Saturday, March 5, 2011

MAC 109 & 116 brush (review & comparison)

Hi again,

Since I did include these MAC brushes in my February Favorites post, might as well do an in depth review of MAC 109 and MAC 116 brushes and couple of people requested me to compare these two brushes as well.

I do not have a lot of MAC brushes in my collection,and I know that it will grow pretty soon. I currently own- MAC 182, 109, 116, 217, 222, 219, and 239. Im happy with what I have, but(there will always be a but!) I want MAC 129, 242, and 134 in the future :D

okay enough with the lusting over MAC brushes

So here they are MAC 109 small contour Brush(top)- $32 in the US and $38.50 in Canada. This is a very small, soft brush that I find very useful for buffing in cream and powder products. If you go on Youtube and type in "Favorite brushes" or even "Favorite MAC Brushes" this specific brush will for sure come out. The only downside for this brush is that it SHEDS!

I use this brush for: foundation, blush, contour, and highlight.

What does MAC say about this brush: Use on the face to apply, blen, or contour powder products. Softly rounded dome tip delivers just enough color, smoothly blends contour into into the face.

For foundation: this brush works incredibly with any liquid foundation. You can find turotials on how to use this brush with a liquid foundation on Youtube. If you use this brush to apply your favorite liquid foundation it will give you a flaeless, full coverage look and it does use up lesser products compared to a MAC 187 stippling brush. The only problem with using this brsh to apply foundation is that it will take you a lng time to get your desired look. I tried using this twice and it took me literally 5-8 minutes.

For blush: I use this brush for blushes and this brush won't not give you a hard time when it comes to applying your blush. The brush is tiny and it is very compact that it gets the right amount of blush(don't forget to tap your brush before applying your blush).

For contour: I also use this brush to contour my cheekbones, just to give me that thinner looking face. I think this might be the best conour brush out there if you ask me. I use a light hand when applying bronzer on my cheekbones.

For highlight: Honestly, I don't use this brush for highlight that often, but I tried it maybe three times. You guys know that I use MAC Stobe Liquid Lotion as a highlight and I just use my fingers and then use 109 to biff in the Strobe Liquid Lotion.

Do I recommend this brush: YES! definitely YES!

Okay, done with 109 let's go on with MAC 116 brush shall we?



MAC 116 Brush(left) $32 in the US and $38.50 in Canada .This is a very compact blush brush which can also be used for highlight. I specifically just use this brush for blush and blush alone.

I use this brush for: Blush

What does MAC say about this brush: tapered for shading and highlighting cheeks and face with blush. The bristles on the brush are soft and form a full, rounded shape

For blush: It does pick up a good amount of colour and deposits it on your cheek nicely and flawlessly. If you are looking for a blush brush definitely give this a try.

For Highlight: Since it is tapered, you can use this to apply your highlighter. Just use the very tip of the brush and you are good to go.

Do I recommend this brush: Yes! if you are looking for a blush brush alone, but if you are looking for a versatile brush then I suggest go with 109.

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conclusion: MAC 109 is smaller, dome shape and good for blush, contour, foundation and highlight. MAC 116 brush is good for blush application and it is larger than the 109, but smaller than a MAC 126. SO, who won? They both work in different ways, so it is hard to choose.

I hope this review/comparison post helped you, if you are confused and if you are planning to purchase a MAC brush in the future.

Have a happy weekend :)

-Kim

6 comments:

  1. The MAC 109 is one of my favourite brushes to use (although I have stopped buying natural hair brushes now). I love using it to applying powder or cream blushes and I also used to love it to apply foundation. My favourite blush right now is the Royal & Langnickel BC142 - SILK SUPER FOUNDATION brush. Its amazing. It has a flat side for applying foundation but also a really chunky tip for blending it into the skin.
    xx
    Alicia

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  2. yay thanks for this review kim! <3
    i'm considering getting mac 109 cause i've read and watched from different ppl that it has many uses.. and i'm happy that you did a review abt it too.. :) i just don't understand why it sheds :(

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  3. @funnyfaceblogs- never heard of that ever before. Can i get it in canada? :)

    @CJ- no problem hun :) glad i helped

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  4. My 109 doesn't shed thankfully. I've been eyeing up the 116 for some time now, I have the sigma dupe for the 129 but it's not as soft as the 116 feels when I try it out at the mac store. Hmm.. maybe once I have some extra money, lord knows I have enough brushes as it is. Thanks for the comparison. :)

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  5. Ahh the 109 has been on my want list for so long, one day I'll get around to it :)

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I love reading your comments and will reply as soon as possible. Thank you so much.