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MAC 226 Brush - MAC Me Over

MAC 226 Brush – MAC Me Over

Just a quickie post, because I’ve had a few dozen emails and tweets about it: I emailed MAC corporate this morning, and I have been told that the 226 will be in-store only due to limited quantities. I asked if the shape had changed, and they said the shape has not been changed but “since the brushes are handmade they do vary in shape.”

I recommend simply calling your local store/counter and inquiring with them specifically. This is the best way to get the latest information from the location you’d actually visit or purchase from. As far as I know, Nordstrom is the only online retailer who has the 226 available for sale.  Sold out now!

88 Comments

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malia Avatar

I am INCREDIBLY depressed about this, since I live absolutely nowhere near a MAC store. Like 8 hours away minimum. I feel they should have advertised from the very beginning that it would be in-store only. I tried ordering from the Nordstrom site and even went to their live chat because their site was messed up, so I guess I am out. 🙁

shelly Avatar

What browser did you use to try to order the 226/browse the Nordstrom website? I usually use Chrome for browsing but had to switch to Firefox to place my order. You may need to do similar.

malia Avatar

ohh I had to do exactly that, thank you!!! There is no Nordstrom in my entire state and the one I called wouldnt ship it to me free either, they said they arent even allowed to open the product boxes until after closing tonight.

Keen Janine Avatar

Strategic marketing by Mac. I’m glad I preordered mine from nordstrom. But they knew the demand for it was high. Why must they do that. I suspect it will be like marine life where this is only 5 in the store. Booooooo MAC

Joyce Avatar

I’m soooo glad that I called my Mac counter at Macy’s way in advance to have them hold the 226 brush for me. =)

I’m picking it up tomorrow. Super excited!

Also, I don’t mind that it’s not available on Mac’s site because things get sold out pretty quickly before I even I have a chance to check them out on their site..

divinem (Melissa) Avatar

So glad I ordered mine when I saw they were available two days ago at Nordstrom. I had a feeling there was going to be some sort of issue — there always is for highly coveted LE items.

Janette Avatar

I totally miss the 2 previous time ut was released for being out of town 2x I didn’t want to count on it being online because that’s how I’ve missed ut before so I did the smart thing and pre order at nordstroms, sometimes I know PRO stores will ship so I would try calling one and making a shipment for it I also know that nordstrom counters ship to you free if you call them.

Good luck everyone! They should really just make the brush permanent

Bethy Avatar

I am particularly unhappy because the MAC closest to me is not taking pre-orders. HOW am I going to make absolutely sure that I get one of those brushes?

Michelle Avatar

wow. understandable since they tend to sell out online the moment they go live. i was able to order online and then pick it up at nordstrom store (in roseville for those of you who live in cali). good luck everyone who are trying to get a hold of one.

Jayda Avatar

Well, this is the bad news of the day since the nearest MAC counter is too long of a drive. 🙁 I was anticipating this purchase, and I’m genuinely saddened.

rawrmels Avatar

The 226 will be my first mac brush purchase. I own so many crease brushes and i just can’t find the one! I’m super excited. I hope the hype benefits me…Thanks for the info Christine!

Joan Avatar

I ordered mine about about a week ago from Nordstrom’s online. I just wish it were a bit smaller. I see that on Mac’s website the Stunner blush shade is already sold out. I’m off to a Mac counter tomorrow morning to purchase the products I want from the Mac Me Over collection.

Allison Avatar

I was in Nordstrom’s last week to talk to one of the MAC artists about the fall collection. She was actually in the process of taking all the MAC Me Over products out of the boxes. I got to see the 226 brush – the ‘brush’ part was bigger/longer than I thought it’d be. I am looking forward to using this brush to help me work on applying shadows/pigments on specific areas of my eyes. I turn into a total spazz when trying to create differrent looks so the colors sometimes end up in places I don’t intend for them to go. Even though it’s a little bigger than I thought, I’m still going to try it out…I’m sooooo excited!

leesie Avatar

This makes me sad. Guess I’m calling the counters nearest me (which are both an hour drive…which requires me begging my dad to take me. And I work until Sunday) to try to get a preorder in.
*crosses fingers*

Adrienne Avatar

Just spoke with nordstrom live chat…nordstrom is basically the only place I shop because of their customer service. They gave me a number to a store in California to order one. Girl was super nice and surprised cus it doesn’t come out till tomorrow she was confused y it was sold out too .so she charged my card and is sending it out yay!

Jennifer Avatar

Just to let everyone know you can get the brush held at nordstrom or dillards. Sucks that you can’t order the brush on their websites tho 🙁

Nicole Avatar

am I the only one that doesn’t like this brush I feel that it’s so scratchy on the eye area I got it 2009 an I really have to say that it bothers my eyes to blend out color

Kathy Avatar

Is it me, or does the 226 look just like the Makeup Geek Outer V brush? Anywho, the differences noticed across the blogosphere between this one and the old one have scared me off. Good luck to those who want it and thanks again, Christine!

