MAC x Ellie Goulding 217 Eyeshadow Brush

I think most makeup lovers know this, but in the beautyworld the MAC 217 eyeshadow brush is extremely, extremely popular. Out of all makeup related items, this is the one I’ve heard the most good things about. For years I didn’t really care much about it, I had my Zoeva brushes and I was totally fine. But when MAC launched the Ellie Goulding collection that included the 217 brush in rose gold that changed. I needed to have it and I bought it. Today it’s time for the review. If you’re interested in finding out whether or not the MAC 217 eyeshadow brush is actually any good, make sure you keep on reading!

The MAC 217 brush is a very soft, white-haired, eyeshadow brush. It’s not very thick but also not super flat and thin. The hairs are very fluffy, but not overly fluffy. The MAC 217 is a brush you can use for lots of different things, which is one of the reasons why lots of people like it so much. It’s perfect for applying eyeshadow to the lid, it’s perfect for applying a transition colour, it’s perfect for softly applying your crease colour and it’s even possible to blend your eyeshadows with it.

When it comes to looks I think this brush is amazing. Because it’s from the Ellie Goulding collection the metallic part, which usually is silver, is rose gold. It’s not a very obvious rose gold colour, but when you compare it to brushes with a silver metallic part you’ll definitely be able to notice the difference.

As I mentioned before the brush is not too thick but also not too thin. It’s a very nice shape. But even though it is a nice shape, I actually expected it to be a teeny tiny bit thicker, kind of like the Zoeva Soft Definer brush, which is one of my all time favourite brushes.

Personally I like using the MAC 217 for applying my transition colour. At least that’s the main purpose I’ve been using it for the past couple of days. And when it comes to that, I think it does a great job. However, I do feel like the Zoeva Soft Definer brush is just a little bit easier and nicer to work with when it comes to applying your transition colour.

But aside from that I think it’s a great brush. You can really tell the difference between this brush and cheaper brushes. It’s a lot softer and fluffier, but it’s still stiff enough so you can actually work with it and it does a fantastic job at applying eyeshadow.

Another great thing about this brush is that I feel like it picks up more colour than other brushes do. I’m not 100% if that’s actually true, but I do experience it like that, which is always a great thing.

Because the MAC 217 brush is quite and expensive brush and since I’ve always thought that the Zoeva Soft Definer brush was a dupe for the MAC 217 I decided to include a little comparison between the two in this review.

As you can tell from the picture above, the MAC 217 and the Zoeva Soft Definer brush are quite similar. They have a similar type of shape, the hairs of both brushes are very soft and fluffy and they’re both perfect for applying a transition colour.

The main difference I’ve noticed between the two brushes, and at this point the only difference, is the fact that the Zoeva brush is slightly thicker than the MAC one. But for the purposes I use these brushes for, I actually like the slightly thicker brush better.

All together I think the Zoeva Soft Definer brush is a great dupe for the MAC 217 brush. It’s not exactly the same thing, but the idea is the same and quality wise there isn’t such a big difference. If you really want to go for the real deal, I’d recommend going for MAC, but if you do want to give a brush like the 217 a try, but you don’t want to spend a crazy amount of money on 1 brush, I’d say go with the Zoeva one. It does the same thing and it’s much cheaper.

 

Overall I do think the MAC 217 eyeshadow brush is a great brush. It’s very multifunctional which I like a lot and it’s super soft and fluffy. I also really like the look of it, the rose gold is just so pretty. But is it really worth the hype and the 22 Euro’s? I don’t know. It’s definitely a great brush and I can tell that it’s better than some cheaper brushes, but I don’t think Zoeva is much worse and those brushes are a lot more affordable.

The MAC x Ellie Goulding 217 Eyeshadow Brush is available at the MAC Counters and online for €22,-.

That was it for today. I hope you enjoyed reading today’s review and let me know if you have ever tried the MAC 217, and if so, let me know how you like it!

XOXO, Nicole.