Chikuhodo Brushes Part VIII

Here are a few more eye brow brushes from Chikuhodo, the BP-8, E-2, and Z-6.  

At far left is the Addiction Eye Brow Brush.

'Tis the Season of Giving - Makeup Brushes

Updated Friday, February 24, 2017.

Last several brushes to go for charity!

I started buying brushes around the beginning of 2014, and since then some have become my daily go-to's and others haven't been touched. I've stopped buying brushes I think I need--I now know what I need and only buy those. So here's to hoping someone else might find the below brushes useful. 

IMPORTANT:

1. All sales are final. No returns or exchanges.

2. All proceeds will go to charity:

- The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU). See their ratings.

- The National Resources Defense Council (NRDC). See their ratings.

- Doctors Without Borders, aka (MSF, Médecins Sans Frontières). See their ratings.

3. Paypal payments in USD only.

ORDERING DETAILS:

1. To order, please leave a comment and spell out your email address (to avoid spam). I will contact you privately.

2. All orders will be sent via USPS Flat-rate boxes with tracking and insurance. I hold no responsibilities for lost packages.

3. Shipping fee varies.

- Domestic: Small ($6.80), Medium ($13.45), Large ($18.75).

- International: we'll work something out privately.

4. My home is smoke and pet-free.

5. This is how I care for my natural-hair brushes.

6. All brushes will be washed before sending. Please allow 3 days for thorough air-drying. If you prefer to do your own washing, please let me know.

7. These brushes have been wrapped in custom brush rolls and stored in drawers, in a dry and cool corner of my bedroom. 

Photos are *not* current--they were taken when the brushes were first bought. Click on images to zoom. Follow links for more photos and reviews.

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.

Chikuhodo Brushes Part VI

I've been hearing over and over how awesome and lovely the Chikuhodo Z-series is, and the guest post comparing the Chikuhodo Z-1 and Koyudo Fuwafuwa certainly helps. But I also use the hell out of my brushes and I'm not sure a full squirrel powder brush can withstand my daily ritual (will elaborate on a different post). I'm thinking about getting another Koyudo fu-pa14, which is already pricey, so the thought of having to replace a Chikuhodo Z-series is kind of daunting. So I haven't taken the plunge with the Z-1 or Z-9 or that super fancy-looking MK.

That said, I can never have enough eye brushes and pencil brushes, so here's a mini post for my latest Chikuhodo acquisitions. I'm listing prices from Visage USA, but I got both of mine from CDJapan using reward points, so I paid a lot less ^.^

In this batch: Z-5 and Z-10.

Guest Post: Chikuhodo Z-1 versus Koyudo Fuwafuwa

After my last Koyudo post, I had an interesting discussion with Yelena Zheng of Jaywalking Birdwalking Jabberwocky on the subject of the Koyudo Fuwafuwa. I had wondered how it would compare to something like the Chikuhodo Z-1. Yelena owns both and kindly offered to send me comparison pictures, but being shamelessly demanding I asked her to write a guest post instead. So here I present to you Yelena's post. Be sure to click on the photos to zoom!

Thank you so, so, so much, Yelena, for being so generous with your time and for sharing with us all this thorough post, complete with pictures! 

Brush Comparisons

...for a few of my brushes, just to see how the different sizes compare ^.^ There are a few others but I'm saving them for the next post in this comparison series. Also, I'm sticking within the same brand for now and will do cross-brand comparisons later.

Keep in mind that despite these comparisons, each brush is handmade, and therefore yours may differ a little (or a lot, as in the case of Chikuhodo G-03 below) with mine.

From left to right: Chikuhodo Artist 12-2 Pine Squirrel/Weasel, 12-5 Canadian Squirrel, and 12-6, G-03, and G-04, all Gray Squirrel. 

Chikuhodo Brushes Part V

Are you sick of brushes yet? ^.^ I purposely held onto this post because I figured there were back to back brush posts in February. Anyway, every year there are limited edition brush sets released for the holidays, and Chikuhodo had 2 gorgeous Noel Collection sets, Etoile and Neige. 

