The purpose of this guide is to help buyers spot counterfeit MAC Cosmetics Brushes. There are several sellers on eBay currently selling "sets" of 8 MAC brushes. The brushes are numbers 150, 190, 194, 168, 275, 239, 266, and 316. Almost any time you see these brushes in a set for around $100, they are most likely counterfeit. I purchased a set and took pictures before I sent them back.



The first thing that led me to discover that these brushes were not authentic was the ferrules. (The metal part that attaches the bristles to the handle.) The ferrules on authentic MAC brushes flare out around where the wood handle is attached. On the counterfeit brushes, the ferrules are flat. (As you can see in the pictures.) As I compared them to some authentic brushes I had, I also noticed that the quality of the bristles were very low, and not at all as dense as the authentic brushes. One of the main problems I had was that the brushes looked extremely cheap and smelled of a strong chemical plastic smell. They were in very crunchy plastic sleeves and sealed in a bag. MAC does not sell full sized brush sets like this.

Please do your research before purchasing these items, so that you do not get taken by dishonest eBay sellers.