This became one of my favorite brushes unexpectedly, I never felt like before I could find the right brush to highlight my checks or brow bone. The 168 brush is too big and picks up too much color, same with the 109 brush. Also the 217 I don't like using for this purpose because, I usually use it to smoke out my eyes, and so then their is all this dark color on the brush, so i don't want that dark color all the way up on my brow bone and and face. Also this brush is dense, it picks up a lot of colors and spreads it evenly faster then other brushes. Its also not a brush that many people rave about on blogs or on youtube, but even better then maybe the 217 . Also the hairs are black so the hairs don't get stained easily like the 168 or 217 or 219 so it doesn't take as long to wash all the color out of it.

Amazing brush for highlighting the cheek and brow bone. Perfect size, denseness and bristle softness. Amazing precision of application. Cannot fault it.

Oh.My.God!
I thought this was going to be a nice little luxury brush, something i didn't really need but it hey, at least it looked cute right!?

WRONG! My god, so very wrong! This is one of those 'i don't know what i did without you' products! I use it to highlight (brows and face!), to set undereye concealer, to do an allover wash of colour, contour nose and blend out harsh lines! I used my 224 for similar things before but this has completely knocked that down to concealer brush!

It's lovely and dense, and the handle is great; the perfect size/weight for the brush (something i love about mac brushes) also has not shed, no running dye... honestly i couldn't recommend this brush enough!

Also, I have pretty small eyes and when i first saw this i kind of dismissed it to brow bone only highlighting duties, but when i used it i was like 'woaw, this i really cool.. i wonder if....' and before you know it I'd used to all over my eyes AND face!!!

and on top of all that, it is incredibly cute :)

This brush makes me sad. It's so close to perfect, yet so very far! I love the shape and density of this brush. However, it's SO big!! Who has eyes that big? I actually went to MAC with my POSH fluffy eyeshadow brush wanting a good quality version of it (wobbly metal ferrule, short handle) and this is the closest. It matches the shape and density, but again, it's HUGE!! Just sad...

This is one of my favorite MAC brushes - so much that I bought 2. I use it for applying brow highlight and all over wash colors. The bristles are soft but densely packed together for a firm but very comfortable feel. It will pick up a lot of shadow and is also good for toning down a harsh line. I like the 217 better for blending but sometimes use this first to pickup more color for blending.
I've had mine for about a year and haven't lost bristles or had any other problems. I don't wash these everyday like I do other brushes (only because I use the same highlight color most days) but I do wash weekly and they are holding up beautifully.
Great brush - I would love to have another one that is exactly the same just 2/3 the size of this one.

I use this brush for highlighting and blending my crease into my brow highlight. It's nice and dense and the bristles are a little bit hard which I like because it blends out better. This is a good sturdy brush. It has a nice thick handle for good control. It does have a little bit more fallout then other mac brushes I have but it is still very minimal. I've had this brush for years and its still very dense and the handle isn't loose at all and I use this brush on a daily basis. Overall, this is a bit on the pricey side but it is a great blending/highlighting brush.

I love this brush. It is amazing when you learn how to use it properly. I mainly use it for applying color to the entire lid. It also works well for softening colors.

I bought this brush because of the good reviews here on MUA, but I find I don't use it that often.
It's not a bad brush, but it's too scratchy in my opinion. I have even tried using conditioner on it to make it softer, but to no avail.
I use it mainly for softening my shadow above the crease, but not often tbh.
I think if I used highlighter I would find if useful for that.

This is the brush I have been searching for! I would never have thought to buy such a large eyeshadow brush, but reading others reviews convinced me to try it. Bristles are soft and dense. I mostly use it to apply all over shadow and for highlighting. I also tried MAC's pigments with this brush and it worked as well. Works great for blending too!

I love this brush I had to buy a second! It's so multi-purpose! I use one for under eye powder concealer (bare escentuals bisque) and the other for a quick sweep of eyeshadow across the lid and a subtle shade under by brows to make them look "lifted". I have many eye brushes, but this is a staple in my collection. I use this everyday...even pack for travel :) It's easy to clean, no shedding, the brush hairs are very soft and the handle is very sturdy. A overall great brush. I don't even find this to be too expensive because it has multiple uses. I got 2 because I hate mixing a concealer brush with a eyeshadow brush. I love them and have had them about 3 years. I hope MAC keeps them permanent :)

Great brush! of course top quality..like always MAC!
I use it for applying powder under my eyes, to set my concealer. Its great for those little areas where your face brush cant go, like around the nose, under eyes etc. I also use it for highlight on the browbone, for those who dont like too much brow highlight. or it looking too shiny on the browbone, it applies the right 'hint' and blends at the same time, for a natural finish.
Also great for packing glitter on lid, for overall shimmer.
LOVE that it is multi-use, you can use it anywhere. Great buy!

