Love for Brushes

[AMK721]

I'm developing a love for brushes of all kinds.  I bought a few higher end brushes and they are amazing.  They are incredibly soft and my makeup glides on like a dream.  There are so many interesting shapes. I am really interested in creating a beautiful brush collection.  Show your brushes and share any cleaning and storage tips and let us know which ones are your favorites.

[nikki25gee]

It is very pretty, when did it start shedding? 😞 @Anonymous

[CosmicBeauty247]

Hello brush experts. 🙂

I've been reading some pages here to educate myself on brushes. Unfortunately I am a bit overwhelmed by the information and all the options that are available.

My mother is heading out to Japan soon and asked me if I wanted anything from there. I was thinking: brushes! I am aware that there are a number of brands of Japanese brushes that are available to purchase online. However, if anyone has suggestions for brushes to get over there because it's cheaper, easier to get, and/or only available there, I would love to get some advice on this.

What I am looking for (in no particular order):

- brushes to use for everyday so easy to maintain, low maintenance (so no squirrel hair?)

- not too expensive (this is a relative term, I know)

- for powder eye shadows (application, blending, lining,)

- for cheeks (powder blush and powder highlighter)

- for lips

I have normal to oily skin, not sensitive to anything, and I typically apply my makeup soon after washing and my skin care routine (so no mid-day touch-ups etc).

TIA!

[Mochapj]

@CosmicBeauty247 ooh a trip to Japan sounds so exciting!  Lucky mom!

If you want low maintenance brushes, I'd probably recommend sticking to synthetics, to be honest.  squirrel hair brushes aren't 'high maintenance' per se, but if you want them to last they shouldn't be shampoo'd with the same frequency as you might for a synthetic brush.  You can always wipe them with a microfibre cloth between uses in order to get rid of any product residue.  

If you can give a estimate on price you're willing to spend total, I'd be happy to recommend some options.  Also, it would help to know what sort of brushes you're currently using and where you feel those are falling short (ie why do you want to upgrade)

i don't typically advocate buying brush sets unless you will use 80%+ of the brushes in a set. IMO it's better to spend money on the few brushes you need than a set with ones that won't get used.

[CosmicBeauty247]

Thanks for your input @Mochapj! Too bad I can't tag along with my mom on this trip. It would make the brush buying a bit easier. 😉

I think I want to avoid squirrel because of the prices that I see. What about goat and other hairs, in terms of maintenance?

At the moment I don't have a price total in mind; more that I want to get good quality well-performing brushes for reasonable prices. Other than the Kat von D concealer brush

Spoiler

http://www.sephora.com/lock-it-edge-concealer-brush-P409975?skuId=1822246

and the Sephora fan brush for applying highlighters at my cheekbones

Spoiler

http://www.sephora.com/pro-featherweight-fan-brush-92-P405523?skuId=1775113

all my other brushes were purchased well over 10 years ago when I was solely using Laura Mercier products and did a few sessions with the consultants. I purchased these, based on their recommendations. I have other brushes too, but I don't use them.

I wouldn't mind replacing some if not all of these (and if there are suggestions for the above, I am all ears).

Below are also the ones I use all the time.

blush - Laura Mercier finishing brush

Spoiler

eyes - Laura Mercier eye contour brush

Spoiler

eyes - Laura Mercier ponytail brush

Spoiler

eyes - Laura Mercier smudge brush

Spoiler

[niki172]

@CosmicBeauty247 - for your ponytail brush it looks similar to Wayne Goss #3 eyeshadow brush. It could also be a close match to a Rae Morris brush (can't remember the name/#) but both brands are carried by Beautylish. I know the WG is blue squirrel - not sure about the RM one. Good luck 🙂

[CosmicBeauty247]

thank you for this suggestion @niki172! i have quite a shopping list of brushes now. 🙂

[niki172]

Welcome down the rabbit hole @CosmicBeauty247 😄

[Mochapj]

@CosmicBeauty247 for something similar to that shape of blush brush in a goat hair, you'd probably like the Hakuhodo J110.

