Hakuhodo Brushes Part III

Being in Japan made me instantly regret all the Hakuhodo brushes I've ever purchased from Hakuhodo USA--they allow few custom choices, whereas in Japan there are numerous handle-length, colors, and finishes, not to mention the limited edition releases. Check out these shorter handles in a gorgeous and shimmery antique gold finish!


By the way, I haven't mentioned this before but I find the Hakuhodo naming system super confusing. Pretty much every other brush belongs to at least two different collections, like the B/J004 for example, same brush head, same hair type! I don't understand. Can anyone shed some light on why this is?

Here are B/J004G, B/K021, B/G524, B532, B/G5549, B/J125, and B214. Clickable = zoomable.

'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.

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. 

Hakuhodo Brushes Part II

More Hakuhodo brushes, several of which were birthday gifts from my birthday a few months ago ^.^ I have already explained my pros and cons for these brushes so I won't repeat again.

The black is actually the Soft Case MM (Po900Bk), which has 17 pocket slots. I paid $22 when I bought it but I see now its price has gone down to $19. To be honest, I hate to say anything bad about Hakuhodo but this soft case is a POS, so I'm not going to even bother posting pictures of it. It's plastic, I understand that, so I wasn't expecting super nice genuine leather, but still I was appalled to see how poorly made mine is. The stitchings are all crooked and warped, and overall it looks and feel cheaper than many of my Japanese magazine freebies :( May be mine is from a bad batch? This is not to mention its pockets are too deep for the brushes they're supposed to carry, and Hakuhodo's brushes have longer handles than most Japanese-made brushes! Among all the brushes I own, only the Stila long-handled brushes like the #34 Jewel Eye Shadow Brush fit in it. Since I don't have many long-handled brushes, the case is mostly empty. Come on, Hakuhodo, I know you can do better than this!

Just a few more notes before we move on to the brushes themselves:

1. All brushes were photographed pre-wash. My brush heads don't feel like they have been starched, nonetheless after washing, most certainly sizes and shapes will change, with some hair types fluffier than others.  

2. I bothered with measurements because sizes do matter, and it's my pet peeve that Hakuhodo only pictures the hair length and lists the rest in numbers. It's a lot of work to take all those damn pictures, but for visual folks like me a string of numbers doesn't say much. I need to see the measurements.

3. Cameras don't have the same depth-perception as our eyes. So despite my best effort, measurements are only estimates and not so much engineer-precise. They should still give you a pretty good idea though, which is the whole point.

4. Brushes are listed by the model number, irrespective of collection, hair, or handle. 

5. I'm not a collector. All my brushes are of the standard black handles, because I don't want to have to think about care and maintenance for the handles too, jeesus crisp! For "beautiful" brushes, please consult the google instead. 

6. I prefer versatility over luxury, I use a whole lot of liquid formulas, and despite the dryness my skin isn't super sensitive. But I did break my own rule and got a couple of squirrel hair brushes xD

Brushes in this batch, in order as pictured from left to right: J104, J122R, B/G522, J531, J533, J544, G5514, B/G5520, J5521, G5526, and G5528.

Hakuhodo Brushes

So, Hakuhodo (白鳳堂), been lemming these brushes for ages but stayed far away until hubby and I settled down a bit from all the moving (more on that later). There are some really excellent resources out there on these brushes, so I'm not going to be redundant. Below are my personal pros and cons for investing in these brushes.

PROS:

- One word: craftsmanship. 

- Big collection. By no means all encompassing but still a huge variety of hairs, shapes, sizes, and handles to choose from.

- Big price range, anywhere from $12-100+ a piece.

- All brush heads are made equal - 2 identical brush heads of the same hair, shape, and size will be of the same hair quality and craftsmanship, regardless of the standard black handle or the flagship vermillion red handle. That means a lot to me.

- Fast order turnaround, fast shipping, excellent and knowledgeable customer service. Knowledgeable is also important to me, a good indication that a company respects its customers. Just the other day Shiseido tried to pull a fast one over my head, but this is another story for another post. 

CONS:

- Time investment in care and maintenance. Nothing lasts if you don't take care of it, my reason for having "make-do" brushes while moving around.

- Mostly natural hair, which I'm okay with but others may not be. I have read that Hakuhodo obtains their natural hair via cruelty-free methods. While I very much want to believe this, I will refrain from touting until there are pictures, videos, etc., that back up the cruelty-free claims. Let's face it, when it comes to animal rights and welfare, Japan isn't exactly leading the charge.