Guest Post: MAC 286 and Laura Mercier Finishing Eye Brush Comparison by toto850

It's time for another brush comparison post by the lovely toto850 of makeupalley. Actually I requested this because having recently fallen for the MAC 286 brush (it replaced the 217 in my affections -- this is srs bidness), I was hmming and hawing over whether I still needed the Laura Mercier ponytail...

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By toto850

MAC released a new brush not so long ago and it's called the 286, basically a duo fiber eye brush. It first came out with the Holiday 2011 collection in a SE brush set with short handles.
For those who don't know: the SE brush sets are mass produced by machines (m.a.w. not hand made!) so the quality is not the same as the full size MAC brushes (read: crap!). But to avoid any confusion, this the review for the full size MAC 286 which is permanent. :)

My first impression about this brush was that it's an exact dupe for the Laura Mercier Finishing Eye brush. But comparing and seeing them side by side they are not quite identical after all, although they look very much alike.
If you look at the pics: on the left is the LM Finishing Eye brush and on the right you'll see the MAC 286.

The LM Finishing Eye brush is definitely slimmer and more tapered at the end, while the MAC 286 is fluffier and wider at the side.
Both brushes have been washed and what I noticed is that the LM brush keeps its shape better than the MAC one. After washing the MAC 286 poofs out a little making the brush less dense.

The hairs of both brushes are quite densely packed together but I find the LM brush is a bit more firmer and therefore gives more resistance when you apply your e/s. This brush would be excellent for blending, crease color application or for a wash of color over the eyelid.
The MAC 286 is a bit softer but still good for blending colors in the crease or to soften the hard edges of your e/s application.

 All in all they are both great brushes but I do tend to grab more for the LM Finishing Eye brush since it's a little stiffer and makes blending a lot easier imo. Maybe in the future I will purge the MAC 286 but for now I'm quite happy with both of them. If one is dirty, I can easily just use the other brush instead. :)

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The Driveller again: I currently use my MAC 286 mainly with cream products (eyeshadows or concealers) which means it needs washing daily.... very tempted indeed by the Laura Mercier now. If anyone else owns both brushes, I would love you to weigh in by leaving me a comment!

Topshop Mystical Crayon, the missing ByTerry Ombre Blackstar

Sorry, spoilers in the title.

Well, it's only been months since Naz first posted about it, and this post can basically be summed up as, "wot she said."

Having recently received one of the Topshop Eye Crayons (made in Italy, £7.50 for 1.64g) as a gift, I was spurred on by her post to borrow some of my mum's ByTerry Ombre Blackstars (made in Italy, £27.50 for 1.64g) for, y'know, Science*. Or swatches.

* GraceLondon has contributed rather more science (ingredients lists!) via comment.

Straight and angled swatches in natural light

With flash

Full sun -- with ByTerry Bronze Moon added

I hope these convey just how similar the textures are -- Topshop Mystical may look a little more glittery at some angles but in my opinion this is entirely down to the fact that its iridescent shimmer is more distinct from the base colour; other ByTerry shades, such as Black Pearl, would look more shimmery than the Topshop.

In terms of feel, blendability, the appearance once on the eyes, and lasting power (both on my dry eyelids and my mother's oily ones), the Topshop and ByTerry perform identically.

Fortunately for my bank account, I prefer the cool taupe Topshop Mystique to any of ByTerry's offerings. In terms of direct shade dupe-age, Topshop Whisper seems close to ByTerry Blond Opal, while the discontinued Zephyr looks from Naz's picture to be a gold-shimmered version of ByTerry silvered Black Pearl. Otherwise, none of the other Topshop shades currently available seem to be repeats: Bramble is a dark neutral brown with contrasting cool shimmer and Sunshower a bright, very yellow gold metallic with tonal shimmer.

Here's Mystique again against some other taupes. Mostly creams, two touchstone powders.

1. RMS Beauty Eyeshadow Magnetic
2. Make Up For Ever Aqua Cream #2 Steel
3. Paul&Joe Eye Gloss Duo #4 Bourgeoisie (darker side)
4. Shu Uemura liquid eyeshadow from Glint Blue duo (LE Egerie collection, spring 2010)
5. Topshop Eye Crayon Mystique
6. ByTerry Ombre Blackstar Misty Rock
7. ByTerry Ombre Blackstar Bronze Moon
8. Shu Uemura ME Silver 945 (DC)
9. Addiction Eyeshadow Flash Back

Natural light, shade

Natural light, sun

Finally, Mystique worn as a 5-second wash in natural light

With flash

Ladurée Les Merveilleuses Pressed Cheek Colour 11

Through the generosity of lovely ladies Jamilla and  Charisse, I recently managed to acquire one of the exquisite cameo-embossed Ladurée Les Merveilleses pressed powder blushes. Currently exclusive to Japan, each 4g blush single retails for ¥3990 with cases sold separately for ¥1575 -- if like me you find the packaging mildly hideous not your tasse de thé, it's essentially a depotter's discount :D

(Justifications aside, this counts as my fourth purchase of this year's twelve.)

Obligatory packaging porn, such as it is:

Lovely thick, textured paper box

Ingredients

 

Contents: Plastic oval encasing the pan, and a clear plastic lid to protect the surface

The pan feels pleasantly hefty (heavier than Addiction and definitely no flimsy Illamasqua-esque tins) and has a magnet attached to its base

Shade-wise I opted for a safe raspberry-rose no. 11

Comparison Swatches

Natural light

Becca Beach Tint Raspberry
Rouge Bunny Rouge cream blush wand Rubens
RBR powder blush Florita
Sleek Pinktini and Pink Parfait from Blush By 3 Pink Sprint trio
Ladurée Les Merveilluses Pressed Cheek Colour 11

In both shade and pigmentation, Ladurée 11 is closest to Sleek Pinktini -- if you are familiar with the brighter Sleek shades, you'll know this makes Ladurée pretty.damn.pigmented. Its finish is on the matte side of satin, glowier than Illamasqua mattes but not as sheeny as RBR powders.

However, as my swatch hopefully shows, the texture of Ladurée is far smoother and the pigmentation more evenly dispersed over one heavy swipe. It's an odd phenomenon I haven't quite worked out yet but the Ladurée texture seems to be extremely blendable without being exceptionally creamy or silky feeling. It is finely milled and tightly pressed, but no more so than my favourites formulas (RBR, Burberry, Shiseido) and it lacks their immediately 'smooth' feel.

The first tap of (any) brush on cheek actually makes the blush look patchy on me -- it's only after continuing to blend that the colour takes on a smooth, demi-matte finish which nonetheless manages to appear lit-from-within. The blending itself is a breeze -- this powder never drags even on my Saharan-dry cheeks and I can go back and smooth over any edges even hours after application.

A simple look with Ladurée 11, Guerlain Rouge G Gigolo blotted down to a lipstain 

and Topshop Crayon Mystical on eyes (review to come)

Base: Paul&Joe Light Cream S 00 mixed with RBR Sea of Tranquility with Ellis Faas 

concealer under eyes. Lancome Hypnôse Drama WP mascara.

Pictures taken in natural light, such as it was....

So I've blathered about shade, texture and feel... the look this blush ultimately gives is that of a cheek stain in powder form. And working backwards, I think this explains both its odd spreadability-without-creaminess and its matte and pigmented yet translucent finish.

And like the Beauté liqui-gel stains which it most closely resembles, this is not as flattering on flaky, dehydrated skin as Rouge Bunny Rouge powders or RMSbeauty creams -- it will remain a warm-weather-only formula for me.