Reviewing a few Chikuhodo brushes ^.^ Will post more soon!
A few notes for this batch, and after this third time I won't repeat again, promise :P
1. All brushes were photographed pre-wash. The smallest Chikuhodo brush is starched, and the measurements are off for that one, although I did take post-wash pictures.
2. Cameras don't have the same depth-perception as our eyes. Measurements are only estimates and not so much engineer-precise, plus the starching.
3. Brushes are listed by collection, then model number.
4. I broke my no-squirrel rule again. Ha.
Brushes in this batch, from left to right: Artist 12-6, Artist 20-4, Artist 20-5, and G-06.
- Artist 12-6 Gray Squirrel, $33: same price as the G-3. The difference is that this Artist 12-6 is narrower and thinner. It also has less give and is firmer while the bristles are just as insanely soft as the G-3, both are made of gray squirrel after all. So for laydown purposes the fluffier G-3 is better, but if you want a sheer wash of something sparkly, or a more controlled and precise deposit of something super pigmented, staying just below the crease for example, then this Artist 12-6 is your brush. Did I mention it's insanely soft? Love this brush!
- Artist 20-4 Jyoshitsu Yamahitsuji, $57: along with the Artist 20-5 below, they were a total gamble. I knew jyoshitsu yamahitsuji was mountain goat, and I knew it was soft because the G-10 is soft. However, the G-10 is not dyed, has much shorter hair that is very densely packed, versus these two powder brushes have longer hair and less density. So I had no idea how soft the hair would be in a big fluffy powder brush.
As it happens, for big powder brushes jyoshitsu yamahitsuji turns out less soft than saikoho, and even the sokoho brushes from Koyudo are softer :( Despite the hair length and density, both this Artist 20-4 as well as the Artist 20-5 below have very little spring. Even worse is that they feel oddly "matted" against my skin, as if the brushes are dirty or greasy, even when they were freshly washed. In fact, they had felt this way ever since the very first use!
They're powder brushes, and after each use, I wipe them off carefully and diligently on a microfiber cloth as I do with all my other brushes (will do a post on brush maintenance next). None of my other brushes ever ever feels matted or dirty like this! Weird, right? Does anyone else have the same problem with these 2 brushes? Could it be just me? And if it's just me, what did I do wrong here?
I'm really hoping it's not the hair, because these are the only 2 two brushes with this odd problem. Perhaps this hair is better with liquids? So suffice to say I lost big time in this gamble. Or to be more frank, I'm terribly disappointed with both of these brushes :( They feel mass-produced and not handcrafted despite the well-shaped brush crowns. This may sound harsh, especially since it's Chikuhodo, but I do regret this purchase very much. If I could return these two brushes, I would in a heartbeat.
- Artist 20-5 Jyoshitsu Yamahitsuji, $49: you've already read above the odd problem I have with these two Artist 20-4 and Artist 20-5 brushes. I hate to say this, but this Artist 20-5 brush is an even bigger disappointment than the Artist 20-4 above, mainly because of the brush shape. The stock photo here is how this Artist 20-5 was advertised online. Now scroll down and see what the brush really looks like - prewash!
Huh? What? Where's that nice tapered tip? It was the sole reason I bought the brush to begin with, for that interesting long and tapering shape! Instead, what I got was a strange long bristled brush with a totally blunt round top, nowhere close to how it looks online. Now, I understand handmade brushes have shapes that differ slightly from one brush to another, but this is like an entirely different brush than the one advertised! What's up with this, Chikuhodo? I feel like I've been tricked.
- G-06 Weasel, $22: a nice little multipurpose brush for the brows as well as lining. No complaints here. In fact, I love all brushes from the G-series so far!
Post-wash.
- Chikuhodo Brushes
- Chikuhodo Brushes Part II
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