The J005 looks similar to your smudge brush. 

Other than Hakuhodo or Japanese made American brands (like Tom Ford), you may find it difficult to find the sort of ponytail shape brush.  I've noticed typical Japanese blending brushes are less teardrop and more candle flame shaped.  That said, my favorite blending brush is actually a synthetic brush made by OCC, so YMMV.

Lastly, the eye contour brush resembles the G5509, which is horsehair.

Those would be the Hakuhodos I'd recommend if you wanted to stick with not squirrel.  Perhaps someone can chime in with a good blending brush recommendation, too.

[CosmicBeauty247]

Thank you for this @Mochapj! I will look these up and compile a shopping wish list for brushes.

For Hakuhodo, will you please recommend some online retailers? Or, are these worth asking my mom to purchase in Japan (cheaper)?

I've never heard of OCC before -thanks for recommending this one too.

[Mochapj]

@CosmicBeauty247 for Hakuhodo, they have a US website (hakuhodousa dot com) and their brushes are also available from CD Japan (cdjapan dot co dot jp)

I'm not sure if the prices would be cheaper if she bought them for you in Japan; I'm in Canada so everything is expensive whether I buy it from US or Japan :D.  Is she familiar at all with brushes or shopping in Japan?  I've seen photos of the Hakuhodo showroom in Japan and even as a brush enthusiast I find it quite overwhelming, LOL.  

OCC is Obsessive Compulsive Cosmetics, they make that product called lip tars.  Sephora used to sell them, but they got discontinued I think.  They sell their brushes on Beautylish and also on their own website (occmakeup dot com)

[CosmicBeauty247]

@Mochapj: Ok, maybe I will save my mom the trouble of trying to find brushes for me. Last thing I want is for her to go on a stressful brush-hunting expedition, especially since she is not at all familiar with brushes or the shopping of them.

Thanks for the web recommendations!

One more thing: do you have a recommendation for face brush (for dusting setting powder etc) that you love using? Maybe going with squirrel will be good in this case.

[Mochapj]

Most of my favorite face brushes have been custom orders, but for ones that are more readily available;

Beautylish carries this one which is a lovely brush to use, but also to look at:

https://www.beautylish dot com/s/chikuhodo-makie-series-mk-2-powder

Also, lots of people speak highly of Goss brushes, although I have no experience with this particular brush:

https://www.beautylish dot com/s/wayne-goss-brush-11

Or the Hakuhodo K002 would probably work for you.  And it's blue squirrel which is nice and soft.

Sephora carries some Surratt brushes that are beautiful squirrel pieces but I find the prices very high.  The main selling point for buying Surratt brushes would be that a) you may be able to see them in person if your Sephora carries them or b) you could return them if necessary.

[Mochapj]

In terms of other hairs @CosmicBeauty247, generally natural hair is a bit more high maintenance overall than synthetics, but that's because you can wash synthetics with any old thing and as often as you like, and they take abuse well.  Natural hairs (like the hairs on our head) prefer a bit more babying with gentler shampoos, less frequent washings, etc LOL.

Squirrel is softer than goat (unless you are buying the highest of high end goat called Saibikoho, which is $$$$$)  The type of goat that most good quality affordable brushes are made of is Saikoho or Sokoho, both of which are a bit stiffer than squirrel.

Unless you buy dyed goat hair brushes, there's always the possibility the hair can stain depending on what you're using it with.  The downside is dyed hair tends to feel coarser, so it will depend whether the aesthetics of pure white bristles are important to you.  

I have lots of brushes in both types of hair and it's really a personal preference.  I don't mind goat for some areas of my face (like eyes) but I find all but the highest end goat too coarse for my face brushes.  Mind you, I only use face brushes for blush or dusting on setting powder, so YMMV.

Given the shapes of the Laura Mercier brushes you've mentioned, my immediate thought would be to go with either Chikuhodo or Hakuhodo.  There are lots of smaller brush houses in Japan (like Takeda, Kyureido, Houkodou, etc) but IMO you'll probably get more reasonable prices with the bigger houses.

