MAC 125SE Split Fibre Dense Face Brush ($38.50) is a widened, dense face brush with two distinct sides–one with natural fibers and the other with synthetic fibers. The idea behind these split brushes is that the natural bristles give a “soft, diffused look” while the synthetic bristles “fuse colour onto skin.” The brush head is 25mm in length, 39mm in width, and 19mm in thickness. It has a total length of 6.5 inches / 16.5 centimeters with a pinched, multi-colored ferrule. The weighting is nice and it doesn’t feel too top-heavy nor lightweight.

I wouldn’t describe the edge as blunt, but it is only lightly rounded and more of a narrow, flattened surface, which makes it useful for contouring and getting into the hollows of the cheeks. Both sides of the brush are incredibly soft and smooth, which was a bit of a surprise, as I haven’t found a lot of the recent brush releases to be as soft as brushes from years ago. The synthetic side is good with cream contours or highlighters, while the natural side is really good for blending and buffing out contours and highlighters. The only caveat to that is that it is wide enough that it may not work well for those looking for more precise contour lines or who have smaller hollows where the brush would simply be too large to work with. It would still work well for blending out of contour powders and creams, though. I’ve also used it to apply foundation, which it does a nice job of, but I find I prefer the synthetic side more and would rather an all-synthetic brush (as I work primarily with liquid foundations). I’ve washed it five times, and I haven’t had any issues with dye, smell, shaping, or shedding.

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MAC 125SE Split Fibre Dense Face Brush

MAC 125SE Split Fibre Dense Face Brush

MAC 125SE Split Fibre Dense Face Brush

MAC 125SE Split Fibre Dense Face Brush

MAC 125SE Split Fibre Dense Face Brush