Tuesday, June 30th, 2009
Beauty Basics: MAC Face Brushes
Beauty Basics is a series covering basic products and tools that help to make applying your makeup easier. To view the entire series to date, be sure to visit the beauty basics, or you can view posts within the series about MAC Face Brushes.
Focus On: MAC 116 Blush Brush
MAC 116 Blush Brush ($32.00) is a natural-haired, tapered, rounded brush. It is smaller than the 129 Blush Brush, and it also feels a bit denser to me. It’s an incredibly soft bristled brush, and it does have some give, but it is still firm. The smaller size of this blush brush relative to other popular blush brushes makes it easier to control where you apply your blush, and it also picks up a good amount of color and deposits it on your cheek without eating it up. Since purchasing this brush, I find myself regularly switching back and forth between this and the 129, and I think I am starting to prefer the 116. I also like this with pressed powder to dust all-over. If you’ve been looking for a brush for more precise blush application, I’d urge you to consider the 116!
How do you like to use this brush?
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Tuesday, June 30th, 2009
Beauty Basics: MAC Face Brushes
Beauty Basics is a series covering basic products and tools that help to make applying your makeup easier. To view the entire series to date, be sure to visit the beauty basics, or you can view posts within the series about MAC Face Brushes.
Focus On: MAC 109 Small Contour Brush
MAC 109 Small Contour Brush ($32.00) is designed to be used to blend and contour with powder products, but this brush is quite the multi-tasker. It’s a small face brush with a rounded-dome tip, densely packed bristles. It can actually be a bit too big to contour with, depending on the where and when of your face, but I actually am fond of using this brush to blend out more emollient (e.g. liquids or creams) products, particularly foundation and blushcremes.
This works well with both cream and liquid foundations, and I prefer it to the 187. (Though, I still love the 182 for foundation overall–this comes close, and the bonus is it is easier to wash.) You can also use this to apply powder products like blush and bronzer, too. It’s easy to both apply and blend out all sorts of products, so this is definitely is a brush I’d recommend picking up–plus, it is on the lower end of the price spectrum as far as face brushes go.
How do you like to use this brush?
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Monday, June 29th, 2009
Beauty Basics: MAC Eye Brushes
Considering investing in brushes for your eyeshadows? Trying to figure out which brushes you need? Look no further — here’s our guide to MAC Eye Brushes! Plus, seasoned MAC Artists weigh in with their must-haves!
MAC Eye Brushes — Our Reviews
Temptalia’s Recommendations
- 5 Basics to Begin With: 217, 219, 226 (if unavailable, 222/224), 231, 239
- 5 More to Add Down the Road: 205, 208, 249, 266, 272
- 5 Great Multi-taskers: 208, 217, 231, 239, 249
- Best for Highlighting: 217, 272
- Best for Blending: 217, 224, 231, 239, 272
- Best for Crease: 219, 222, 224, 226
- Best for Eyeshadow Application: 231, 239, 242
What the PROS Say
MAC Senior Artist Luc Bouchard loves the 222, he says, “I love this brush because I can define and diffuse the crease in a second! I also use it to apply and blend concealer – it allows me to apply a perfectly blended sheer coat.”
MAC Senior Artist Keri Blair must have the 224, because it is “hands down this brush is great for blending, blending and blending… It’s been an extension of my right hand for over 13 years. The tip of the brush picks up the color and all the tapered hairs help to move the product out and across the eye.”
Share your favorites with fellow Temptalia readers, just copy and paste the form below and write-in your own answers…
5 Basics to Begin With:
5 More to Add Down the Road:
5 Great Multi-taskers:
Best for Highlighting:
Best for Blending:
Best for Crease:
Best for Eyeshadow Application:
Thursday, June 25th, 2009
Beauty Basics: MAC Eye Brushes
Beauty Basics is a series covering basic products and tools that help to make applying your makeup easier. To view the entire series to date, be sure to visit the beauty basics, or you can view posts within the series about MAC Eye Brushes.
Focus On: MAC 275 Medium Angled Shading Brush
MAC 275 Medium Angled Shading Brush ($24.50) is medium-sized angled brush with lots of fluffiness. I like this brush for applying concealer around the nose and eyes, and actually do find it can be used to contour small areas like the nose, too. I don’t contour my nose often, if ever, because I guess I’m fairly satisfied with its appearance (it’s a nose — it’s like the foot of the face to me, it’s just there and eh!), but it works better than the 168, which is far too large for the nose area. This also works well to apply highlighter above the cupid’s bow of your lips – just one swipe and voila!
How do you like to use this brush?
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Thursday, June 25th, 2009
Beauty Basics: MAC Eye Brushes
Beauty Basics is a series covering basic products and tools that help to make applying your makeup easier. To view the entire series to date, be sure to visit the beauty basics, or you can view posts within the series about MAC Eye Brushes.
Focus On: MAC 272 Small Angled Shading Brush
MAC 272 Small Angled Shading Brush ($21.50) is small, angled brush with lots of fluffiness. It’s made out of goat hair, so it is just a little softer than some of the synthetic-bristled brushes, though I’ve found softness to never be an issue with full-sized MAC brushes (they’re all soft!). I find that this brush works in many of the same ways that the 217 does, just that this has a more angled edge to it. It can be used for cream or powder products, depending on your preference, and it should do well with either. For me, it works well to blend out harsh edges in the crease, but I actually prefer it for applying a highlight color on the inner tearduct. It just fits into that little nook with such ease and makes application a dream. The 272 is subtler and blends softly and surely, whereas the 217 can overblend if you’re not careful. If you’ve had that experience, the 272 might be a better match for your style.
How do you like to use this brush?
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Thursday, June 25th, 2009
Beauty Basics: MAC Eye Brushes
Beauty Basics is a series covering basic products and tools that help to make applying your makeup easier. To view the entire series to date, be sure to visit the beauty basics, or you can view posts within the series about MAC Eye Brushes.
Focus On: MAC 266 Small Angle Brush
MAC 266 Small Angle Brush ($19.50) is a small-to-medium-sized angled brush that’s flat and fairly firm. Depending on your preferences, the 266 can be your go-to brush for lining your upper lash line or for filling in sparse brows. For me, it tends to be the latter. I adore the 266 for filling in my brows, because it is just the right thickness to allow me to use it from the beginning to the tail of my brow without it being too much or too little. I personally find the 266 to be too thick for lining my upper lash line, and as someone who isn’t an expert at lining the upper lash line, a bit unforgiving as a result. I prefer the 208, so I can start off with a thinner line and work my way up as I make mistakes — with the 266 I have no room to smooth out the line before the liner is way too thick. However, for those who are experts at lining, the 266 is all about you! You can get a medium-thick line quick as you please.
How do you like to use this brush?
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