I bought a £15 mystery beauty bag from the TikTok shop that makes $2m a week to see if it was worth it

Makeup company Made by Mitchell makes a killing on TikTok but what's in the bag?

When 24-year-old Manchester makeup artist Mitchell Halliday shared with his social media followers that his cosmetics company had made $2 million on TikTok shop sales in just a week, I was amazed. Amazed that someone so young had made something so successful and amazed that he was being so open about the big numbers that 'Made by Mitchell' was pulling in.

I had to see how he was making it happen and so I went over to TikTok to take a look at his store there. It was easy to work out - the discounts are impressive and feel too good to miss out on.

I've had some Made by Mitchell 'Blursh' products in my Beauty Bay basket for a good while, bright cream pigments that the artist himself seems to use on eyes, lips and faces. Priced at £16, there are shades that can be used for blush, bronzer and highlighter as well as, seemingly, as eyeshadow and bases.

Read more: I went to Birmingham's hidden spa and ended up vulnerable on New Street

On TikTok shop, everything looks hugely discounted, with flash sales (at the time of writing) offering the Blurshes for a fiver, £170 makeup brush sets for £30 and £19.50 powder blushes for a fiver too. Luxe bags were £20 from £50 and then I spotted it, my shopping Achilles heel: mystery bundles.

I KNOW in my heart I shouldn't buy them. To eliminate waste and to use my money wisely, I should only purchase things I feel confident that I'll use, and nothing more. But heck, do they tempt me.

And so, in the interests of research, I decided to buy one. My first ever TikTok shop purchase, I popped a £20 mystery bundle in my bag and the whole process turned out to be dangerously convenient.

For some reason, TikTok automatically applied a £5 discount voucher, which meant I would be getting six of Made by Mitchell's products for £15, with a retail value of £70. Moreover, I could pay with Google Pay with a few short swipes and get fast DPD delivery for free.

Because I'd ordered at night on a Monday, the items didn't arrive until Wednesday morning, with a one hour time slot emailed over for convenience. As I say, it's dangerously easy to spend, but would it be worth the £15?!

My first two products were brushes and I was impressed. A flat one that looks good for concealer and a small powder brush that looks perfect for getting under my eyes arrived in little individual bags bearing the brand's logo. A tenner each, it was so far, so good.

Next up were the Blurshes I'd been lusting after. Often with mystery bundles it seems you just get the items that didn't sell well to clear the company's warehouse. I'd be happy with a bright orange or blue cream pigment, but my bag was much more natural.

I got a creamy highlighter in the shade Ice Ice BB, with a clear base and a pale, almost silvery gold glitz. A Blursh Bronzed cream bronzer in the shade Caramel Chizel proved too deep for me to wear on my cheeks, but I stippled it on to my eyelids to see how it would fare as a bronzey eyeshadow and I was really impressed by how easily it blended before drying down matte. If you like that new 'espresso makeup' trend, this would work well.

Next, I got a very beautiful nude Beam lip gloss (shade Boo Thang, £12 retail) which I was really impressed by - I imagine a shade like this would be a strong seller by itself, given how neutral it is. The final product was a Fleshpot Cream Pigment which I can't seem to find on the Made by Mitchell website, but the 'Nude Jungle' pot is filled with a cream-to-powder-like flesh tone product that I used as a subtle cream blush on my pale cheeks.

Considering Made by Mitchell is a brand I admire for their bright, poppy colours and fun shades, I wish I'd got at least one of those. However, I imagine there are more people who'd enjoy a bronze over a vibrant orange blush and so, with that considered, my £15 bag felt like a pretty good deal.

I'll finish this by reminding you that you don't need a mystery bag. You're better off spending your cash on something you know you'll love and, importantly, something you'll get good use out of.

That said, if you're open-minded, new to makeup or just keen to experiment with fun products, you can't go wrong with these £15 bags from a brand with such a good reputation for artistry. They'd make great prezzies for cosmetics lovers too. Hint, hint.