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.

[tjffc]

Great info.  I love good brushes..

[WinglessOne]

Well, so much for my brush no-buy for the rest of 2020... gee, thanks a lot @teufel ! 😂 Now I need to talk myself out of a few cheek and powder brushes. Will definitely order more eyeshadow brushes, though. I mean, you can never have too many eye brushes... that's my stickiin'-to-it story, anyway! 

[eshoe]

Just remember, @WinglessOne...sitting in front of the fan, washing each brush by hand😂 

[WinglessOne]

@eshoe  🤣 Unfortunately I've become too efficient at brush washing—though I do still grumble about length of drying time. And see, that's why I need more cheek brushes: so I can use one while the others are drying! Or so I told myself as I finally bought my RRC-2, aka the first Chikuhodo brush I originally wanted to buy but instead "settled" on a Z-4 however long ago. (Haha, the Z-4 quickly became my favorite face brush ever.) 

I also bought 3 other brushes tonight. Lusted (again) over the Kiwami set but still can't justify the price... I mean I can, until rational thought slaps me back into reality mode. Plus, the set's sold out so it's very wishful thinking anyway. But holy heck are those brushes GORGEOUS, even more than the first generation set. Anyway, can't wait for my new brushes to arrive! 

Funny story: earlier this year, I set all Visage USA emails to route to a mail folder I wouldn't check, just to avoid temptation. But I have no regrets (so far) about tonight's purchase! 

[tjffc]

@WinglessOne  You have be intrigued and now I want to purchase a Chikuhodo brush. I've never heard of this brand until I joined this community.  I'd love a new powder brush by this brand and am willing to make the investment.  I can see from your advice that you are a beauty expert, which one would you recommend to a make-up novice?  Thank you so much!

[WinglessOne]

Aw, thanks @tjffc ! I suspect a few other BIC members know even more about Japanese brushes than I do; maybe they'll also chime in. 🙂 

The right powder brush for you depends on a few things: 

Bristle preference - synthetic vs. natural hair. Some folks only want synthetic brushes and hey, there's nothing wrong with that. Chikuhodo's AF series is their line of synthetic brushes. 

Your skin type - some folks disagree with this but, the delicate nature of squirrel hair brushes makes them best suited for normal to dry skin types. Goat hair brushes are generally sturdier and well suited for all skin types. (Goat and squirrel are the 2 most common natural hair bristle types you'll find.) I'll explain a bit more in the next section. 

Your tolerance for washing brushes - these squirrel hair brushes shouldn't be washed more than twice a month. (Some folks say no more than once a month.) That's mostly because squirrel hair is very soft and rather delicate. Goat hair and synthetic brushes can handle more frequent washings. By "wash," I mean a true washing where you wet down the brush head, suds it up with a solid or liquid cleanser, rinse it clean, and then store the brush bristles down to dry. And don't forget to wipe down the handles with rubbing alcohol. 

Spoiler

Oily skin deposits oil onto brushes each time you use them; this gunks them up over time, to the point where you'll be tempted to frequently wash them. But you really shouldn't do that with squirrel brushes. Chikuhodo recommends wiping their squirrel brushes on a dry microfiber towel after each use. This doesn't clean the brushes, but it does at least remove leftover makeup product. 

I have mostly-dry combo skin: my oily zone is just on and around my nose. Between brush washings, I use a spray-on brush cleaner (either BeautySoClean or SEPHORA COLLECTION - Instant Brush Cleaner Spray) that doesn't truly wash brushes (at least not to my standard of clean) but does sanitize them. I'm much more diligent about this with my squirrel eye brushes than my face/cheek brushes. But this is one way to get around the oily skin problem if you really want a squirrel brush. 

Back to true washings: after rinsing their brushes, some folks comb through the bristles (very gently, from ferrule to tip). Other people condition their brushes with oil (sometimes mixed into the soap during washing) or a human hair conditioner. Both these steps are arguably unnecessary but there's no harm in doing them, so whether or not you do them is completely up to you. I don't do either of those steps. To wash all my brushes—natural and synthetic alike—I use Beautyblender blendercleanser® solid Lavenderor Beautyblender blendercleanser® solid pro and have yet to wreck a brush with them. 

How soft a brush you want/need - if your skin's as sensitive to scratchy things as mine is, you'll LOVE squirrel brushes. Though I'll say some synthetic brushes are also surprisingly soft these days—but not as soft as squirrel hair. Also, saikoho goat hair is quite soft. When looking at goat brushes, make sure the material stated is "saikoho"; other types of goat hair aren't as soft. If your skin's not all that sensitive, another type of goat hair brush would work. 

How you typically use powder brushes - this is where you have to look at the different brush shapes, consider each brush's density, and decide which one's right for you. 

Spoiler

I have 2 Chikuhodo powder brushes: 

L: Fuji Makie powder. R: Z-9 powder.L: Fuji Makie powder. R: Z-9 powder.
The Fuji Makie powder brush is from a 2018 limited edition set; it was a collab with Beautylish. It's made of saikoho goat and is one of the softest goat brushes I've ever used. It picks up more product than the Z-9 and splays moderately when I use it, giving me a somewhat diffused powder application. I can buff finishing powders with this brush. I can also buff on powder foundation, but I prefer a different brush (a much denser Koyudo brush) for that. 

