Review: MAC 129 Brush

I bought the MAC 129 brush quite recently from London after it was used on me while trying out some blusher shades. I quite liked how it applied the blusher so it was a complete impulse buy.

The MAC 129 costs £25.00 from the MAC UK website. It's also available on other MAC worldwide sites, along with stores and counters.

It is a natural haired brush, which I tend to prefer for powder application. I wouldn't use this for a cream blush as I think the hairs would soak up too much of the cream, making it hard to apply and blend. I use my MAC 188 for cream blushers.

When I first washed this brush (I always wash before my first use!), quite a lot of dye and hairs came out when I rinsed. I hadn't seen so much dye come out from a MAC brush before. After another couple of washes, no more dye came out. It does lose a few hairs occasionally but it's nowhere near as bad as the MAC 109! It also becomes quite splayed after washing. I quite like this so I haven't bothered to control it with a brush guard.

With a more splayed out brush head, it gives a softer application of blush which is what I prefer. I don't like too much colour on my cheeks. If you prefer a more concentrated area of colour then I suggest either drying this brush in a brush guard to keep the head dense, or not bothering with this one at all. The MAC 109 would be better for a heavier blush application. The MAC 129 only lost a few hairs once I used it to apply blusher and now it only loses the odd one now and then. I've found natural hair brushes tend to lose more hairs than synthetic.

However, it's not my favourite brush to apply blusher. It is somewhat scratchy which really surprised me as none of the other MAC brushes I have are scratchy at all. I tend to only use this if my other blush brush is too dirty or drying. I've seen other reviews that mention it feels scratchy, or else I would have assumed I got a bad one.

It picks up enough colour to give me a soft flush of colour. It blends the blush out quite well and can be used to give a heavier colour if I want it. It's a little too big to give very precise application, you're going to get more of a glow of colour with this brush.

MAC use a numbering system for their brushes, like a few of the higher end companies do. Those with fewer brushes tend to use names, but MAC have a lot of brushes! The 100 series is for the face, 200 for the eyes and 300 for the lips.