MAC • 224 Tapered Blending (Windshield Wiper) Brush • Makeup Brushes

Xexuxa on 4/18/2013 12:20:00 AM more reviews by Xexuxa

Age: 25-29   Skin: Oily, Fair-Medium, Warm   Hair: Red, Fine   Eyes: Black    

The 224 brush is one of my favorite brushes by MAC. I use the brush to apply color in the crease of the eye and sometimes to apply a highlight. The brush applies the shadow nicely but it might be a bit broad to work in the creases for some eyes. The 222 might be better suited for smaller eyes. I have had this brush for 7 years and its still in good shape. I recommend this brush for anyone looking to build a basic brush kit.

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*TOP REVIEWER* Asti1234 on 3/13/2013 7:12:00 AM more reviews by Asti1234

Age: 25-29   Skin: Normal, Medium, Warm   Hair: Brunette, Straight, Medium   Eyes: Brown    

I own two of these. One I use to blend out my eyeshadow when doing a dark or smokey eye. I have to be careful not to over blend though because sometimes it can make it look too smudgey. The other I use to apply my undereye concealer. It blends it out perfectly and is soft enough to use under the eye area. I highly recommend this brush. X

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*TOP REVIEWER* Fieeeh on 2/26/2013 3:55:00 PM more reviews by Fieeeh

Age: 19-24   Skin: Very Oily, Fair-Medium, Warm   Hair: Brunette, Wavy, Medium   Eyes: Grey    

Great blending brush :)

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amascovs on 2/15/2013 12:21:00 PM more reviews by amascovs

Age: 25-29   Skin: Dry, Fair   Hair: Red   Eyes: Grey    

I hate this brush. The Sigma E25 wayyyy outperformsit. I have large eyes with deep sockets and this brush still manages to sweep eyeshadow everywhere and overblend everything. I bought this brush less than 3 months ago and it's already rough and scratchy.

The MUA at the MAC store assured me this would be my ultimate favorite blending brush...man she was WRONG! The brush is already shedding, despite the fact that I take excellent care of it (and all my brushes), and even with a brush cover, the bristles are splaying and curling.

I hate this brush so much. I don't know why I can't bring myself to throw it away.

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*TOP REVIEWER* almond_leaves on 2/6/2013 3:49:00 PM more reviews by almond_leaves

Age: 25-29   Skin: Combination, Fair-Medium, Warm   Hair: Brown, Fine   Eyes: Black    

Again, another excellent brush by MAC.

I use this to blend as well as for light applications. I do find that it's a bit big for my small eyes, still I manage to use it. The smaller one would've worked better for me. Still, a wonderful brush.

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jinglingjambo on 1/31/2013 3:29:00 PM more reviews by jinglingjambo

Age: 19-24   Skin: Oily, Fair-Medium, Cool   Hair: Blond, Straight, Fine   Eyes: Hazel    

This brush is great and versatile. You could use it for blending concealer, setting concealer with powder or for blending eyeshadows. Personally, I use it to set my concealer as it is small enough to get in all the fine lines and contour areas.

Also, a great quality brush for £22 that washes well (goes a little fluffier than it originally was) and doesn't shed. I use this brush every day and love it, I'd be gutted if it broke or I lost it because I would rather purchase a cheaper dupe if I could find one.

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lnielsen22 on 1/24/2013 4:51:00 PM more reviews by lnielsen22

Age: 44-55   Skin: Combination, Medium   Hair: Brown   Eyes: Green    

This is the brush that my eye make-up look depends on and is not the same without. And I've used so many brushes from different brands, never achieving the soft, perfectly blended and quickly achieved flawless look this gives me. I use the 218 to apply shadow and the 224 to blend. I also use the 224 to blend concealer under my eyes (I have two, one for shadow and one for concealer). I always keep the one I use to blend shadows clean and free of any product, and I think that is the key to getting the flawless look (learned this from the amazing Tanya Burr on youtube). I love all my MAC brushes and think they are superior to any other brand I've tried, but this one is my must have.

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*TOP REVIEWER* Parisa909 on 1/24/2013 12:34:00 AM more reviews by Parisa909

Age: 19-24   Skin: Other, Olive   Hair: Brunette   Eyes: Brown    

Harsh eye shadow edges are effortlessly blended away with the 224! This is the secret to my smokey eyes looks, it just blends crease colours seamlessly with just a few ‘swish-swish’ motions. Every day I use this on my brow bone using my transition eye shadow (MAC Wedge) and it gives the most perfectly diffused Kardashian-style finish to my eyes.

