MAC 215 Medium Shader Brush Review & Photos
MAC 215 Medium Shader Brush
Congratulations 214 and 227! It’s a Boy 215!
MAC 215 Medium Shader Brush ($25.00) is a new, limited edition (I believe, at least) brush designed to be used for shaping and defining the eye with both powder and cream eyeshadows. It has natural bristles. This brush is like a bigger 214, or a stumpy version of the 227. The 215 is wide, dome-shaped brush that’s packed with bristles. For me, it felt a little rough on the eye. It was less rough when I used powder eyeshadows than when I used cream eyeshadows, which seemed to emphasize the pointy, blunt edges of the bristles.
This brush is a larger eye brush, so if you have a smaller eye area or smaller lids, you may find it too large to use often. It’s a bit large against my eye lids, but I like it for applying one-and-done eyeshadows–which are more or less a wash of color on the lid. It picks up pigment easily and deposits it well without it getting lost within the bristles. For more multi-colored looks, it’s too big for me. It’s softer than the 214 but not as soft as the 227. The 227 also blends more readily, but this is easier to blend with than the 214.
See more photos!
MAC 215 Medium Shader Brush
MAC 215 Medium Shader Brush
MAC 215 Medium Shader Brush
MAC 215 Medium Shader Brush
MAC 215 Medium Shader Brush
Your subtitle made me giggle.
It looks like a smaller 227?
It’s more like a giant 214. It’s no where near as thick and fluffy as the 227. I can see that comparison, though.
Just the general shape – its like a progression from big, bigger to biggest.
I think my favourite one and done eye brush will continue to be #235… with it’s super soft bristles using both cream or powder shadows.
This brush remind of a slightly larger Royal & Langnickle S.I.L.K. Pro BGL-3 – SILK GREENLINE EYE SHADOW/BC411 – SILK SYNTHETIC MD EYE SHADER brush I’ve been using for over a year now. It is amy go so brush for the eyes.
Man, I want to get this just to make a family with my 214 and 227. That’s wrong. Actually, I want two, so I can say, “LOOK! TWINS!”
You can paint the ferrules pink and blue 😉
Hahaha. Should I paint a little dress on the ferrule of my 214 and a tie on my 227?! 😛
Most definitely 🙂 Lemme know when the ‘twins’ arrive
This brush has synthetic bristles. Not natural 🙂
MAC lists it as natural – http://www.maccosmetics.com/product/9485/22394/New-Collections/Face-and-Body/Brushes/215-Medium-Shader-Brush/index.tmpl
“A paddle-shaped brush with short, extremely dense, natural bristles. Pro-preferred for smoothly shaping/defining the eye with colour. Flawlessly applies both powder and cream eye shadows.”
You’re right Christine–this one is natural; it’s the 163 that has synthetic fibers (I have both). You can even tell by the feel of the two brushes that one is natural and the other is not.
btw, I seriously love this brush–and I have a LOT of brushes!
What have you been using the 215 for, Ruca? Love to hear it! 🙂
I’ve only used it with pressed powder shadows, so I have not experienced any of the sharpness you and Dusty say you feel–mine is very soft on my lid, but it’s so firm it picks up a ton of product all at once. Because of that, I’m using it a lot for any shadow that normally takes 2 or more brush packs to get good color; this way I can get some of my favorite colors on the lid or the brow bone by only loading it once. My eyes are large enough that I can get 2 colors on my lid; I have also discovered that if I do use it for a blender color above the crease, it is firm enough to do the blending, too, after I apply the two colors. I usually apply crease colors with a 226 (and that’s great for blending!), but if it’s a tough-to-blend pair of pigments, this 215 seems able to do it! It’s become my all-around go-to brush, which I really was not expecting. LOVE IT!
OH! I was even able to get great color out of Miss Piggy Pink with two packs, but I would be careful with softer shadows like Amber Lights or Coppering because it would be very easy to just munch right through the pan with this brush if you get used to the heavy handed approach. It does work great on those colors with a softer touch, too. 😉
Every MAC brush is hand rolled, so they tend to vary greatly in cut, shape, density, etc. I suspect this is why Dustin hates his so much, but mine is so soft I couldn’t stop petting it the first day I got it. I honestly think MAC brushes are best picked out in person 90% of the time (especially liners or 219s).
Glad you are loving it, Ruca! Thank you for sharing your usages 🙂
Thanks for even taking a pic of the clear plastic so I can see where it is made. I like it when you take pics of the item at every angle.
I think this brush is synthetic… and I have a very sensitive skin… It is not gonna suit me .
Hi Christine,
I’ve been reading your site for a long time now and absolutely love your reviews!!:)
I have a question and would love to know what/if you heard anything about Mac not being cruelty free anymore? They have not made an announcement (as far as I know), but I’ve heard that they started selling in China where testing on animals is pretty much something that all companies have to do.
I looked up Mac on Peta’s cruelty free list and they are not there anymore.
Thanks for any info that you can give!
MAC sells in China, so they will do testing if required by local government! Best to contact MAC 🙂
Thanks Christine, I appreciate your reply!
I just found out about it too 🙁 they are not cruelty-free anymore..so sorry to hear.
Good thing that its bristles are natural. Most of the brushes are synthetic so it makes my skin itch. I’ll try this one, not too big and not too small.