Koyomo Brushes

I'd read raves about Koyomo and was curious, but I didn't want to spend too much on their fancy, stand upright handles. I use the hell out of my brushes after all (and take good care of them too!), and those I don't use I sold for charity.

While hubby and I were away in Tokyo, my CD Japan points (not affiliated!) came close to expiring so I used them to pick up this basic Pearl Pink Series Nadeshiko 3-Piece Brush Set and the Shadow Brush Flat.

I'm not going to attempt to explain Koyomo, so please do read more about the maker Tsubokawa Mouhitsu via CD Japan, or about the hakutotsuho hair they use via Sweet Makeup Temptation. The TL;DR is that these are super soft hair, and quite old and rare, and thus expensive. So, does the hair live up to the hype? Yes. Super duper soft. That said, the brushes themselves are a different story. Ha. I probably won't buy anymore Koyomo brushes and if I do, I'd stick to the eye brushes.

- Face Brush Hakutotsuho, 7,500JPY (or in a set with Blush and Round Shadow Brushes for 15,000JPY): this is a finishing brush and not so much a brush I would use to apply and blend sunscreen powders. For one, there isn't enough hair and the brush head sure looks much more densely packed than it actually is. Secondly, the hair is too long for a less dense brush head. Both elements combine to create a fluffy--and floppy--brush that's best to dust on the finishing touch, a sheer wash of highlighter, or to "erase" excess powder. I needed something dense to blend powder with, and this brush is not it.

- Blush Brush Hakutotsuho, 5,000JPY, (or in a set with Face and Round Shadow Brushes for 15,000JPY): this brush fared better than the Face Brush above. It works quite well with a super pigmented powder blush. The problem is that I don't own a super pigmented powder blush ^.^" The really pigmented blushes I own are all creams, and this brush is too floppy for creams. Sigh.

- Shadow Brush Round Hakutotsuho, 2,500JPY (or in a set with Face and Blush Brushes for 15,000JPY): now this brush I like. I use it for lay-down purposes, lid washes, blend, or dust on sparkling top washes.

- Shadow Brush Flat Hakutotsuho, 2,500JPY: like the Round brush above, I find this Flat version infinitely more useful than the Face or Blush brushes. I also use this for lid washes, or I turn it onto its slim sides to apply medium crease colors.