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*TOP REVIEWER* curlywurly100 on 1/1/2013 12:16:00 PM more reviews by curlywurly100

Age: 19-24   Skin: Combination, Fair-Medium   Hair: Brunette, Curly, Medium   Eyes: Brown    

where has this brush been all my make-up wearing life?! i absolutely love this brush! it blends all my eye make-up like a dream.
i want to start this review by first mentioning that i have a lot of lid and brow bone space. if you also do, this is perfect for you too. if you don't have a lot of space, then you need a more condensed blending brush like MAC's 217, or any dense blending brush or even just a dense crease brush would work.
this is a big, fluffy tapered brush that blends EVERYTHING in a few swirls. it makes my make-up look a hundred times more professional and saves me so much time in the morning, because i like to combine a lot of colours on my lid and crease, and i always need a lot of time to make them all look blended and transitioned. not anymore! this also is really useful when i haven't done that great a job actually applying the colours as well because of how well it just blends them. it's great for blending as you go along, blending the finished result and using this with colours that you want 'blended in' to the whole finished look.
so now we've established that it works, i want to discuss a bit about the packaging and cost. this brush is very expensive! though i do believe it's worth the money, it still is something you have to think about before you buy. i would suggest testing this brush at MAC first. go and apply some colours and then do your own before and after! because it may be that it splays colour too much for your eye shape.
i removed one point for packaging quality, because it sheds. i have also noticed a piece of a bristle too, which means it not only sheds, but its bristles also break. my advice to minimise this as much as possible, is to be gentle when you clean and spot clean, and store it somewhere safe. so i don't think this brush is durable enough to just throw it solo in your make-up bag. store it in a brush roll, cup or just somewhere by itself. so that's one con. for the price it shouldn't shed or break. otherwise no complaints.
i would definitely repurchase. it's my staple blending brush now!

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*TOP REVIEWER* sweetascocoa on 12/27/2012 3:22:00 AM more reviews by sweetascocoa

Age: 25-29   Skin: Very Oily, Dark, Warm   Hair: Black, Relaxed, Coarse   Eyes: Brown    

I bought this brush for eye makeup blending purposes, but I find that this brush is a little too big for my eyelid. I tend to overblend my eyeshadow with this brush. My 226 and 222 allow me to blend my shadows a little better.

However, my major issue with this brush is that the other day, the ferrule separated from the brush. If I hadn't gotten it from the MAC counter, I would question whether the brush is authentic. I've only had the brush for about 8 months...so I don't know what the issue is. I've had other MAC brushes for 8 years, and I've never had an issue with a loose/separated ferrule. Maybe I just got a bad brush with this one. Regardless, I spent too much money for me to have an issue with the ferrule- especially, this early on.

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anjelykah on 12/10/2012 9:06:00 PM more reviews by anjelykah

Age: 30-35   Skin: Acne-prone, Fair-Medium, Cool   Hair: Brunette, Wavy, Coarse   Eyes: Hazel    

My experience with the 224 is similar to that of the 217 blending brush. I was hesitant to purchase both brushes since I figured that I did not need 2 blending brushes. However, I am glad that I did! Since the bristles of the 217 are more tightly packed, it deposits more color. However when you just want to blend, blend, blend...the 224 will be your best friend and it will not allow you to leave the house with harsh eye shadow lines.

Something that I picked up from Emilynoel from youtube is the use of a mauve/cranberry color right above the crease to give a dark smokey eye some warmth. Enter the 224, I lightly dip the brush in MAC's cranberry, NYX's Burgundy Pearl or the cranberry color from the ELF day to night quad and do the back and forth windshield wiper motion slightly above the crease and ta da! Smokey eye with some warmth!

I also like to use it to set powder over my under eye concealer. As also with the 217, I only wish is that it would be a little softer.

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*TOP REVIEWER* swtlilqtk on 11/29/2012 9:00:00 PM more reviews by swtlilqtk

Age: 25-29   Skin: Combination, Olive, Cool   Hair: Red, Wavy, Medium   Eyes: Green    

Whereas I personally do not "love" this brush as a blender for shadow I DO love it for my concealer! I use Select Cover Up and Prolongwear under my eyes, depending on the day, and I use this brush to blend out either one. Instead of giving a cakey, heavy made up appearance this gives an airbrush look. Just put a lil concealer on the back of you hand take the brush and pick up the product. I start on the inner corner doing small, circular motions until the product is completely is completely blended out. This does for your concealer what a 130 would do for your foudation. If you use any sort of heavy coverage concealer you NEED to get this brush to avoid a cakey look but still get the great coverage you desire. I like how gentle it is for my undereye area too....no pulling or tugging upon application! Sometimes when Im feeling super fancy I use it to apply eyecream and it gives a nice soothing effect. Great change to a standard, flat concealer brush, and def worth trying yourself if you haven't yet.

