First Look| Sephora x Hakuhodo Synthetic Brushes

I woke up one morning and found myself surrounded by Limited Edition brushes hullabaloo. Hakuhodo, a Japanese powerhouse for natural hair brushes, was collaborating with Sephora to bring a line of synthetic brushes for the plebeian masses!? Count me in.

After much deliberation, partly because the sample pictures and descriptions online told me nothing about shape, size, and density of each brush, I settled for two that could fit into my current brush collection. Keep in mind that I had ordered the Chikuhodo x Beautylish Sakura collection  a few days earlier, so I didn't want anything redundant and definitely wanted a few synthetics for what I had purged last month. 

The packaging is absolutely elegant and makes these brushes a great gift for makeup lovers. Those rubber bands cling tight, so make sure not to damage the hairs when you remove the brushes. The brushes have their names carved on the ends in Japanese. So darling! 

I'm not huge on white brushes because I'm a lazy person but like to keep my personal belongings spotless. Dilemma. 

The first, Kusuriyubi ($30), looks like an excellent albeit giant packing brush for the lids. I seem to have quite a few more multipurpose brushes similar to the MAC 217 but only two or three packing brushes. Sephora advertises this as a concealer, highlighter, and precision contour brush (I'm guessing for the nose?)

It works better with powder, but I could use this to place a light layer of concealer under the eyes. I tried spot concealing a blemish with it but the dense hairs picked up more product than it laid down!

This is my favorite of the two. It's straight forward, multi-purpose, and soft but dense. Both of these brushes have good heft in the handle and aren't too long for detailed work. At 30 quids you could find a cheaper synthetic brush or pay an extra 2 bucks for a comparable (and natural hair) Wayne Goss #17. 

I'm a little hesitant to express my thoughts on Ougi ($40), because I'm not quite sure if I want to keep it or not. It's not a bad brush. The hairs are soft enough, but the bristles are dense and at the same time too long to pack on color! If you look at the description it warns you that it's for "the natural look, light-med coverage...". This means that you can use it with a highly pigmented blush and it wouldn't look overdone.

It's also hard to blend with this brush because the hairs don't splay into a wide sphere. You want to use this with something that requires long, deliberate strokes such as highlighting or blush toppers. I don't think that this brush would work for precisely placing a metallic highlight on the cheekbones, but it's excellent for blush toppers (think: Becca SSP in Rose Gold, MAC Stereo Rose, etc...)

I have not tried this brush with a contour powder but I suspect it might be a good pairing. The only problem? I have plenty of contouring brushes and don't do enough contouring to justify it!

Otherwise, I did try it with a liquid foundation with ample fear of my brush being stained and the results were streaky and less than fabulous. As you'll see below, the shape is very unique and it will only fit a very particular category of use for you, whatever that may be. 

Overall, these are good brushes if you can't access Hakuhodo brushes online (the high shipping costs and extensive list of brushes have always deterred me from making a purchase). I will have to play around with my Ougi for a little while longer before deciding to return or purge it. 

Edit (August 3, 2015): I've returned the flat concealer brush and kept Ougi. It's PERFECT for contouring! The brush doesn't splay out too much and has less density on the tips to ensure blending without muddying or spreading contour product too far out. YOU NEED IT.

xo Be

Edit| My Brush Collection Part 1: Face Brushes

After discovering the bliss that is natural hair brushes, I purged most of my synthetic brushes (mostly Real Techniques and Sigma) to friends and decided to invest in quality pieces that would last a lifetime. They require less washing but more meticulous care when you do.

The majority of my every day brushes now are cruelty free natural goat or squirrel hair. I mean, if I could capture a squirrel and kill it with my bare hands to make a whole brush set like an artisan boss I would. It's just that the mass production of brushes that's not cruelty free is disgusting to think about. The only synthetic brush I have for the face is the Make Up For Ever 130 Large Powder Brush ($55). 

Part One of my edit will be focuses on face brushes, those used for powder, blush, foundation, and so on. I like Wayne Goss brushes because they are easily accessible on Beautylish.com and doesn't require third party buyers/awkward attempt at reading Japanese/huge orders to fulfill shipping requirements to buy.

From top to bottom: Wayne Goss 02, 13, and 12. MUFE 130. Chikuhodo Z1. 

The MUFE 130 Large Powder Brush ($55) is huge, dense without being stiff, and ultra soft. If you're fervently against using animal hair it's a great idea to invest in their brush line. This one is so soft and well constructed with a great heft thanks to the wooden handle. 

It takes only a night to dry and is very easy to wash. 

I use this one to blend out: 

1. Cake face mistakes due to dim lighting.

2. Shimmery bronzers on the perimeter of the face.

3. Whore blush.

The Chikuhodo Z1 is a very, very, very expensive brush. I told my cousin about the $178 price tag and she balked. "But that's the price of a handbag!"  Mine looks a little wonky on top as I've just washed and dried it.

Well yes, my deluded little mind thought, but I'll be able to pass it down to my grandchildren when they get into makeup. I was also just trigger-happy and got too excited when the brand came to Beautylish.com as it had been a pain to order online before.

However, I would say that this brush is only minimally softer than my Wayne Goss brushes and that the price is unwarranted. It's a splurge/luxury item and not a total must in my book.

It's smaller than a traditional powder brush, but I find that its blue squirrel hair does a great job at depositing powder foundations onto the skin and almost melting them in. You're left with the lightest layer of product but the highest amount of coverage. I also like using it for more precise application and blending of bronzer. 

The handle is surprisingly light. I rather like a heavier handle and weight distributed in the front of the brush but this one feels as light as air.

Next is my favorite for sheer blushes and contours, the Wayne Goss 12 ($53). Its shape will do a lot to explain why this is my favorite to fit right under my cheekbones to contour and bronze. The goat hair is ultra soft (especially compared to my Bobbi Brown powder brush) and blends blushes like a dream. Nothing vulgar here, folks.

Flat and wide enough to deposit blush color.

Yet thin on the sides to fit into the contours of your face...I reach for this one on a daily basis when it comes to applying powder products. 

Finally, my two recent acquisitions: the Wayne Goss 02 ($35) and 13 ($53). Wait a minute, wasn't it just better for me to order the three sets available and save myself a whole lotta money? In my defense, a lot of the brushes are similar and redundant and I only like a sane amount of brushes in my everyday arsenal.

The 02, made from squirrel, is perfect for setting the undereyes with powder or applying an intense contour and heavily pigmented blushes. My 13, made from goat, was just used to apply liquid foundation. It's soft without splaying all over and blends liquids without resistance or streak marks like synthetic brushes can.

You may think that the 13 is a little too small to be used all over the face but its softness actually makes it a dream to use. Liquid foundations look very natural with this brush. Goss advertises it as his "one brush for an entire makeup look" and I could very well agree. I don't like using super small brushes like it to apply powder, but I bet it could be used in a pinch or when I'm travelling. 

By this point Wayne Goss should be personally reaching out to me and letting me shill his products for money, but I digress. These are all very soft, very well made, and very reliable brushes that aren't cheap and don't look it either. It's a step up from synthetic brushes but if you want your brushes to out-live your makeup stash, I would suggest taking a look on the Beautylish website. (Psst, they have a payment plan available and super fast shipping!) 

Watch out for Part 2 of this edit, where I'll go into my favorite and most used eye brushes.

xo Be