The Z-9 is fluffier, flatter, and softer than the Fuji Makie, with a larger/wider brush head and much more splay action during use. It gives me a more diffused wash of powder. I get more control with powder placement with the Fuji Makie, so I use the Z-9 whenever I want to cover a large area with a soft wash. I don't buff much with this brush. It's my favorite brush for dusting Hourglass Ambient Lighting Blush Collection Brilliant Nude (a strobe blush) on the whole center of my face as a brightener that doesn't alter my natural skin tone. (I don't use concealer for that.) 

The other powder brush in the Z series is the Z-1, which is denser, narrower, and rounder than the Z-9. The AF-1 is a synthetic powder brush. The T-1 is the saikoho goat powder brush from the Takumi series and looks kinda similar in shape to the Fuji Makie. There's also the FO-1, the powder brush from the brand new FO series made of silver fox hair. You can also look at currently available powder brushes in the Makie series, if you want a very pretty + high quality brush... at Visage's site, each brush's product page describes the shape, a bit about density, and ideal product application use. If you ask Google for brush comparisons, hopefully Sonia G's blog (sweetmakeuptemptations) will be one of the results; she's done some good comparisons of various Chikuhodo brushes, as well as that brand vs. other brands' similar brushes. 

It's hard for me to recommend a specific powder brush because it's a subjective choice dependent on a few variables. 🙂I think a good Chikuhodo goat hair starter would be the T-1. As for squirrel, well, I'm kinda biased about the Z series—but even there, Z-1 vs. Z-9 depends on which brush shape and density you personally prefer. 

Chikuhodo is probably my favorite source of Japanese brushes, but if you're interested in collecting, other great brands to look at are Hakuhodo and Koyudo, There are others out there but I'm trying not to overwhelm more than I maybe already have with this long post. 🤦‍Other folks might have suggestions to add. 

[tjffc]

@WinglessOne  Thank you. I ordered the Z-1 from BeautyLish.  I can't wait to receive it.  Of course, now I want to order all of your recommendations plus several others that have caught my eye.    Thanks again!

[tjffc]

@WinglessOne Thank you so much for the valuable insight!  It is so kind!   I have lots to think about but I’m excited, and heading over to purchase a few new brushes from the recommended sites today!    Thank you again. 💕💕💕💕💕💕

[eshoe]

Well at any rate, @WinglessOne - I can’t wait to see them! I enjoy admiring the brushes that pop up here and on the hauls threads. My own collection is very small, so getting to take a peek at what is out there is fun for me;)

[Luvstravel]

Well, I fell off the "I'm not going to buy much until Fall" 😂🤣🤣🤣 Here's my order, I wanted that new hot pink Makie series brush, so ordered a few eye shadow brushes also @WinglessOne

[Mochapj]

@teufel Just an FYI re: Visage USA

they ship the orders direct from Japan. In the past when I have ordered from Visage, they declared the brushes at the full value (not the price I actually paid on sale) and therefore when the duties were assessed it was for a much higher price than what I spent

i only mention this because shipping out of Japan to US right now is only via courier and will therefore incur duties/customs which may not make the sale worthwhile

[teufel]

I believe that you are in Canada and unfortunately from what I have been told, you get hit with much higher duties than those of us in the US have to deal with. I have placed a few orders from various sites in Japan recently and they have all been shipped using DHL. As we all know, customs duties are hit or miss. Sometimes here in the US, we don’t get hit with them. Other times, we do.

[jessiebanana]

The US has a very high customs value, before you're hit with duties. I think it's $800 USD. So for most purchases, at least my purchases, it's not even a risk.

[Mochapj]

@teufel yes, I am in Canada.

I shop from Japan on a monthly basis. Perhaps the way customs is done in the US is different, but in Canada it is hit or miss only when packages come in via postal service because Canada Post does not assess every single package. When items come via courier, the courier takes the responsibility of clearing that package through customs, and they are more often than not assessed. They might not be assessed right away; I have received bills from UPS/Fedex/DHL long after the fact for items that I received months prior.

Anyway, I just mention it because a friend of mine in the US just had a package arrive from Japan via DHL (not a Visage order) and she had a hefty assessment she wasn't expecting on a pricy brush order. It sucks but with EMS shipping to the US not currently an option, it does make the likelihood greater of being assessed 😞

[Mochapj]

New Chikuhodo KZ series using Kazan squirrel hair

[tjffc]

@Mochapj Lovely!

[teufel]

These brushes are currently available on Visage USA and they have a promo on all Chikuhodo brushes through 7/12. I just posted the details on here.

[blackkitty2014]

@teufel @Mochapj I’m tempted by smaller brushes for sure. I like the looks of these.

[Mochapj]

@blackkitty2014  I ordered a set last night; I will let you know how they are once I receive them.

I am curious to see how the hair compares to my Kiwami set from a few years ago.

[blackkitty2014]

@Mochapj Please do. I’m eyeing at the KZ-3, KZ-4, KZ-5, KZ-6 and KZ-7

[treestar86]

squirrel!?!? 😮 😞

jeez...I don't really pay attention to brushes, since I hardly wear makeup, but I have several just in case.  they were cheaper, so I hope they're not from any animal.  seeing 'fox' and 'squirrel' here is a bit disturbing...I hope sephora doesn't carry any of these kinds of brushes.  but I'll be sure to look at them more closely before buying any more.