Chikuhodo Brushes Part VII

Long time no brushes! Having more than filled a lifetime's need for brushes, I've more or less stopped buying. Actually, that's not true at all but let's just pretend it is for story's sake.

Last fall when I first stopped by the Addiction by Ayako counter at the Ginza Mitsukoshi, the lady there tried to sell me this wide eyebrow brush. I didn't take the bait because I wasn't ready to venture into a new brand of brushes, but it got me curious for sure. With my brows being thin and patchy, would a wide brush like that help at all? I just had to know! Soon enough, what started as a "what if" became full-blown obsession and worship, which happens a lot with me, I've noticed... =.=

In this batch: Artist 6-4 and T9.

Let me introduce you to the newest love of my life: the wide eyebrow brush.

Holy crap, have I been living under a rock all this time? These wide brushes are so a-maz-ing they totally transformed my entire eyebrow experience. All this time, I've been filling in with smaller brushes which takes for freakin' ever. Not only it's time consuming, filling in dab by dab can make my brows look overly drawn, something I very much dislike. I know statement brows are in these days but on me it looks plain goofy, especially when I'm not Imoto Ayako and can't get away with being goofy.

But with these wide brushes? A few comb-throughs and I'm done. Done, folks! They give a beautiful natural finish, how my brows really should look (but don't *cries*). With the occasional bald spot that's hard to get, I simply use the tip or end of the brush. Because it's already so wide, it covers the spot with just a dab or two. You know how people say the right tools make a whole world of difference? It's true! Thanks to these wide brushes, my makeup routine now takes all of 5 minutes, just sunscreen powder, brows, blush, and lipstick. I've reduced eye-shadow wearing to weekends, though that hasn't stop me from buying more because I'm an incorrigible hoarder like that. 

All hail, wide eyebrow brushes! I'm officially a fan, and with fandom comes several new acquisitions. I use these everyday and I want options to rotate. I might even go back to Addiction for that brush too! In the meantime, here are two I'm currently using and loving.

- Artist 6-4 Badger, 2,700JPY: simply LOVE in the form of an eyebrow brush. Interestingly enough this brush isn't available on Visage USA (Chikuhodo's official distributor outside of Japan), hence the CDJapan price. It's worth every penny (or yen) and then some, I promise. Depends on how my trial with the other brushes, I might get a backup of this. Simply cannot live without it.

The hair is firm (as in less give) but surprisingly soft, feels like velvet on my skin, which admittedly isn't sensitive. Still, it's very soft, much much softer than the T9 below and yet it's cheaper. Not sure what the logic of that is. The best part about this brush is that it draws a neat line, not too fine but not too smudgy either. I wholeheartedly recommend this brush if you have thin and patchy brows like me. It'll get the job done in a snap!

- T9 Water Badger, $30: erhh, so I'm not sure if badger and water badger are the same animal. Although their hair bristles in Artist 6-4 above and this T9 look similar, they feel very different. Whereas 6-4 is firm (less give) and velvety soft, this T9 feels like a shoe brush, the hair stiff and, yes, somewhat scratchy. The difference is visibly noticeable right after washing. Once dried, 6-4 maintains its shape and this T9 curls outwards.

That said, it does its job just fine, even if the hair difference definitely affects the outcome. The 6-4 draws a neat line, this T9 draws a smudgy line. If I want a neater line I'd have to angle it, drawing not with the flat top of the brush but with the width's edge. Does that make sense? So for my thin and patchy brows I have to work around this brush a bit, but I'd imagine it'd be fantastic for those with thicker, unruly brows. 

See my previous posts:

- Chikuhodo Brushes

- Chikuhodo Brushes Part II

- Chikuhodo Brushes Part III

- Chikuhodo Brushes Part IV

- Chikuhodo Brushes Part V

- Chikuhodo Brushes Part VI