Review: MAC 217 Brush

I have been fiddling with the blog settings again! I've reduced the number of blog entries on a page down to 10 from 15. I don't know the meaning of short entries so hopefully the page won't be so huge! Now I'm getting more and more views on the first page, it'll reduce the amount of bandwidth I'm using per month as there will be fewer pictures on each page. I've taken a couple of things off the side bar, and added a Google Blog search widget. I've also changed my avatar, the one I was using was about 5 years old! Anyway, review time!

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.

Today, we're going to be having a look at the MAC 217 brush. It's sold for £14.00 on the MAC UK website, along with various counters and stores dotted around the country. It's available world wide. I've had mine for nearly as long as I've owned my 239 so I probably paid a little less for mine.


I have owned this nearly as long as I have had my 239. Maybe I bought it the next time I went into a MAC, I can't remember! The photo above was taken just after it had been cleaned. This brush was actually slightly damaged after I had moved house. A few hairs were bent and in the end I had to pull out those few hairs. I hated doing that but I just could not get them to lie flat.

The 217 is made from white goat hair which has a firm, but not stiff texture. The bristles have the same texture as the 239 but as the bristles are longer, they have much more "give" to them. The firmness allows application of colour to the crease, but the softness and length of the bristle allow for easy blending of the crease area. The rounded edge of the brush fits perfectly into my crease area.

This brush will pick up a lot of colour so you do need to work very carefully if you are using this to apply colour to your crease. I think I need another one of these so I can use one for colour application and the other for blending! MAC says this can be used to apply cream products as well, but I haven't tried it for that.

The white bristles can get stained, especially with bright blues (that I've found). But the stain will wash out as I use and clean the brush. As with my MAC 239 brush, the writing has worn off the handle. It's easy enough to prevent by covering the lettering with clear polish but it's something I never remember to do!

When you wash this brush it will splay out and become very, very fluffy. I really don't like it being so fluffy, it doesn't work so well in my crease. Mine gets dried in a brush guard, that way the bristles are kept together and it dries in the shape in the picture.

I'm not sure this brush is an absolute must have for someone just building their brush collection, but for me it's an essential blending and crease brush.