Laura Avatar

I got this brush I think during the colour crafted release? It seems like the perfect crease brush but mine always felt too stiff and not very soft bristles so I was kinda disappointed. I know they tend to vary though especially in different promos, so hopefully this one will be awesome!

stacey Avatar

Pre-saled 2 226 yesterday at Macys. They better keep it for me for me to pick up tomorrow. That is why when Christine makes an annoucement as to where and when to purchase, you better get your roller skates out and fly to get to that item. Otherwise it is gone gone gone. Never had a problem for all these popular items if you are prepare and sprint.

jen Avatar

I have the most wonderful mac makeup artist at my favorite store and she knows exactly the things i like from looking at my recent purchase list on their computer and she always holds things for me, calls me and asks if i want them..i gave her a list 2 weeks ago and she already had everything including my brush waiting for me to pick up tomorrow! cant wait..this was at my pro store. I just give her a list and she holds them..I dont even have to pre order!

JamieJames Avatar

Went to my local Macy’s first thing as soon as they opened and the MUA there told me that they only got 12 brushes in and that’s all they will be getting. Thankfully I was the first to purchase so I was able to look through all the 226′ brushes and pick which one I like the best. I almost bought a back-up but figured it wasn’t right since there were only 12 in total. So check your local MAC @ Macy’s people!

Jenn Avatar

I purchased one from Nordstrom when I got it home and compared it to my original 226 from 2009 they look very different. The new one is not tapered like the old one. Such a bummer! I was hoping to have a back up but I think I am going to return it. I have two friends who bought them as well and complained of the same thing. I don’t think it is the same as the original.

Jenn Avatar

Update…..
So after reading some posts on here I decided to go back to the MAC counter and try to pick a more tapered brush. I had success!! I would suggest if you go to get the brush ask to pick your brush. You will be much happier!…. Thanks to everyone who had that idea. it was brilliant! :-))

Faiza Avatar

Thank you for this post Christine’ without you I wouldnot have been able to make my purchase! I love this brush. I’m totally going to do a look today using it!

sable Avatar

They are very inconsistent. I just got back from the MAC store. Some are nice and tapered and some are more domed. I asked them to let me choose mine!

Julia Avatar

I got two from Nordstrom.com, but based on the feedback I have been hearing online, if they arrive and are not tapered it sounds like they are getting returned. You you figure out based on all the hype surrounding the 226 Mac would realize there is a HUGE market of people out there with eyelid shapes for which the 224 is just too wide. I mean come on! This is silly!

Lillian Avatar

I went to the Mac Store this morning to pick up Brush 226 (which I’ve been wanting for some time now), and much to my disappointment, they were NOT tapered to a point, as the previous 226’s were in the Blonde Brunette Collection. The SA opened all of them for me (she had three boxes, each of which contained three brushes), and they were all the same – all nine had very rounded heads.
They are definitely not the same as the previous ones 🙁

AmyD Avatar

got a 226 today at the mac store in nyc, 22nd st. and 5th ave. (fyi, the mac pro store on 22nd st is sold out of them!) loooove it – just came home and played with it using my hourglass dune duo – using the 226 on the crease is so much better than using the 217, i don’t end up with a thick inch of dark in my crease! yayyy!

Grace Avatar

When I got off from work I called my MAC and had them put one on hold for me until I could get there…. they only had 2 left! Though I’m kind of on the fence about it, as I was expecting a bit more taper to it, but I guess I;ll just have to try it out to be sure

Kee Avatar

You guys i went on the mac website but i couldnt find the mac 226 brush i know they have it at nordstorm but i dont want to paid for shipping can someone please tell me why its not listed on mac cosmetics. Thanks.

Alexis (m0rg3nst3rn) Avatar

I did a mac chat about it yesterday because it never popped up and this is how it went:
nfo: Welcome to MAC Cosmetics Online. Your personal Makeup Artist will be with you shortly.
info: Hello. Thank you for your interest in MAC Cosmetics. My name is Robert. How may I assist you?
Robert: Hello Alexis.
Alexis: Hi Robert, I was just wondering if you can tell me if the 226 brush is still going to be released with the mac me over collection? I don’t see it on the website.
Robert: Regrettably this highly anticipated tool has been delayed. We do still expect it to launch and regrettably I don’t have specifics on when. Please check back soon!
Alexis: Oh, ok. Thank you. I was just curious and wanted to make sure that it would still be coming out.
Alexis: Thank you for letting me know that it will eventually pop up.
Robert: My pleasure!
Alexis: That was pretty much all I wanted to know, please have a great day.
Robert: Thank you! You too!

kim brown Avatar

I went to my local Mac store and they were sold out the same day. Guess what they were only sent 4 brush which is kinda of whack. I wanted to see what the fuss was about with this brush so she went and got the sample one and I did not like it because it was too scratchy on my lids. I personally like sonia’s brushes better because they are more softer and cheaper.

