MAC 109 Small Contour Brush Review

MAC 109 Small Contour Brush

MAC 109 is called Small Contour Brush by MAC but many people rave about its multipurpose uses. It's a small round top brush with black goat hair. The size of the head is bigger than a quarter, and it gets bigger the more you use it. Other than getting bigger, it keeps its shape well and bristles don't splay out with usage. It's dense. Ferrule is attached and cinched in very nicely, and the weight of handle feels nice. Typical of MAC brush.

People use it for foundation, blush, powder, and contour. I got it for contouring purposes. It really seemed like the perfect size (small enough) for a precise application of a contour color. It also seemed dense enough to buff out the color well. And it performs well for contour color. I am sure it will work well with other powder product application but foundation I am very hesitant to try because of few problems I noticed.

First of all, at the price point I expected this brush to be soft. I can't say that it is. It's not rough enough to stop me from using it but I wouldn't want to use it all over the face for foundation. Secondly, it sheds, It's not horrible shedding issue but it does shed with powder product and regular washing. So I wouldn't dare to use it with liquid or cream product as they will cause more shedding.

Mine bled for first couple of washes but stopped after that. This had very minor bleeding for black goat hair.

I am not perfectly happy with this brush although it does its job. I always wanted a good contour brush because contouring is my favorite part of makeup. So after I tried Real Technniques Contour Brush and Sigma F05 from the Cities collection set, I decided to "move up" to a MAC brush. It certainly costs more than the other two I have tried, but it doesn't apply the product much better. It does buff out little bit better since it's a bit denser (also bit bigger) but that the quality difference doesn't justify the price difference for me. Also it's not as soft as the other two and feels scratchy on my face. And I am not completely happy with the shedding either because it's not a cheap brush.

I would recommend getting Sigma F05 and pay less for a contour brush that works just fine. Sigma brush does shed so probably not good for liquid foundation application. If you want a great quality brush that will work well as contour brush and foundation brush, I would recommend checking out Hakuhodo 210 Blush Brush. It's a bigger investment but it gets much better reviews.

MAC 109 Small Contour Brush
MAC 109 Small Contour Brush
Sigma travel size F05 on the left, MAC 109 Small Contour Brush on the right
Sigma travel size F05 on the left, MAC 109 Small Contour Brush on the right

Price: 34 USD on MAC website
Rating: B-


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