MAC 239 Eye Shader Brush

I really need to give some of my favorite brushes some more love on this blog, a good brush can make any color product work to its maximum potential and not having a way to apply color products can make any product a near failure.  When you really stop and think about, I have had most of my brushes for much longer than I have had any color product and use them on a near daily basis.  It would be interesting for me to calculate the dollar per usage on some of the brushes that I use every single day and to see how little they actually ended up costing me.

Today we are going to look at another one of my favorite eye makeup brushes, this time one from MAC that I use almost daily for applying dense eye shadow color.  The 239 Eye Shader Brush is my choice for applying pigment right to the lid of the eye or along the lash line.  I bought this brush sometime in late 2010 from MAC and it still performs like it is brand new. 

"Soft and dense to shade or blend eye shadow or emollient-based products. This brush has a tapered, rounded edge with smooth, firm, fine fibres. It can be used to build intense colour on the eyelid. M·A·C professional brushes are hand-sculpted and assembled using the finest quality materials. They feature wood handles and nickel-plated brass ferrules."

I use this brush for powder eye shadow formulas only, I have never used it for cream or other types of more emollient formulas as I prefer to apply these with my fingers.  I mostly use this brush for applying dense pigment right onto my eyelid, it is small enough that it can place pigment in the exact area that I desire and I don't end up with eye shadow all over the place.  This is one of the best brushes that I have ever used for getting the eye shadow exactly where I want it, I will only use this brush when I am trying to create a rose gold eye and have to apply different shades very precisely in order to blend into the right gradation.  The other aspects that I love about this brush is that I can use it to apply dry eye shadow right onto the lash line and then turn it on its side to blend and soften the line.  This is a very good brush choice for applying color directly to the eyelid or the lashline.

The bristles are stiff but still soft enough that they don't hurt or irritate the eye area.  The quality and performance of this brush makes me very inclined to see what eyeliner brushes MAC has to offer since I am always looking for one to apply cream or gel eyeliner formulas.  This is one of the best examples of a eyelid brush since it gets the product right where I need and not where I don't!

photo courtesy of MAC