November 30, 2011
July 12, 2009 ∗ 22 Responses ∗ by Chrissy
Are Your MAC Brushes Authentic?
Ever been duped by a seller on eBay claiming to sell a set of 30 “MAC” Brushes for as low as $30, and when it arrives you realize that you bought cheap knockoffs? I have, recently. So after doing some research, I found a number of ways you can tell whether or not the supposed MAC brushes you’re looking at online are authentic.
1. The Seller
Just because the seller has 99% positive feedback, doesn’t mean that they are selling authentic products. Most of the good feedback is based on delivery time or made by buyers that don’t know the difference between real brushes and fake ones. Pay more attention to any bad feedback they have gotten – even if the seller only has 3 bad reviews, they are usually the most truthful.
2. Look at the handles.
Most people, if they’re smart, won’t buy anything that isn’t accompanied by a picture of what the actual product looks like. So the first thing you want to look at is the handle of the brush.
Authentic MAC brushes have silver necks on the handles and are made of black wood. The ones I bought recently, and many that I’ve seen online have black plastic necks.
To the left are fake brushes similar to what I recently received. As you can see, the necks are black plastic, and there are no numbers next to the MAC logo. Also, the logo seems a bit off if you look closely.
I have also seen fake handles that are glittery and made of cheap plastic, and ones that are unmarked and don’t even say “MAC” on them.
3. The Label
Real MAC brushes are labeled with the tiny MAC logo followed by the number of the brush (ie “205″ for the Mascara Fan Brush). Many fake brushes do not include the number of the brush, or there is something wrong with the logo. You may not be able to see this in a product picture, but this is something you could easily look out for once you’ve received the brushes.
4. Origin
Okay, let’s face it. Most knockoffs, whether it’s purses, shoes, or makeup, are made out of countries like China or Taiwan. It’s a bit sad, but don’t trust anyone that doesn’t appear to be fluent in English. You can tell by their product description, or any correspondence you’ve had with them.
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Comments
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July 19, 2009 at 1:57 pm
Tarzanna77 says:
I just bid on a MAC 182 on Ebay, due to it’s high recommendations… after the fact, I got to thinking it may be a fake… Personally I wouldn’t care if it is, as long as the quality is good. We’ll see if I win it.
It appears the fakes are getting harder & harder to spot. If I do win this one, I plan on taking it to a store that sells MAC to have them confirm that it’s real or fake.
My current Kabuki Brush that came with my Mineral Makeup is getting pretty rough, and I need a good quality replacement. Other than the MAC 182, do you have any recommendations? I think I’m going to try the $10 Flat Kabuki brush that Everyday Minerals offers, I hear it gets good reviews too. For $10 bucks, it can’t hurt to give it a shot…
July 20, 2009 at 3:52 pm
YANETTE says:
I LOVE MAKE UP !!!!!
July 24, 2009 at 6:15 pm
shootystar says:
Thanks for the tips, I’d hate to get ripped off!
August 11, 2009 at 1:18 am
tarja says:
um the whole glitter thing is wrong because some authentic mac ones ive ordered from the site have that glittery look.
but other than that youre spot on
August 11, 2009 at 1:32 am
Chrissy says:
As far as I know, the regular MAC brushes don’t usually have glittery handles. Some of the special edition brushes do, however, come in different styles. Some are glittery, some are different colors. My SE holiday brushes are red.
August 30, 2009 at 11:23 am
cecile says:
Aw I just bought a Mac brush from one of those carnival fairs for $5 and after reading this post haha its fake. Its still pretty good though.
January 26, 2010 at 11:41 am
Adoring Carmine says:
So great and useful advises about makeup brushes, love it!!! I have so many of them already
thanks for your article.
March 8, 2010 at 6:07 am
Farrahfawcett says:
It appears the fakes are getting harder & harder to spot. If I do win this one, I plan on taking it to a store that sells MAC to have them confirm that it’s real or fake.
June 16, 2010 at 4:37 am
Angie says:
regarding #4 — where do you think coach and bobbi brown are made? AUTHENTIC or knockoff, it’s from china.
August 18, 2010 at 5:21 am
mzcjcj says:
save me time and money thanks
August 27, 2010 at 8:27 pm
like mac says:
i think most authentic mac brushes are silver handle. right?
October 7, 2010 at 10:05 am
MAC makeup wholesale says:
Have a nice day for you!
January 28, 2011 at 10:47 am
Ivelisse says:
I just recently bought the travel pack mac brushes on ebay do those have to have the numbers ingraved on them as well to confirm the authenticity?
January 28, 2011 at 10:59 am
Chrissy says:
Yes, all authentic MAC brushes have the numbers engraved at the ends.
February 26, 2011 at 3:54 pm
Erika says:
Hahah! Very nice info! Nowadays it’s very common to see “30 M.A.C. brushes set” and they are just a bluff.
Thanks for posting this! Now, we’ll ALL save ourselfs $30 dlls. hahahah!
March 15, 2011 at 5:25 am
Janeen Stroffolino says:
I have not checked in here for some time since I thought it was getting boring, but the last several posts are great quality so I guess I’ll add you back to my daily bloglist. You deserve it friend
October 19, 2011 at 3:11 am
Christina Pham says:
I just saved a friend from buying fake brushes the other day, lol at least she benefited from my bad experience.
November 5, 2011 at 1:11 am
Catherine Crandell Glazner says:
THank you! This helped a TON!
November 17, 2011 at 2:21 am
Caity Schroeder says:
I just bought fake brushes.. =[ hopefully they still work well.
November 19, 2011 at 3:50 pm
Christina Pham says:
The fake ones I bought were actually alright – they weren't MAC quality, but I still use some of the brushes today
November 20, 2011 at 1:58 pm
Caity Schroeder says:
Christina Pham
yea they have good reviews (they are a christmas presant so i cant use them) so im hoping they work well
January 30, 2012 at 12:53 am
Ron Bentley says:
Great article. I have been a makeup artist for 15 years and worked for MAC here in Australia for some time. I am always amazed by my clients who come to me proud of their "MAC" brush set that they got for a steal on eBay. Because I own about 40 or so MAC brushes already, I can easily tell the difference – some of my brushes (with a lot of care) have lasted about 10 years with constant use – fakes are lucky to last a year. It's much cheaper in the long term to buy the real ones up front. Thanks for this post!