Now that I see the types of shapes you want, I'll take a look and see if I can make a few recommendations.

[CosmicBeauty247]

Thank you @Mochapj for your detailed and thorough reply!

At the moment I am not too picky about softness/stiffness yet. Probably for the eyes I do not mind it so and maybe for my face (for powder blushes and highlighters), softer brushes would be nice. My sephora brush is really soft compared to my Laura Mercier one, and it does feel good. 🙂

I read about the dyed goat being coarser so I may lean towards the undyed (white) goat hair brushes. I don't think I will get too upset if they get stained.

I also have no problem babying my brushes in terms of cleaning; I was worried about the squirrel ones because I have oily skin and read about oils will stick to the squirrel hairs. I thought I also read somewhere about the ends of the squirrel hairs splitting because of oils. Maybe I am mis-remembering that.

For dusting powder across my face: I've been using the Laura Mercier velour puff to apply her translucent powder.

http://www.sephora.com/velour-puff-P110012?skuId=871111&icid2=products%20grid:p110012

I wonder if I may be better off using brushes for this. Seems that many of you are using face brushes to apply powder.

Side note: I should really make a point to visit a makeup counter and get updated techniques on how to apply things. The last time I made such a visit was to the Laura Mercier counter *gulp* 10 years ago.

[Mochapj]

@CosmicBeauty247 

Ok, that's good.  The Sephora brush you mentioned is a synthetic and those do tend to feel really soft on the skin.  The Laura Mercier brushes you mentioned say they are natural hair (though it doesn't specify what hair)

I have oily skin as well and I think for stuff like foundation (or any liquid/cream product, really) I would not use a squirrel brush because of the points you mentioned - oily stuff will wreak havoc on more delicate hair.  However, for powder products like eyeshadow, blush or face powder, I only use the squirrel brushes on my clean face and then wipe them down with a microfibre towel afterwards, which minimizes residues.  I think if someone were to leave out that step in between uses it would probably have a greater chance of the brushes deteriorating because natural oils would eventually build up on the brush.

I think there's nothing wrong with using a puff if you like to, for me I never found them to be the right shape to get into the areas I want them to go, which is why I use a brush.  

[luvgloss13]

Hey C!

I don't think Squirrel is high maintenance and I can get pretty dramatic looks from them, even though they are soft!  They don't hold onto product and are easy to clean. Blue squirrel is the softest.

Suqqu is really lovely and my fav eye brush is the M brush, can do a whole eye just with the one brush. 

I think a great starter set is the Wayne Goss Anniversary set, it has all types of brushes in there. I can also get multiple uses out of each brush. 🙂

[CosmicBeauty247]

Thank you for your reply @luvgloss13!

I think I want to avoid squirrel because of the prices that I've seen. Do you use brushes that are goat etc?

Suqqu: where did you purchase your M brush, and may this be cheaper if purchased in Japan? (I see that Mochapj purchase her Suqqu brushes from Selfridges online.)

Thanks for the WG suggestion! I did see the discussion about the anniversary set, several pages down in this thread. That one is tempting but I want to make sure I will use all (or most) of the brushes in that set.

Decisions decisions! 🙂

[luvgloss13]

@CosmicBeauty247, pmed you on pf! 🙂

[Sonny4President]

Anyone with a Suqqu Cheek brush?

Where did you gals get yours?

On the JP site it says 16200 yen = $157 but Selfridges says $97 USD? How is it cheaper? I plan on going to Japan during the winter and was wondering why it was more expensive in conversion than from Selfridges

[luvgloss13]

I have all of the Suqqu brushes, they are also coming out with a brush set later this month. 

You can get it cheaper on selfridges , but they charge $30 for shipping. It is good if you do a large order!  

[CosmicBeauty247]

@luvgloss13: where may I find additional info about the upcoming brush set? Thanks!