A couple months ago, one of my awesome teachers at cosmetology school let me in on some INTERESTING information... Seems M.A.C may be keepin' a little secret from us!!

The regular line of brushes (Long handled, individually sold) and special edition brushes (IE, short handled, in sets such as Patternmaker, Formal Black etc) are NOT the same in manufacturing and quality! I had been thinking this was true for a long time, but it was finally confirmed!

Some of the differences she mentioned, and I have observed are:
a) Plastic handles are used for the SE ones, or the plastic handles are enameled or painted to make them SEEM wooden (You might realize that regular line brushes have sturdy wooden handles made of quality woods)
b) The metal ferrules are much more fragile on SE brushes, and of a lesser quality (IE machine made and pressed).
c) The fibers used in the SE brushes are lesser quality, less dense, and sometimes a completely different fiber than its regular line counterpart... She also told me that some brushes that are normally made with a natural animal fur fiber are made with a synthetic for SE manufacturing.
d) I noticed that all of the "sets" say "Imported" on the descriptions on the site, while only SOME of the normal brushes say this.

Obviously, this is all done for cost reasons, but they STILL sell us, the consumers, those sets for 48 dollars?? I mean, I understand upholding the M.A.C brand, but don'tcha think it's still a BIT misleading?

Now I wonder, ya'll Specktrettes, do you notice a difference in your "special set" brushes and the regular brushes you use? Along the lines of wear and tear, feel on the face, etc?

Also, personally I never knew there was a difference, I only had an "inkling" of it when a couple of my SE brushes literally broke in half! Also, I have washed (baby shampoo and conditioner with tap water) a few of the SE brushes, and the fibers in the heads completely change texture and feel, usually becoming coarser and "pouffier," sometimes rendering them useless!! These things have NEVER happened with a regular line brush.

Oh, and also, I find it a bit suspicious that on the website they describe the regular brushes as "M·A·C professional brushes are hand-sculpted and assembled using the finest quality materials. They feature birch, linden and ramin wood handles, nickel-plated brass ferrules." ..... but do not MENTION any of this when describing the Formal Black sets!

Did any of ya'll know about these differences, or am I just extremely behind the times, girls?? Please let me know!!!

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x/o hannah!

what do you expect when the whole set is a little more then the cpst of 1 brush?
brush sets are made for occasional use/travel... for those purposes they are just fine

Sorry. Hit the "THANKS" button on accident. I meant to hit the QUOTE button.

I think she is just trying to be helpful to newer members who may not be aware of these facts. As an MA, this may be common knowledge to you, but not necessarily to other members. Thanks for sharing your tip hannahjohnson.

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You may know all this as your an MA but some ppl wanting to purchase the brush sets probably dont know whats in the brushes and wot not so it was a useful thread

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My Sale Thread

This has been mentioned a few times before. Anyways, I have a brush set from the 2004 holiday collection, and I much prefer some of those brushes to my regular ones. Also, I just bought the 182 Kabuki brush, and after reading a post on here about how I should wash all my brushes before using them because of the chemicals they put on the brushes to keep them soft and hold their shape, I went ahead and washed it. Now my kabuki brush doesn't feel nearly as soft as it did when I first unpacked it.

thanks for the info..

I think there's a big difference in quality between the regulars and most SE brushes I own, but now allways in a bad way: I totally love my 266SE brush from 2004 holiday palette because it's hairs are alot more stiffer, and it has 3x more hairs which means I can't use it for fine lines, but it my HG brush for my eyebrows!!
There's a noticable difference between the 190 and the SE190 when you touch the hairs, but when I use it, it makes no difference, I love them both!

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now you're a star in heaven R.I.P. Jan


my Sale&Swaplist

Personally, I don't think the difference in quality is all that great(if any). I still get the same effect to be completely honest. I recently purchased the new brush set w/the 187 (I also I have a reg 187) and I still get the same wonderful, flawless finish. I can't get enough of it and I love the short handle. I find myself using it more than the big one. I also like that the writing actually stays on the SE brushes unlike some of the reg brushes(ex. my 239) .

I'm aware that they're manafactured differently but I'm skeptical when people say the quality is less than the regular. I believe the MA at my counter when she said the quality is the same but the manufacturing is just different just based on my experience on the use of brushes.

I am sorry that you feel you have been misled....any MAC ma I have talked to is very forthcoming about the brush sets vs. the individuals.

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He who works with his hands is a Laborer
He who works with his hands and his head is a Craftsman
He who works with his hands, his head, and his heart is an Artist.
St Francis of Assisi

i didn't mean it in a duh... mean way i was just stating the obvious

sorry if it came off rude

Oh, I didn't know it had been mentioned before! I'm sorry for that! I did not find that in a search...

I just mentioned it because I hadn't known that before, and it had never been mentioned to me by a counter/store MA before, even when I bought a couple brush sets on two different occasions. I just wanted to let the Specktrettes who may not know, just the regular MAC consumer, like a lot of us are, in on the info I learned.

Anyway, I'm glad i could help a few of ya'll! And to those of you who already knew, I'm sorry I restated the obvious.

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x/o hannah!

Try re-washing it with baby shampoo in warm water (two washes - I like Gerber's Grins and Giggles lavendar baby bath). Rinse well with warm water, and then do a very thorough rinse with cold water. Blot well with a towel, shape it gently with your hands and by blowing on it, finish drying on its side or upside down.
HTH!

My SE brushes fall apart all over my face thru application, it had turned me off to the SE even though they are sooo damn cute and easier to use

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98% of teenagers do or have tried smoking pot. If you're one of the 2% that hasn't, put this in your signature.

i knew this but thanks anyway...

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