This brush is amazing for under the brow hi-light color, it really pulls the look together. What i really love about this brush is that its multi functional, it works as a brow hi lighter, blending, coutouring, all over lid color, and even powdering small tricky sensitive areas such as crevices of the nose and under the eyes. This brush i would most def. repurchase.

Hands down my favorite brush for applying brow highlight and blending. It is so dense and soft! I was hesitant about buying it at first due to price, but it's worth every single penny!

The 227 is a brush I would have never picked out to buy. My favorite youtube guru Tanya (pixi2woo) uses this brush a lot to apply a sweep of color over the lid, and it just made me want this brush! I finally bought it and I couldn't be happier! After I apply an eyeshadow primer, I always sweep Brule e/s over my lid as a base shadow (I find that doing this helps even out my eyelids since brule is a match for my skin, and also keeps my eyeshadow from creasing) and the 227 is the perfect brush for this!! I also use it to apply other shadows as well when I want a wash of color (i.e Naked Lunch, All That Glitters etc.). This is also a great brush for highlighting the face. It's soo soft and easy to clean - I love it! I only own 4 MAC brushes and so far I love each one for different reason and I will never be without any of them!

Where have you been all my makeup life, 227?
My reasons for hunting down this brush were as follows: I needed a LARGE brush with which I could deposit a good amount of color quickly across my entire eyelid (as in 10 seconds). The 239 is good - deposits color well, but it's so small for me that I need a couple minutes to get a nice even wash of color - which is hard because it doesn't cover the whole lid so I have to blend to make it all even. Not good.
This brush is soft yet dense enough that it picks up adequate color with just a tap and deposits it evenly - basically, NO WORK INVOLVED - just swipe & pat a little, and you're good to go. I'm a "neutrals with a kick of color" kind of girl. I usually go w/ a wash on the lid w/ a slightly defined crease - that's it. So when I need to be out the door fast (and who doesn't?), this is the brush I go to.
My 239 is still great. I love it for more precision on my lid (if you can believe that) & lining my lower lashline - that's where it really excels for me. This brush is a must have if you have larger lid space & need a wash of color. If you pack 8 colors on your lid and blend a lot, this probably isn't for you, I'm guessing.
I don't highlight my cheekbones or anything, so I can't speak to that, but the MA did mention that as a purported use of this brush.
I have also tried it for a browbone highlight, but it is slightly too big for that.
BUY THIS BRUSH. You will not regret it. I regret not getting this sooner as a must-have in my collection - coulda saved myself a lot of time! continued >>

First off - I always say that I'd buy Mac brushes again, but the great thing about Mac is that every single brush I've purchased has lasted for more than 5 years. I hope I don't jinx this latest purchase, but my experiences have been great.
This is a really good brush for sweeping on colour across my lid. I also use it to brush on highlighter on the cheekbones and the cupid's bow. Highly recommended!

i got it from a friend for a really good price. i wouldn't have gotten it if it wasn't for the good price and i am so happy i did. so good for my huge eyes,amazing eyebrow highlight and great for packing color, especially light color with low color payout.

Definitely a must have brush. The fact that the bristols are stiff makes it a lot easier for you to blend. Sometimes I place the color too high up and I use this brush to blend the color down to where I want it. I also use it to place my eyebrow highlight and it does the job! Get this brush, you won't regret it.

This is the PERFECT brow bone high lighting brush!! I seriously do not know how I lived with out it before! Now when I see all those women or men with those serious highlights that are BOOM in your face I am going to tell them all about this brush! It also helps to blend the crease color if you took it up too high! I cant say enough about this brush. If you are in the market for something like this I HIGHLY recommend it! You can use it for facial high lighting, brow bone high lighting, or all over lid color. In a pinch you could get away with using this for a whole eye look too! Great buy if you are asking me just quite pricey!!

Oh-this is my first review here :-) I love this brush... i use it every day for aply e/s all over my lid and for highlight my browbone. In mac counter itīs very expensive (here in germany) but i have the luck to buy it in ebay-auction.