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.

[tastelikewater]

@danielledanielle This is so detailed, thank you!

[Luvstravel]

@tastelikewater, I have a lot of eyeshadow brushes, but my three staples I use constantly (especially for work) are my hakuho-do+Sephora Pro Angled Concealer brush. It might be weird, but I use this to pack on an eyeshadow. If it's in the same color family ( tan, brown, rust) I put on one shade, then switch to the different color above that for my hooded eyes. My quick crease brush is the Sephora Pro Domed #16 if I do a different color crease. Then I use the Sephora Smudge brush #11 under my eye if I don't use a liner. I have specialty eyeshadow brushes, but LOVE these three. Here's some pics below (couldn't find a pic of Pro Dome) and not at home. Hope this might help 🙂

[tastelikewater]

@Luvstravel This is great, thank you!

[Luvstravel]

@tastelikewater  🙂

[MissPuff]

@tastelikewater  I've got several Zoeva brushes that I find quite nice, I think I ordered individual shapes vs a set, but I recall them having lots of sets too. Lots of shapes and sizes to choose from, I was on a pink kick so I have mostly brushes from the rose gold luxe line (their shapes repeat across different colored brush handles so if you're not into pink, no worries 🙂 ). The brushes I have are a mixed natural (i want to say goat?) and synthetic blend, hold their shape well after several washes (though some of the blenders/crease brushes I dry with little strips of tp wrapped around them to encourage the original shape), and no shedding, good construction. Not crazy soft like my WG or Japanese Fude brushes, but that's to be expected, and honestly, for eyeshadow work, I find SUPER soft brushes just don't pick up color in the same way. There's just enough stiffness in the zoeva brushes, and I've got some smaller brushes that work well for my limited eye space. A huge plus for Zoeva vs my higher end brushes is that I feel zero guilt about washing them frequently and they have been very durable! 

That being said...I also have some WG, Chikuhodo, and Hakuhodo eyeshadow brushes they are amazing. All natural hairs (squirrel, goat, and...more goat?), they are so so soft, yet somehow still pick up good pigment. They do give a more diffuse application over all, but that's my preferred style. Since you frequently post such gorgeous eyelooks and clearly have skills, I'm going to try and steer you towards the Hakuhodo website 🙂 

NO REALLY! Hakuhodo has a few lines of not insanely priced brushes that I would absolutely pick over Zoeva (and definitely Sigma, and any other mid-range). Especially for eyeshadow, Hakuhodo has several shapes and sizes under $20 (Basic, G, and J - series) and the quality is just fabulous. The website drives me bananas, but if you're at all considering natural hair, check it out. 

[AMK721]

I totally agree, Hakuhodo, J Series are very reasonably priced. I would jump on them as soon as you can because they are going to have a price increase soon and a lot of them are selling out. 

[lnum]

Thanks for the tip! I bought my Hakuhodo brushes years ago from the J line and so the prices seem insane to me already!

[tastelikewater]

@MissPuff First off, you are FAR too kind about my skills! I love eyeshadow, but I have basically one shape and two techniques that I wear every single day 😛 Secondly, thank you for being so detailed! I'm on the Hakuhodo site now and already feeling a little overwhelmed by my options. Why must there be so many? I think I would start with three: flat, crease, fluffy blending. 

Side note: I keep staring at the Wayne Goss Eye Set and drooling, but four of the five appear to be the same shape. Does one really need four tapered brushes?

[MissPuff]

@tastelikewater  I have the older WG eye brushes in the brown goat hair that had more of a variation in the shapes. Looking at current brush set, you're totally right, it's like 4 roughly the same sized crease brushes. I don't think there's much savings in a set vs individual for WG, you'd definitely be better buying just the ones you like. My two favorite WG brushes are the 04 (smaller crease) and the 06 (flatter, I use this one for everything). The 06 in particular has turned out to be super versatile, it's flatter, not quite a flat paddle, so fluffy and dense enough to blend, but I can still use it to pick up and pack on color. The newer white eye brushes look a bit fluffier, my experience with the face brushes is that the brown ones were actually a touch stiffer (my preference) than the white versions, wondering if that's true for the eye brushes as well?

I wish I could tell you which Hakuhodo brushes I have but I'm at work and I can't remember because it's like a nonsensical number system 🙂 I'll check when I get home!

[TraceyEB]

@MissPuff  and @tastelikewater UPDATED (found the video) - Wayne recommends his 06 and a *pencil* brush (05) as the two brushes you need to do an eye look. I find pencil brushes hard on my sensitive skin. I prefer the 06 and 19 and used both today.

I bought an extra 6 for traveling as my original is from the 1st Anniv set & is not allowed out. (I like the fluffiness of the 18, too.) Someone asked Wayne what one eye brush would he recommend and he said the 19.

[tastelikewater]

@TraceyEB This is very helpful, thank you! 

[TraceyEB]

Hi @tastelikewater I updated the post noting that Wayne uses his 06 and a pencil brush for his two brush look.

[tastelikewater]

@TraceyEB I’m actually surprised he would say a pencil brush over a crease brush! Maybe he thinks the 04 can do a good enough job blending? I’ll have to look up the video to find out more. Thanks for the info!

[TraceyEB]

@tastelikewaterThe videos where he uses the two brush technique in are "The Biggest Eyeshadow Mistake We All Make" (2 months ago) and "The 90 Second Eyeshadow Tutorial" (6 days ago). Wayne designed brushes similar to the 06 and pencil brush in his new synthetics line. I'm sure he used a 04 for blending in the Pillow Talk tutorial. 🙂

[tastelikewater]

@MissPuff Seriously, the numbers make my head spin!

[lipstick4soul]

The sonia g eye brushes and set are restocked at beautylish if you are still interested @KNC24  @Mrose251  @WinglessOne 

[KNC24]

@lipstick4soul I love these brushes. I thought a replied to your post a long time ago. Sorry about that.

[WinglessOne]

Thanks @lipstick4soul ! I’m considering buying a Builder Pro, or waiting for the Builder One to be restocked (again). The Pro version has longer bristles that are tapered, which is a plus for me. But I wonder if it’s as dense as the original Builder. I might have to get both to find out for myself. 😄

[TraceyEB]

Wayne Goss launches The Synthetic Brush Set. Handcrafted in Japan. Pre-order via his IG or Beautylish IG accounts. Wayne has posted a YT video on the brushes.

Update: $140 for the set, launches Feb 1, part of permanent line. Synthetic brushes will have an "S" after the brush number to denote synthetic.

[KNC24]

I’m highly intrigued with these

[danielledanielle]

I just saw the email, and I'm intrigued... slightly skeptical, but intrigued.