise pointed edge. This combination of the three means that you can apply your foundation in layers, and over a large area, but blend in precise areas of your face, such as under your eyes and around your nose, and at ease.

For £5.99 there is no need to splurge £20ish on the beauty blender as, for me, this does all that I would want the beauty blender to do without the hassle of ordering online and wasting extra cash.

It is also worth saying that this was surpisingly easy to clean versus other foundation sponges I have tried - I run it under the hot jet of my shower and lather clean using baby shampoo and the sponge is returned to its original bright orange coloured glory.

If you want a change from your usual foundation application then I would highly urge you to pop to Boots, or online, and buy this as this multi-tasking beauty is an essential in my opinion. 

Have you tried the RT Miracle Complexion sponge?

Beth xx

The beauty blender sponge has always been on my radar, like most over-hyped things, but if you know me you know i'm tight and spending £20 on a sponge that I may not use seemed like a big waste of money so I decided to opt for H+Ms alternative that cost me a fraction of the price, £1.99. Where I can't compare this to the beauty blender itself I will be letting you all know whether I think it is worth scrimping on this beauty sponge.

As you can see from the photograph, this sponge has a wide circle base that curves in then out to reach a point.The great thing about this design is that it makes the sponge easy to hold and you would hope that this would make it easy to use. Unfortunately, for me, this sponge is too big. For me I would like for a beauty sponge to fit into the 'crevaces' of your face, for example under your eyes or around your nose, but I find that the point is too short which makes it difficult to do so.

Using this sponge on the rest of your face however it does a great job when first soaked in cold water then rung out and used in dabbing motions to blend your foundation however expect for it to take longer than your 'average' application, for me the RT Expert Face brush, but to leave you with a 'flawless' finish that isn't streaky and is very natural looking. This way of application also allows you to build up the coverage without looking cakey.

Overall I feel that for £2 this works great as an alternative for the majority of your foundation however I find it too large to use in smaller areas of my face which means that this sponge isn't as versatile as I had liked and therefore tend to neglect this in place of my RT Expert Face or Stippling brushes.

Have you tried a dupe for the beauty blender?

Beth xx

This set me back a bargainous £1.50 from Primark and has lasted me well over a year with very minimal shedding. If I could only have one makeup brush it would possibly be this one. It blends blusher, bronzer, even eyeshadow and also buffs in powder. Such a versatile and incredibly soft brush at a bargain price.


This MAC 217 is much pricier than the previously mentioned brush, around £17, however I do see brushes as an investment and that this has served its price. It tend to use this to apply eyeshadow all over my


I believe that this brush retails for £8.50 from M&S. Although this retails as a powder brush I use this less so for that and more for blush/bronzer. Unfortunately this does shed, but I forgive it for that for its great ability to apply highlight/bronzer/blusher.



This brush I have owned for 18 months now and has only just started shedding. I love this as,again, it is extremely versatile - I can use this for my foundation, concealer, blusher - the list goes on. Its affordable, it hardly takes any time to apply foundation and is just a great face brush.


I love this Real Techniques Stippling brush for similar reasons to the elf powder brush, however this is less dense and I am able to use this for cream blush and highlight which I can't with my elf powder brush. An added bonus - this hasn't yet shed!

[Estee Lauder Face Brush, Gosh Foundation Brush, ELF Bronzing,Blushing Blending Brush, Ebay Brushes, Primark Blending Brush, Natural Beauty Contour Brush, Superdrug Eyeshadow Brushes, OPIA (Primark) Blusher Brush]
These brushes I won't go into detail of because these are brushes which I use less frequently. But if you want to know please ask.

ELF Powder Brush Review

For a budget foundation and powder brush, look no further than the ELF Powder Brush. A budget makeup brush that is both affordable and versatile. Retailing from £6, this brush is an affordable alternative to Real Techniques or MAC makeup brushes, that is still excellent quality.

Are ELF Makeup Brushes good quality?

Forget spending £20 on a foundation brush! ELF have an amazing Studio line in it's range, with a range of makeup brushes to choose from. The bristles are soft and densely packed, meaning it is great for powder and liquid products and allows you to blend easily into the skin leaving you looking flawless.

(Update: I've owned my ELF powder brush for 9 years now and it's still as good as new! I have washed this brush many times and shedding has been at a bare minimum.) 

I'd certainly urge you to try the ELF Studio Powder brush, but not as a powder brush per se, but as a foundation brush instead!