ARTIS and MAC MASTERCLASS BRUSHES

It took me some time to try these properly, I thought it would be fun using these brushes, fun didn’t last long. I had to find the time to give them a second chance.. then a third.. and here I am finally, I think I tried them enough times to report back.

I got 2 Mac Masterclass brushes, 3 Artis white Elite Mirror collection and then I bought the Artis Fluenta who made me think of a 60’s alien movie and when it’s about trying new strange things and having fun, big chances I am right there in the very front row!

I don’t know how to start this post, I don’t know if I should start with the ergonomics, the results, the quality… I crashed for a while here in front of my post.  Let’s start with a bit about each brush…

MAC LINEAR 1 (25$)

I knew I was taking a risk buying these brushes as I couldn’t see them working very well for me.  I thought I would use this brush for eyebrows and work on the lashline.

For the brows yes it’s fine, until I want to do the outer of the brows where they get thinner, then I lose precision as I find it too long, it’s 1.5cm long, I can’t see where the brush is, where the pigment got placed on the bristles so I end up with two slightly different brows. So for that purpose, it partially does it job.

For the lashline, it’s ok when I want to use sheer shadows, when I switch to darker shadows I see more precisely where I went wrong, it doesn’t apply the powder or cream evenly and often have to adjust the width and correct. Then when I want to do the left side it gets trickier, holding that brush and using with my right hand on my right eye is ok, using my right hand for my left eye is less ok, it does not look like I was going for the same look on both eyes 😀

Now Artis make the “demi”, which is a shorter version and probably much better.

MAC AND ARTIS OVALS 3 (32$ and 40$)

I intended to use that brush for concealer or for the crease application.

I cannot get a controlled crease application,  it’s ok with shadows that aren’t too dark but then using it with medium to darker shadows the result is not even and needs correction which is a waste of time. Maybe your eye shape will agree with this kind of brushes for transition colors, my eye shape (hooded eyes) and technique (strong color only on the outer part) don’t, the application gets too heavy, lacks precision.

For concealer, yes ok, but I still cannot get enough precision or a blending technique that satisfies me. It’s so dense and firm and curved that it doesn’t put equal pressure on the whole surface and the skin moves too much so sometimes the result is blended fine, but most of the time the product ends up where I don’t need it. These brushes are approx 1.7cm long and 8mm wide.

You may like this type of brushes if you have to get close to the mirror, it could help you but I did not find any added benefits from this toothbrush shape.

ARTIS CIRCLE 1R (35$)

It’s a shame that it’s so firm and dense, I like the shape but it’s just too firm, my skin moves too much when I use it, my poor mature lids are all over the place… it moves more than it blends on my skin but from the whole range it’s the one I can use the best. I use it with cream shadows or with powders, can also work as lip brush. This is a nice option if you are going for strong or editorial looks, if you want to pat some glitter for example but its firmness may alter the underneath application.

ARTIS OVAL 6 (55$)

I thought this would be nice for foundation or cream blush or cream contour.

It gives a nice finish to the foundation application, however, I noticed several times that once it finishes moving the product around and starts blending, some parts of my face end up with a heavier coverage than others. On my cheekbone where I want the  most coverage is where I get the least.  The blending is stronger on the cheekbone, almost removes all the coverage, then, on the sides of my face where I don’t need as much coverage I noticed the coverage was heavier. A bigger and less firm version of this brush would work better as it would certainly put less pressure and spread the pressure on a wider zone. The contact zone of this brush remains in the centre as it’s a bit curved, when you want to apply blush or contour, you won’t see exactly where it’s going to go.  I also tried to contour and I ended up with a face 2/3 contoured 🙂

So a bigger and airier version of this brush, yes why not, I am just not tempted but it would certainly give better results for foundation

This one is 3,5cm long, 2.2 cm wide.

FLUENTA OVAL 4 (50$)

The shape of this brush allows to see a bit better where you place your product, so that’s better. It’s also a nice size for placing contour creams, then the Oval 6 will come in handy to blend. I did like to apply my cream contour with this and then blend with the Oval 6.

Definitely allows a better control with that handle as your hand is not as close to the face and you can see a bit more what’s happening underneath…

It’s also better for concealer than the Oval 3, but for most it may just be too big. It’s 2.3 cm long and 1.2 cm wide.

THE ERGONOMICS

I really don’t like these handles, not my cup of tea. Trying to get the left side application to match the right it’s a pain, it takes time and I could never be entirely satisfied.

Also trying to be stable is not easy, at least with a normal brush I can use my face to stabilise my hand, with these I can’t even do that and doing my left side is just too time consuming.

THE AUDIENCE

It’s not because I can’t use them that they can’t be useful to you, there is probably people out there happy with them. I regret not being able to use them before I purchased, the sales assistant looked at me with “don’t-ask-me-any-question” eyes but I did and she answered she was just replacing and did not know how to use them.

Even though I don’t see myself using these brushes for my daily make-up routine, I can see myself using them to create fun looks, more on the editorial or abstract sides.

THE QUALITY

At first they look good, the bristles are synthetic but look nice.  I had some issues with the white ones, they are turning green where the rubber is and I don’t know why…

When you look closely, their plastic is not that great quality, it feels cheap, our lives don’t rely on them so they don’t need to feel heavy or solid, yet I wish they did. These are too expensive for what they are…

The white Artis and the Mac are made in China, the Fluenta is made in USA.

THE RESULTS

I can’t use them for my daily routine as they are time consuming for me and the looks that come out of them are too strong.

They all have the same type of bristles, soft and very dense, too dense imho. They are soft but with the linear I managed to poke my skin and hurt it, a couple of bristles can just pinch, but my skin is really really sensitive so this may not apply to you.

I like synthetic brushes, I have no problem at all using synthetic brushes, I love the Hourglass or most of the Marc Jacobs, even Real Techniques are fantastic. Just these brushes, same density across the whole range is not that useful, unless it’s exactly what you love.

By the way, if you have experience with the brushes, please share and this will give more input on these brushes and help those who are interested to get a more balanced opinion  🙂