After picking up some small eyebrow brushes, I thought I was done with Koyudo. Boy was I wrong, because they went and released this wicked handsome Japanese Cherry Birch Mizume-zakura Series.
From left to right: Face Brush, Blush Brush, and Large, Medium, and Small Eye Shadow Brushes.
From left to right: Face Brush, Blush Brush, and Large, Medium, and Small Eye Shadow Brushes.
Now, I'm not one to buy brushes for their just their fancy handles. These have handles made of lovely Japanese Cherry Birch, yes, but I'm way more excited about their un-dyed saikoho hair and their domed and round brush heads. This means all three eye shadow brushes are pencil brushes which I'm partial to. Suffice to say I was totally sold. These have been stuck in my rotation tray before my little one came along--I no longer have time to pick out new brushes to switch them out. But let's just say I love them more with each use.
- Face Brush Saikoho, 8,000JPY: this brush head is identical to the Fuwafuwa, from hair to shape to bristle length. Basically, it's the Fuwafuwa with a longer handle of Japanese Cherry Birch and 4,000JPY cheaper to boot! Woot! If you missed out on the Fuwafuwa, I'd really recommend this brush. Absolutely no complaints here.
- Blush Brush Saikoho, 4,200JPY: a tad too fluffy and I can't blend creams as thoroughly as I'd like, but this brush is excellent with powder blushes.
- Large Eyeshadow Saikoho, 2,500JPY: a very versatile large pencil brush that I use for lay-down, lid washes, and blending.
Post-wash. I love that it tapers to a pointed tip.
- Medium Eyeshadow Saikoho, 2,000JPY: I use this brush for medium crease colors and accent colors along the upper lids.
Post-wash.
- Small Eyeshadow Saikoho, 1,700JPY: yet another versatile small pencil brush. Excellent for highlighting inner corners of the eyes as well as for lining.
Post-wash.
See my previous posts:
Hi! Thank you for your post, it helps a lot. Could I ask a few additional questions? The face brush really is a dupe for the fuwa fuwa? Like, same hair quality, softness, density?
ReplyDeleteAnd in comparison with the Chikuhodo Takumi's, do you find the Koyudo line better (in terms of hair quality)? I was interested in the T-4 and the T-8 but they look so similar to the blush and pencil brushes here...
Hi Caroline,
ReplyDeleteThank you for reading. I'm glad my post helped some.
As for your questions,
Yes, my humble opinion is that the Mizume-zakura Face Brush is a dupe for the Fuwafuwa.
I'm holding and playing with them both as I type:
- Their hair quality feels about the same to me
- Softness is comparable to me
- Looks to me they have identical shape of brush head
Mizume-zakura Face Brush actually feels denser to me, because:
- Feels to me they both contain the same amount of hair, but...
- Judging by my eyes, the Fuwafuwa's ferule is may be 2-3mm bigger in diameter, and thus the brush head feels less dense and the hair fluffier
- Fuwafuwa has very slighty longer hair length as well
By Koyudo line, did you mean this Koyudo Mizume-zakura line of brushes? Or did you mean Koyudo brushes as a whole?
Once upon a time, I owned the Chikuhodo Takumi T1, T2, T4, T5, T6, T7, and T8. But over the last holiday season, I held a charity blog sale and sold off the T1, T2, T4, and T5.
I NEVER sell any of my Koyudo Mizume-zakura line. Does that answer your question? :)
Between the Koyudo Mizume-zakura line and the Chikuhodo Takumi line, I'll always choose Koyudo Mizume-zakura. In fact, I'll go even further and tell you that between a Koyudo brand brush and a Chikuhodo brand brush, I'll always choose the Koyudo.
The only 2 exceptions I would make with Chikuhodo:
1. Wide eyebrow brushes: Artist 6-4, T-9, and Z-6
(http://alittledabintomakeup.blogspot.com/2016/05/chikuhodo-brushes-part-vii.html)
(http://alittledabintomakeup.blogspot.com/2017/07/chikuhodo-brushes-part-viii.html)
2. The Z Series: I only have the Z-5, Z-6, and Z-10
(http://alittledabintomakeup.blogspot.com/2015/08/chikuhodo-brushes-part-vi.html)
Either way, the Z Series are mostly squirrel hair brushes so it's unfair to compare them to Koyudo goat hair brushes :)
Hope this helps too.
Cheers,
D.