... OK so this is exciting!!!
Now, I've seen countless knock off 187s. And no I'm not talking about other H/E territory such as Guerlain's version (which came first, who knows?). I'm talking cheap knock-offs that can spare us the £28 hole in our wallet. The 187 was the brush which set me off on this path of destruction; the brush which instilled the conviction that yes, brushes ARE worth investing in. Albeit that is the case, today on my lackadaisical ambling about the familiar Boots surroundings, my gaze was at once arrested: A NEW 187 DUPE IS IN TOWN.... RUSH!!Invariably, these moments of excitement are undercut by the next sensation, feeling the brush and realising, Oh, it's two toned, not two textures at all. How rude! That ain't no more 187 than my toothbrush is. But this time was different, through the pouch I squeezed... and it met with resistance, not the customary limp floppyness. It is the "'JEMMA KIDD MAKE UP SCHOOL' 'ESSENTIAL FOUNDATION BRUSH'" and I picked it up from my local Boots for £10.77. I can't seem to find it on either the Boots website or her own, but I don't think I got it for a discount (?)- some of her brushes online seem rather more expensive... but anyway as far as I'm aware, it's only £10.77, making it just shy of a third of the cost of a MAC stippling brush.
OK onto the reason why this gets an enthusiastic thumbs-up. It is not quite as narvellous as 187...or rather, it is, but in a different way. The 187 has fewer synthetic fibres on top of its natural hair base, lending it that far spaced 'pixel' character once applied. This all-synthetic brush(good for any morally opposed to natural hair) is still a stippling brush, as it has that essential resistance integral to the name, but it is dense packed. I tried to show this in photos:
----
This means it offers MORE coverage as the whole surface is coated in foundation, thus could potentially lead to you using more of your foundation if you don't make sure to spread it around. But this is not necessarily a bad thing (sadly!) as full coverage foundation is often required. This definitely gives a smooth, yes 'airbrushed'- why not say it? finish to your foundation. After being washed, it retains its shape beautifully and has suffered NO FALLOUT (another cheap brush characteristic to dread). I tried it with an MSF and it performs exactly like the 187- giving a soft application. I highly recommend this as the best value and best copy of MAC's famous 187. I own the 187 but I still feel this is brilliant: I'll be using it for travel as it's smaller handled and faced than the 187- and also I'd be so devastated to lose my 187 that this seems safer. (Having said that, I would always travel with my makeup in hand luggage with me, if not actively clutching it protectively throughout the flight, so no doubt any danger of loss or damage is surely imagined.)
Although I have never been tempted to try Jemma Kidd's makeup range, priced as it is at roughly the MAC standard, I now find myself being tempted to give it a go. This gets 9 out of 10 from me, folks!
P.S. As long as you can ignore the horror hair phase I'm in, CHECK OUT MY YOUTUBE REVIEW:
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=QMoMNEORWHI&feature=channel_page
