MAC 226 small tapered blending brush 2011
I went to the MAC store yesterday and hauled a bunch of stuff, mostly eyeshadow refill pans from the permanent collection (Blanc Type, Soft Brown, Corduroy, Forgery - swatches and reviews coming up!), but I also got several items from the MAC Me Over collection that I didn't have yet. Well, I did get a MAC 226 small tapered blending brush from the Brunette Blonde Redhead collection in January 2009, but somehow, the heads of the 2009 and 2011 versions are quite different.
The 2009 version has a pointed head which for me made it hard to work with. The 2011 has a soft tapered head but not as pointed. See comparison pics below:
Top: 2011 version (MAC Me Over)
Bottom: 2009 version (Brunette Blonde Redhead)
2009 version
2011 version
I prefer the 2011 version much better. I love the softly tapered but not very pointy head. It provides me just the right balance of flexibility/give and firmness to apply blending or transition color on the crease. It is like a softer version of my favorite Sonia Kashuk blending brush that I love, love, love so much, and which I use in almost all of my tutorials. The head is a little more tapered than the Sonia Kashuk blending brush, but it operates in pretty much the same way. It deposits crease or transition color effectively and with ease.
I wonder why there are different versions of the 226? At first, though, the 226 I first bought wasn't as pointy as it is now. Maybe wear and tear made it that way? But I hardly used it in the first place, because I really disliked the too-small head. As you can see in the comparison pics, the 2009 version is noticeably smaller in head size than the 2011 version. That is why the 2009 version didn't get much love from me. The new version will be the workhorse in my crease color/transition color application , that's for sure!
Keep in mind that I use the new 226 for applying medium or transition color on the crease. For creating depth to the crease and applying a deeper crease color, the 222 brush is still my fave.
Here is a comparison of blending brushes that I use:
The 226 included in this photo is the 2009 version.
The MAC 226 brush retails for $24.50, and is a limited edition brush available with the MAC Me Over collection. I really hope MAC includes this in their permanent brush collection soon!
The Shades Of U Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Watch out for additional MAC Me Over swatches and reviews on this blog!
1 comment
I saw the 226 from the Mac Me Over collection at a mac counter and I looked through all the 226's that they had. All of them were not as tapered as the previous version. They were like a smaller version of the 224 brush.
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