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MAC 205 Mascara Fan Brush Photos & Review

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 205 Mascara Fan Brush

MAC 205 Mascara Fan Brush ($17.50) is a tiny (seriously, it’s like the size of your pinky fingernail!) synthetic-bristled fan brush designed to apply mascara, remove clumps, and help lashes look their best. It’s a PRO only brush, which means you can only purchase it by calling a local PRO store or visiting a PRO store location. (You do not have to be a PRO member to purchase through either of the aforementioned methods.) This is one of those brushes that gets a lot of raves, and it’s for a good reason–it is excellent at removing any clumps or unevenness in your mascara application. I find applying mascara with it a bit more tedious than using my mascara’s wand, so I think I’ll likely stick with it mostly for post-application clean-up and polishing.

How do you like to use this brush?

See close-ups

38 Comments

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AYHM Avatar

I am a huge fan of this brush – I use to separate and declump post mascara application. My lashes are on the skimpy side and they go every which way so this brush is a fabulous aid in getting them out and they end up looking pretty good. If you don’t want to shell out the $17.50, I would say the 10/0 Loew-Cornell 7200 Fan is a decent substitute. You could pick it up at Michael’s for around $3.00 with a 40/50% off coupon. The main differences are that the LC hairs are a little bit longer and they span out just a bit more. The Mac 205 is my favorite though. This little gem saves me a ton of time with my mascara.

Sass Avatar

It’s not a must have for me so I’ll pass on it right now. Maybe I’ll get it three hauls from now. Not sure…looks interesting though.

mlou Avatar

I love this brush – found it at CCO last yr! The underside of my lashes seem darker than my upper lash, so I used to try to carefully apply mascara to the top side. Not that easy, esp if you have a curl. 205 makes it so much easier, faster to coat the lashes, making them appear uniform.

Michelle Avatar

I LOVE this little brush… It is perfect for applying mascara to my bottom lashes without making them look like spider legs and it works wonders at getting any clumps out of your mascara without flaking it all over the place, which I find combs and spoolies do. I just found one at my local CCO store recently so I picked up an extra! If anyone is interested in this brush and has a CCO near them I recommend checking it out and seeing if they have this! It was quite a bit cheaper than ordering from MAC Pro.

ali Avatar

Love it. Works wonders for application of eyeshadow, mostly the highly-pigmented dark shadows I own. I have soft features and it’s easy for me to go overboard and look like I got punched. I get a much more refined look than with my regular shadow brushes. Very even application, much like using a large fan brush to apply bronzer on face.

Jo Avatar

This brush is wondeful if you want to create a colored mascara look without buying a ton of different colored mascaras. Simply put a tissue under your lashes, wiglle the brush in a vivrant eyeshadow, (the frosty textures work the best) and comb it through your lashes while the mascara is still wet. If trying to create a light lash color, use the Prep & Prime Lash instead of black mascara. Now all of your eyeshadows become mascara options!

kely Avatar

in belgium u can buy the briush in the normal mac shops.there is no one pro,and in the country there r just 3 mac stores.
i don’t remember the price,i think is something like 17 or 15 euros.
i think is ok to apply the mascara in the lower lashes,and when u use on ureself,for me is more to brush away the clumps.

Luda Avatar

I have this brush and i find it absolutley useless. It doesn’t do anything different then my mascara wand. In my opinion ofcourse.

rc Avatar

i bought this brush yesterday, had never heard of it before, but i just looked at it and instinct told me its a must-have for my clumpy mascara problems. your review is making me feel a lot better about shelling out so much money.

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