It does have quite a strong alcohol smell, which is why I don't spritz it on my brushes from a spray bottle and prefer to decant onto a paper towel. I only just run it over the paper towel a few times. It is great at getting rid of the superficial layer of makeup and keeping brushes relatively clean between deeper cleans. I put a little bit of the cleanser on a paper towel and then wipe my brushes over it in a swirly pattern after applying makeup. I usually just wash my brushes once a week (admittedly I get lazy and extend this to once every two weeks), so I decided about a month ago to get the MAC Brush Cleanser to help me get into more of a habit of cleaning my brushes, given that I was given a really impressive demo by the sales assistant where she cleaned her brushes in about 5 seconds flat with it. It always happens with me that a trip to the MAC counter means leaving with the item I had in mind to purchase plus at least one other thing that I had not planned on. Deodorant / Antiperspirant / Body spray / Powder.