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*TOP REVIEWER* Menolikepolos on 11/28/2012 11:49:00 AM more reviews by Menolikepolos

Age: 25-29   Skin: Combination, Fair, Neutral   Hair: Brunette, Medium   Eyes: Blue    

I love this brush! I can't do my eye shadow without now : )

Just makes blending out a dream, making my eye shadow application a no-stress job. LOVE and highly recommend!

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Dlrainer on 11/25/2012 9:51:00 PM more reviews by Dlrainer

Age: 25-29   Skin: Combination, Fair-Medium   Hair: Blond   Eyes: Blue    

Part of my makeup kit! Love this brush!

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macbrushsets on 11/24/2012 11:53:00 AM more reviews by macbrushsets

Age: 19-24   Skin: Normal, Fair   Hair: Blond   Eyes: Brown    

I need this type of brush model maybe MAC 168. For expert application of cheek contour. This brush is a large angled contour - the fibres form a buffed edge and are soft and firmly bundled. MAC professional brushes are hand-sculpted and assembled using the finest quality materials. They feature wood handles and nickel-plated brass ferrules. macbrushset.com write this about model 168

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*TOP REVIEWER* BrigitteBardot on 11/24/2012 11:33:00 AM more reviews by BrigitteBardot

Age: 25-29   Skin: Normal, Fair-Medium   Hair: Brunette   Eyes: Brown    

I use it for blending eye shadow. Works well for me! (I use the 239 for application.)

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sarahmarie86 on 10/22/2012 5:49:00 PM more reviews by sarahmarie86

Age: 25-29   Skin: Combination, Fair, Warm   Hair: Blond, Wavy, Medium   Eyes: Green    

I own pretty much all the MAC brushes and I must say that this brush gets the least use out of all of them. Wish I would have spent the $30 on something else. The brush sheds and it is incredibly scratchy on my eyelids. It doesn't blend well nor does it apply color to the crease to my liking. I MUCH MUCH MUCH prefer the 217 to this brush. Save your money.

Edit: I discovered this brush is great for applying under eye concealer, so it's not a total failure... but I'm sure there are cheaper brushes that would work just as well. Not to mention, when you use it for this the brush does shed, and it's pretty annoying trying to get the shed brush hair out of your concealer.

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*TOP REVIEWER* xtinahb on 9/17/2012 9:03:00 AM more reviews by xtinahb

Age: 30-35   Skin: Combination, Medium, Warm   Hair: Black, Straight, Fine   Eyes: Brown    

A 5 for face product blending, a 3 for eye makeup blending. I have monolid creaseless Asian eyes and prefer smaller brushes like the 239 or the MUFE 17S on my lids. The 224 was too soft and splayed too much, overblending shadows beyond where I wanted, since my lidspace is so limited, lol! But for concealer blending, this is a GREAT brush. Soft enough to use anywhere on your face (no scratchiness here) and blends base products smoothly and invisibly. A good brush for my collection overall.

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jacrodriguez on 9/1/2012 11:04:00 AM more reviews by jacrodriguez

Age: 25-29   Skin: Combination, Fair-Medium, Warm   Hair: Black, Relaxed, Medium   Eyes: Brown    

This is a versatile brush. I used it first as a Blending Brush for eyeshadows, which it was originally meant to do, but then I discovered Nars blending brush 13 which is way better in shape, size, quality and softness. But this one did not go to waste. This is a good brush and I use it now for application and blending my concealer on my under eyes, redness and blemishes (which gives the best and most natural coverage), dusting powder to seal the concealer where I placed it, applying bronzer on my inner brow bone to the sides of my nose for contouring and removing flakes of mascara or droppings of eyeshadow on my face. So I love it.

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Redbone21 on 8/26/2012 1:05:00 PM more reviews by Redbone21

Age: 19-24   Skin: Acne-prone, Olive, Warm   Hair: Brown, Curly, Fine   Eyes: Brown    

I hated this brush at first because the first day I used this brush it shedded. Over time it did stop. I like this for blending my concealer. This is my first and last MAC brush because I feel like I could've gotten a brush like this for less than $30 that doesn't shed. But at least I can say I tried it. To each its own. Over all this is a good brush though

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