Some Brushes Are Not What They Seem...


Yes, this blog has a new post! And a beauty related one at that!


As you 've probably figured out from the title, the issue I 'd be addressing today is that of fake MAC brushes.

So, a few months ago, being quite a makeup newbie (and I am one still), I made the huge mistake of going to ebay for my first MAC brushes. I got a 224 and a 219 from a seller with pretty good feedback, who didn't sell anything else beauty related besides MAC brushes (that should have been a give-away, but whatever).






Of course, having no previous MAC brush experience, I didn't suspect they were fakes. But slowly, as I kept expanding my brush collection, I realised these two were not quite the same as the rest...Can you notice what's wrong with them at this point?

Ok, so let's take a closer look at the 224:





The fake one (on top) has clearly less bristles than the original one and obviously lacks its dome-like shape. The MAC insignia is also different: notice how the diagonal lines of the M of the fake one meet one another leaving a small gap, when they should be one on top of the other like on the original one? The A is different too: the horizontal line of the fake doesn't go to the far left as it should. And the numbers...they just look like someone used a different font, right?






What about the 219? Same here. I am comparing it to a 219SE one, as this is what I have. The lettering and numbers are still wrong. Also, did you look at the bristles of the fake one? They look hard and are too, they practically scratch your lid, nothing like the smooth bristles of the original 219.

A couple of other things you should be aware of:
a) the printing of the country that the brush was manufactured in, and
b) the glitter contained in the black varnish :
in the original brushes they both tend to be more subtle, however, this is difficult to tell, especially if you don't have the fake and the original side by side (I 'm not sure this is even picked up by the camera - fake one on top).




Also, if you softly press your finger against the top of a fake one, it splays easily - the original maintains its shape a lot more, since it's denser and of better quality.

So, please, learn from my mistake: try to avoid ebay for MAC brushes, if possible. If not, check the feedback of your seller - if there is as much as one negative or neutral comment concerning authenticity, please steer well clear. Apart from that, what other items does your seller have for sale? Are they a beauty seller? Are the rest of the items genuine or smell fishy? What is their refund policy?

Hopefully, by having that in mind, you won't get scammed like me and you 'll be able to enjoy your brush, not only because it does the job, but because it's an authentic item too... :)

What's your opinion?

  1. Your not the only one!

    MAC from France? Really?!

    I have a few from ebay and like you until I bought from MAC directly I wouldnt have known.

    Dont get me wrong, I use my brushes from e-bay, but they are no where near as good as the originals, obviously. Whoopsies.

    xx

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  2. I thought I wasn't the only one...hopefully no more of us in the future! :)
    Yes, France is one of the countries that manufacture MAC brushes...
    I agree with you, I too use my fake 224, but only when I don't want to use and dirty my authentic baby...(wow, referring to my brush as my baby...bf, stop reading now...) :PPP

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  3. Yep, I have a couple of fako france (and USA) brushes which are a lovely light grey in comparison to my real Baby's (I do it too!)

    Apparently all real MAC's only come from Japan...

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  4. My 224 and a couple of other brushes I bought directly from a MAC store have the "France" carving. Maybe it's a distribution thing, like it would be easier to find the french made brushes in a european country? I have bought brushes marked "Japan" from my MAC store too...so, I 'm pretty sure that both countries are makers of the real deal...
    xoxo

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  5. Ahhh I see! :)

    Thanks for clearing that up! I just thought maybe that was what they did on ebay so if I complained they could say that it was obvious they weren't real!

    Sneaky Ebay Sellers!

    My 239 from ebay is so crap! I really need to get a proper one!

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  6. Lol! No, these ppl would do everything possible to confuse us and pass their fakes for the real deal...:(
    Yep, a 239, is a staple, you won't go wrong and it has so tiny smooth bristles...lol :PPP ;) xoxo

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  7. that sucks =( I hate the feeling of being ripped off

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  8. thank you<3

    PS: You are sooooo lucky to live in Greece! :)






    xo!!

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  9. your not the only one who has been upset by ebay! its so annoying! ive learned not to buy some things online
    great post! thanks!
    xxx

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  10. @Ashleigh: I know...Not much I could do when I figured it out, the seller had deleted their account...Thanx for stopping by!

    @♥ fashion chalet: No need to thank me, this was by far one of the best outfits I've seen lately...;) Greece is good, when you have time to go the beach and not preparing for finals...:))) xoxo <3

    @feather hunter: I hope I helped a little...Thank you for your comment! PS: Cute blog! ;)

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  11. lovely blog!
    come check out mine sometime xo

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  12. @becca: Thank you for your sweet words!

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  13. The 219 seems to be the love of my life recently.. i wash him with conditioner and he is soooo soft :)

    I hate using him.. wish i had a fake!

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  14. @Tali: I know what you mean, I do the same with my 224 most of the time...But not with the 219...trust me, it's much better to have a silky smooth 219 than a hard & scratchy fake...:((( Btw, I too need to start conditioning my brushes every now and then...Would you recommend any product in particular?

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  15. wow that sucks- i hope you didn't get ripped off!!! gotta kick some arse!!!

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  16. @Whit: Unfortunately I did and the seller deleted their account before I figured out they were fakes...At least I think I have sufficient experience now not to make the same mistake again...xxx

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  17. Thanks for that very informative post! I will make sure I get my MAC brushes from somewhere reputable! Great blog x

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  18. @Liparazzi: Thanx dear! I hope I helped a bit! :) xx (ps: Cute blog you have! Did you get a chance to try out the new Estee Lauder Bronze Godess Range?) xx

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Thank you for stopping by!