Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

They are BUYING the 5 star reviews. If you wonder why there are so many 5 star reviews, it might be related to the fact that every single package includes a note with a tantalizing little bribe, promising you a discount for your review---provided your review is a 5 Star review. Smacks of underhandedness to me and leaves a rather foul taste in my mouth. I get things that are free-for-my-honest-review frequently, but that's a different matter because I'm not told what to say. That said, I've actually repurchased these and they are a nice little set, with soft bristles, individually packaged and a nice variety of sizes. Comparing these to the very comparable quality BHCometics 7 piece set (which is excellent and approx. $12), I find a similarity in some of the shapes but variety in their size. (See photos.) There are about 4 of these that I use regularly, but even with only 4 brushes being used, this price makes it a good value. I have found them to pick of and apply the product well, and they have also washed up without shedding or loosing shape. Some CONS would be that I feel that the quality control from set to set is decent but not great. I've seen some variance in shape (notably in the detailer brush, the one I just received looks like a lip brush' pointy and deformed compared to the last one). Also, slight variance in quality. My first set was excellent, but the second one has a push liner brush that doesn't have the same tightness. Still, the variance isn't extreme. At this "drug store" type price point, I expect it to be compared to other drug store products, though I think the BHCosmetics set is the most comparable (and probably the better of the two). These are quite good, but fall a little short of the construction of a high end brush. However, they offer more varieties of shape than the comparably priced Wet N Wild brushes (which I do like) and are a better quality than the Elf brushes, which also compete for this price point. I find that I reach for these as often as many other brands, depending on the shape and size I want. I've photographed these alongside the BHCosmetics brushes (gold ferrels) and some Real Techniques brushes (purple). You'll notice that several of the Duorime brushes are larger, and I tend to prefer the control of the smaller brushes instead. I prefer the larger BHCosmetics blending brush because of it's looser brushes which helps for blending. The smaller Real Techniques crease brush is a favorite as well. The one in this Duorime seems sized and shaped to multipurpose as both, and it works rather well and I still reach for it often. While I do work in several brushes from various brands every day, I would say that you could easily do you entire eye with just this one set. It would be a particularly nice starter set for beginners or teens. I would have given these 5 star at the price (6.99) had they not included the note. I was tempted to give them only one because of that, but I decided to only deduct one star.