A few months ago, I read the news about Miniso and how they are Japanese brand but strangely they had only four stores in Japan while having more than a thousand stores in China. What exactly is Miniso, you asked? Miniso is a Japanese lifestyle and fast fashion brand that sells merchandise such as homeware, bags and electronics at low prices. You know, something like Daiso? Strangely the store’s logo resembles Uniqlo. They even had the dupe for some Uniqlo products. Hah!

At the same time I saw Miniso hoarding board at one of the shop lot in NuSentral. Before I know it, I walked past a Miniso outlet in IOI City Mall. I went in, glance at the beauty section and saw a few brushes and brush set that looks exactly like Real Techniques. I did not buy any at that time eventhough the price point is really attractive. A duo eye brush set retails for just RM10 and a Cosmetic Bag With 3 Brushes Set retails for RM39. Needless to say I went back a week later just to grab a set of the Miniso Cosmetic Bag With 3 Brushes Set.

The set’s name according to the label is Cosmetics Bag With 3 Brushes Set. I removed the ‘s’ from the word cosmetics as it does not sound right. It is also strange how Miniso mentioned the pouch included first. Pouches or bags are usually mention last, not at the beginning. Oh well. Whichever works for Miniso.

Miniso Cosmetic Bag With 3 Brushes Set is the exact replica of Real Techniques Travel Essentials Set. It comes with three brushes – a multi-functional brush, a flat foundation brush, and an eye shadow brush. Even the colors of the metal handle is the same as Real Techniques 😀 . I absolutely hate the rubbery bottom part of the handle of Real Techniques brushes, sadly Miniso copied the same style as Real Techniques as well 🙁

Since I do not have Real Techniques Travel Essentials set to do a perfect comparison, I thought I might show you how it looks like side by side with Real Techniques. I have to say, after using the Miniso brushes for a few weeks now, I kind of like it especially the multi-functional brush and the flat foundation brush.

I believe Miniso Multi-Functional Brush is the dupe for Real Techniques Multi Task Brush. I used the brush for powder mainly to set my foundation. It is fluffy and soft, slightly tapered. When I run my fingers through both brand’s brushes over and over again, I can’t tell the difference. Both are equally soft but the Miniso one are so much softer. Probably it is flufflier. I also did a comparison with my Real Technique Blush Brush off camera and Miniso wins! It is way more softer than the Real Techniques.

As for the flat top foundation brush, Miniso one is the best in comparison hands down. I like that the Miniso one has thicker brush head compared to the Real Techniques Pointed Foundation Brush. I do not use the Miniso Flat Foundation Brush for foundation but for concealer on my under eye. More bristles means easier to dab and blend. The Real Techniques one is just too flat and small for my liking.

The least favourite brush for me from Miniso set is the Eye Shadow Brush. I have always been wanting the Real Techniques Domed Shadow Brush so I was pretty excited to see one in the set. This is the main reason why I bought the set. It is crap. It is just too hard for buffing out eyeshadow color. I may still get away with using this brush to do eyeshadow packing.

Now, the pouch and also the brush stand case. Both looks the same and function the same. Both has a toggle and string to tighten and create a brush stand. Undeniably, Real Techniques case are much more harder and well-made. But Miniso one is not too shabby at all. It works just as well even though it is not as thick as the Real Techniques.

I get this question a lot whenever I share about Miniso brushes on my Instagram – is it worth to buy? Worth it or not depends on individual. Some think it is just brushes so why not, some cannot take dupe products. As for me, I say why not? I personally uses a lot of brushes at one go so I need more brushes to rotate with. For RM39 I get a decent brush stand/holder, one multi-functional brush, one foundation brush, and one eyeshadow brush. What’s not worth it? 😛

Disclaimer: This is not a sponsored review. I bought the product on my own.