Chikuhodo Brushes Part II

Why, more Chikuhodo brushes so soon after the last post! I actually bought these two batches one week apart ^.^, with this batch purchased after the price reduction and so no before and after prices.

As usual, a few notes for this batch: 

1. All brushes were photographed pre-wash. The smallest Chikuhodo brushes are starched, and the measurements are off for those. I did take post-wash pictures though. 

2. Again, 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. Again I broke my no-squirrel rule again, I'm so terrible +.+"

Brushes in this batch, from left to right: Artist 8-4, Artist 10-1, Artist 12-5, BP-7, Passion Edge, R-S2, R-S3, and R-S4. 

- Artist 8-4 Horse, $13: Yet another lay-down brushes and it does its job. And for horse hair it's softer than expected and really packs on the color.

- Artist 10-1 Gray Squirrel-Weasel, $21: this is a pencil brush and of course I can't pass up on it. It's really insanely soft and I love it, but at the same time I'm kind of disappointed that it's so rounded at the crown, whereas I was hoping it would be more pointed.

- Artist 12-5 Canadian Squirrel, $37: this brush is really neat! It fans out wider towards the top, but if you look at it from the sides you'll see that it's thinner than the Artist 8-4 above and tapers to a point. In comparison to the Artist 12-2, the hair is shorter in length and the shape is squarer. For a lay-down brush, both the Artist 12-2 and this 12-5 offer much more control than the 8-4 above.

On another note, I've noticed one thing with both the Artist 12-2 with pine squirrel and weasel hair and this  brush with Canadian squirrel hair - they both stink a little at the time of washing. The odor is distinct and none of my other brushes smell anything like these when wet, even the gray/blue squirrel ones. So I'm guessing it must be the pine and Canadian squirrel hair, and I will probably refrain from buying any more of these.

- BP-7 Weasel, $20: a nice, firm but soft brush for smudging eye liners as well as for brows. You can probably use it for lips too!

Post-wash.

- Passion Edge Weasel, $20: a very nice detail brush for tight-lining on the waterlines as well as filling in brows.

Post-wash.


- R-S2 Horse, $13: yet another lay-down brush. Pretty much identical to the Artist 8-4 above although interestingly enough it's not as soft. Given that they're both the same price, if you want a horse hair brush for lay-down purposes, go for the Artist one.

This brush and the Artist 8-4 are both smaller version of R-S1 which is much bigger and fluffier, hence softer as well.

- R-S3 Horse, $12: there are definite pros and cons with this brush. The pros are that it's quite firm and has little yield, which makes it a great blender. The thin and tapered sides makes it suitable for the outer V as well.

The con is that since it's a smaller horse hair brush, the shorter length makes it pokey and somewhat rough. I don't mind it because I don't have sensitive skin, but I would imagine it being bothersome for others. 

- R-S4 Gray Squirrel-Weasel, $21: another pencil brush and is what I was hoping the Artist 10-1 would be, in that the crown is not rounded but rather tapers to a nice point. Thanks to this point, I can use it to highlight the inner corners of the eyes whereas I can't do that with the Artist 10-1 with the rounded tip.

See my previous Chikuhodo Brushes post.