Shalimar Avatar

I snagged two at my local Macy’s counter yesterday. And I didn’t find it scratchy at all, even when I shampooed it. I think I will sell my other one on eBay since I have a similar brush to it.

Diana Avatar

I got mine yesterday at Macys. I agree it is not as tapered/pointed, mine is more rounded/dome-shaped on top.. but I love it anyway. Used it this morning and it works well for putting color in the crease 🙂

Lisa Avatar

I got mine yesterday at Macy’s too. It isn’t tapered, it’s dome shaped. I asked the SA if I could compare it to another one and see if the other one might be tapered. She was a bit rude about it and apparently didn’t know what I was talking about because she said, “well you know when you wash it it’s going to lose it’s shape a bit right?” :/ So I ended up only comparing two and they both appeared to be the same. I can only assume they were all dome shaped. I bought one anyway because I need a crease brush as the only one I have now is the 217. So the 226 should work out nicely regardless of whether or not it’s tapered. It’s still a tad disappointing though.

Jillian Avatar

Wow, I had no idea this brush had so much demand! I went yesterday after school and got it, but I wasn’t worried because there are never people at my MAC counter that know much about MAC, so they probably won’t sell out too quickly.

Klariza Avatar

I just went to MAC to get a shadow and a pigment and was trying to get a 224 but they didnt have any in so she handed me a 226 WOOO!! i didnt even know they had any in my store happy i got mine =)

Sara Avatar

This brush is darn near impossible to get. I got mine but only because I had a friend who is a makeup artist put it to the side for me. She said they were put on hold immediately by their loyal customers who put in “holds” and in fact the mac makeup artists bought these brushes for themselves since they wanted the 226 just as bad as all of us. So unless you work for MAC or know someone, you are out of luck pretty much. I asked why they didn’t just make it permanent if it’s so in demand and she said they do it on purpose to keep up the demand and hype.

cindy Avatar

To everyone:
I just bought mine online at Nordie’s and they are also having free shipping right now!!!! Hurry gals I’m sure its limited!
Since, I tried last week and they were sold out! So I was SHOCKED just now to be able to buy it! Yay!!!!!!!!

Nancy Avatar

I also agree on what everyone is saying, It is NOT as tapered as the 2009 BBR collection 226 brush. I bought 3 and I made sure I picked them out and they had a pointed tapered tip..but sadly after it’s first wash last night it is no longer tapered at all, it is now domed shaped -_- It basically looks exactly like a smaller version of a 224 brush, and not even that much smaller..very very dissapointed!!

Barbie Avatar

hey ladies i know their are a lot of disappointed people who really wanted the Mac 226… I am one of them!!! But there is still hope!!! makeupalley.com you can swap other users for things they want… check it out its worth a try!!! hope this helped!!

Rookie Avatar

I orderd mine via Ebay in the US and I am so glad that the Word “France” is written on your Brush too!^^ I really feared that I recieved a fake. What a relief! Thank you Christine for your awesome pictures!

Greetings from Germany!

Nancy Avatar

My Bloomingdales’s MAC still has them right now…which is weird.. They said mac just sent them a shipment of them along with some surf baby products, Currently they have 4 left. I’m thinking if I should go back and get them.

rachel Avatar

i’m a cash-strapped college student but over the past few months i’ve saved up for my first -four!- mac brushes. i’m pretty excited about them- they live up to all of the hype and beyond. anyways, this one is by far my favorite. i LOVE It!!! i have big eyes and most people that like this brush and have reviewed it say it’s great for small eyes. while it’s not quite big enough for my crease, which is deep, i can use it for more precision. (if you have small eyes it will seem more defused while i get a really defined, ultra-deep looking crease because my eyes are big). however, i bought it because i wanted a good outer-v (outer lid/crease) brush. this is absolutely perfect for it. i can get a pretty deeply pigmented application of color gently using the tip to define the outer v and then just a few c-shaped motions and what not and it blends sooooo well. it’s so strange because this brush doesn’t even look remarkable or special, but it works so phenomenally well. if you have small eyes, i can’t guarantee the outer v/super defined crease will be it’s purposes for you, but i would believe that anyone with medium/average or larger eyes would be thrilled with this brush. and if you own any mac brushes, you know how incredible they are at blending and that’s really why they’re superior to any other brand.
seriously, if you can get your hands on this brush, (be careful with ebay and discounted cosmetic sites) do it. it will have a great use for anyone.

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