For a while I wanted to talk about this brush set. Few months ago I bought a brush set from ebay mostly because I was curious to try those brushes that have MAC label on. Of course I knew that those aren't real, besides most of "MAC" products on ebay are fake. So I bought
this set , I don't remember the exact seller, for about $13 with free shipping. The set came with 10 travel size brushes with 2 cases. That means that each brush cost me only around $1.30. I know what you think, $1.30 for a brush the quality must be awfull,right? Well wait till you read the review for each brush.
Before I receive the set a friend of mine bought other brushes from ebay,they kinda looked like bobbi brown brushes, and man they smelled bad and few of them are very scratchy. So after that I though that mine brushes will be the same quality. Surprise surprise they aren't like that at all. I was completely amazed when I got them. Only the cases smelled a bit like plastic but the brushes are perfect. Shape wise they look very
similar to MAC brushes,at least that's what I see comparing those brushes to photos of MAC brushes.
They are amazing quality but I can't say how similar to MAC ones they are as I don't own MAC brushes and probably won't own in the feature because I can't justify myself spending 40 euros on a single brush while I can get 2 MAC eyeshadows for that price. Now here is my review for each brush.
"MAC 187"
This is the only brush that lost 3-4 hairs during this whole time which,I think, is something common with stipple brushes. I must say that I love this brush, it works great with liquid foundation and it's better than the ELF Stipple brush. It's really soft and doesn't scratch my face at all.
"MAC 190"
This is a standard foundation brush, it's well made and densely-packed brush. It gives a nice application although to be honest I almost never use foundation brush to apply my foundation.
"MAC 168"
This goat-haired brush. It's soft and I like to use either for blush or highlighter.
"MAC 129"
This is round but slightly dome-shaped brush. This brush is a bit scratchy and I don't use it a lot as I love my ELF Complexion brush. I've read that the MAC 129 is scratchy too at the begging but gets better later. This was more scratchy at the begging too and now it slightly better. I might only use this as blush brush and not powder.
"MAC 275 and 252"
Let me first say that I love love all the eye brushes. The one is angled the other is flat. They are great brushes,they pack on the eyeshadow really nice and I also use the 275 for blending or adding eyeshadow in the crease. They are both extremely well made if you ask me.
"MAC 212 and 194"
The 212 has different color fibers from the original MAC one but it is synthetic too and works well as precision lining tool.I love using this to line my upper and lower lash line and to do my brows. The 194 is a good concealer brush but to be honest I don't really use it as I like applying concealer with my finger.
"MAC 219 and 209"
The 219 looks different from the MAC one. It is soft and firm and works great for me. I mostly use it to add eyeshadow on my lower lash line and sometimes wherever I want a defined crease line. The 209 is, again, different color from the original but it very close in shape. It's an eye line brush and it's made of synthetic fibers. I use this brush with cream/gel eye liners but I would prefer a slightly thinner brush for eyeliner. But it does it's job nicely.
Now I know many people will say they don't like fake etc etc but that doesn't fit my case as those brushes were never sold to me as "real mac" they just have the logo on them. To be honest they work great and for that price you can't go wrong. Of course there are some people that don't like the idea of using brushes from ebay but hey if you can and want to spend $20+ on a single brush then go ahead and buy them but I,like I said, can't justify myself spending that much on brushes.
You probably wondering why did I buy the travel size brushes. Well the main reason is because I didn't have more money on my credit card at that moment . The second reason is because sometimes I find it easier to work with smaller handles than with huge ones.
On ebay you can find another set with normal length handles for around $16-18 like
this one. Just go on ebay.com type in the search bar "makeup brush set" or "brush set" and you will find many sellers selling the same sets. If you buy from there look for seller with highest feedback and always try to find reviews on that product on the seller's feedback page.
What yo think? Would buy a set like this? Have ever bought brushes from ebay?