The Etoile set went for $275-300 depends on your source. It came with a full gray squirrel powder brush, a goat and gray squirrel mixed cheek brush, 2 Canadian squirrel eye shadow brushes L and S, a water badger eyebrow brush, a weasel lip brush, and a gold carrying case.

The Neige set went for $135-150 and came with a powder, cheek, and an eye shadow brush M, all in undyed sokoho goat hair, with a silver carriage case. Can you guess which I bought? ^.^

***Stock photos from Chikuhodo Japan and Beautylish.com. 

Chikuhodo Brushes Part IV

I know, I know, I griped about a couple of powder brushes in my last Chikuhodo post, but here I am again posting about them again. Folks, these brushes are from the brand new Takumi series released last Thanksgiving, I believe. If anything, these Takumi brushes fanned the fire to my regret in buying the Artists 20-4 and 20-5. I really should have skipped those two and went straight here and save myself some money. So here's my humble opinion: if you're new to Chikuhodo and trying to decide on what to get, unless you prefer squirrel hair because your skin is sensitive, etc., forget about all the other collections and skip straight to this Takumi one.

As you know, I've broken my no-squirrel rule many times, all with no regrets :P But squirrel hair is restricted to powder products, not to mention it's super fragile. See why I much prefer goat hair? It's resilient and super versatile, switching with ease between powders and liquids, and it washes well. And when it comes to goat hair, I'd much rather them be saikoho and un-dyed. Saikoho is the highest grade goat hair for a reasonable price. I think there's actually a grade or two above saikoho, but we're talking about something a person can afford here =.=" As for the un-dyed hair, I just think they look cleaner and nicer that way, despite of course getting stained much faster because, well, they're white. But that's why the microfiber cloth is awesome ^.^ 

Anyway, it's what this Takumi series is all about, un-dyed saikoho goat hair. And let me tell you, they're really really soft, and they feel soooo nice on the skin. Best of all, I know they're not princesses and I don't have to treat them like royalty. Don't get me wrong, I don't abuse my brushes or anything, but hey, I really do use them, and using them means not picking them up with a gingerly pinch of the forefinger and thumb :P 

Brushes in this batch, from left to right: T1, T2, T4, T5, T6, T7, and T8. All are goat saikoho.

Chikuhodo Brushes Part III

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.

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. 

Chikuhodo Brushes

Among the big names of the Japanese artisan makeup brush world, Chikuhodo (竹宝堂) has two decades over Hakuhoho, having been established in 1952 (Hakuhodo was founded 1974). Chikuhodo started with calligraphy brushes, and makeup brushes didn't come along until 1960's. Still, the later venture proved quite successful as they are now the brush maker for high end brands such as Suqqu, Lunasol, RMK, etc. Check out this New York Times feature on Chikuhodo last April!

Anyway, when I was preparing for my first foray into Japanese makeup brushes, I skipped over Chikuhodo as I thought their prices were exorbitant. In general, between 2 similar brushes the Chikuhodo one will cost roughly 20-25% more than the Hakuhodo one. And honestly, I think the two brands are on par when it comes to quality and craftsmanship, so Chikuhodo's markup put me off somewhat. Then fast forward just this past August, distribution for Chikuhodo outside of Japan switched from Now-Eproject to Visage USA, and along with this switch is a roughly 20-25% reduction in price. To further sweeten the deal, the Visage USA ran a 3-months long promotion for an extra 18% off to celebrate new management! So yup, I finally got my hands on some Chikuhodo brushes, and at a fantastic price too! xD

A few notes for this batch and we'll move on to the goodies: 

1. As usual, all brushes were photographed pre-wash. Like Koyudo, the smallest Chikuhodo brush is starched, and the measurements are off for that brush. 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. I totally smashed through my no-squirrel rule again ^.^"

Brushes in this batch, from left to right: Artist 12-2, G-03, G-04, G-05, G-10, Passion Eye Shadow, and R-S1. I've noted both the before and after prices, to give you an idea how significant the reduction was.