If you like makeup brushes, you must know Hakuhodo. I only started going crazy over makeup about a year ago and before that, I could never understand why people use makeup brushes. I mean, I would settle for products that already include small brushes as part of the packaging, or I’d be just fine with Q-tips and what not. That’s before I got into the world of eyeshadow palettes, K-beauty craze, youtube tutorials where everyone use brushes… so… now I own a bunch myself too LOL XD
I chanced upon the Hakuhodo store in Shibuya Hikarie when living in Japan.
Just look at variety! VERY wallet-dangerous place to go.
I own brushes from other raved brands like MAC too, but I think Hakuhodo is my favourite for brushes. Maybe I am just Japan-crazy haha.
A LITTLE HISTORY
“The Hakuhodo head office is located about 20 kilometers east of the city of Hiroshima. Hakuhodo was founded in 1974 in the town of Kumano and for around 200 years Kumano has had a long history in the production of brushes. At our main factory in Hiroshima we manufacture approximately 500,000 brushes a month. Our efficient production process which is based on the traditional techniques of truly skilled craftsmen continues to support this. We do not rely on machine manufacturing. In order to maintain the high quality of production, all our brushes are hand-crafted. We have obtained a patent for a method of arranging a brush head which enables us to achieve mass production of quality brushes. This ongoing production policy has enabled us to achieve the honour of receiving the first Prime Minister’s prize of Monodzukuri Japan Grand Award.”
Craftsmen. All brushes hand-crafted. No machine manufacturing.
In today’s world??? WOW. さすが日本。(meaning Japan is amazing)
Let me move on to the brushes! I would like to share the #002 and #512 lovelies~
In its brand-new unopened state. A cute little Hakuhodo booklet on how to use and maintain the brushes but in Japanese only~
After you snip off the outer plastic casing, there is another plastic cover for the brush! This one with an opening at the top, so you can continue to use it when travelling.
First…. let me review the ultra-luxurious K002 / B002!
Brand: Hakuhodo Product: K002 / B002 Powder Brush Round and Flat Hair: Blue-squirrel (the softest possible on earth) Price: JPY 7,344 (~USD 70 at time of posting) Type: Makeup brush Origin: Made in Japan Website: Hakuhodo website on K002
“Suitable for dry, sensitive skin. Bristles made from blue squirrel have little spring but are ultra soft, coverage will be natural and sheer. Less durable, so use the surface of the bristles gently with the handle held flat. Although it works well for lucent powder, it is not suitable for liquid or oil based products.”
| Use application | Finishing, Powder, Highlighter |
|---|---|
| Hair | Blue squirrel |
| Handle | Wood black (I got the limited Gold one!) |
| Ferrule | Nickel-plated brass |
| Size | Brush length:190mm Hair length:50mm Hair thickness:14.5mm |
Some countries call this brush K002, some call it B002… so I shall just refer to this as #002 for simplicity 🙂
Gorgeous gorgeous thick gold handle. Super classy and beautiful.
Brush length 190mm. It’s light and perfect for travelling.
Hair length 50mm. On the long side. Dome-shaped best for that sheer natural finish.
Hair thickness 14.5mm. The denseness is JUST RIGHT – not too dense where you pack on too much because this is meant for a thin layer of natural-finish loose lucent powder, and not too thin where you can’t pick up enough powder. Seriously, JUST RIGHT.
The top is tapered to reach the natural contours of your face like the nose area or under the eyes. Even though the brush area looks large, the tapering makes it possible to reach all intricate parts of your face – perfectly.
The girl at the Hakuhodo counter told me this is made from blue-squirrel hair and is the softest possible hair used for makeup brushes. I was like…o_0 “blue squirrel?” What animal is that? haha.
This is it. Omigosh so cute!!!!
I wish I could tell you how ULTRA-SOFT it felt on the face. It is seriously the softest-ever material I ever ever felt in the world! A luxury, really.
Trying to “show” the softness. I hope you can feel it. It is really an indulgence on the face.
Of course, before I give it 5000 points (out of 100), there are 2 down-sides.
1. The cost. USD 70-80 is not cheap for a makeup brush – it belongs to the high-end class. But if you apply loose powder daily, you NEED to try this brush. The hair used, the shape, the amount of product-pickup, the sheer natural finish it gives, the overall product quality. I seriously can sense how much thought and care the Japanese put into hand-crafting this product.
2. Another is that this is natural hair and the sales girl told me to wash it only once a year?? Crazy. As I have acne prone skin, I try to keep my brushes clean and wash them at least once weekly. But water is not good friends with blue-squirrel hair (apparently) and she said the hair quality may change if I wet it alot (what a threat!). Well, so far I didn’t notice any change at all, but I will continue to take special care.
Next up………. the G512 / B512 Highlighter Blush L Angled.
Brand: Hakuhodo Product: G512 / B512 Highlighter Brush L Angled Hair: Blue-squirrel + Goat Price: JPY 5,400 (~USD 50 at time of posting) Type: Makeup brush Origin: Made in Japan Website: Hakuhodo website on G512
“This highlighter brush is carefully designed to apply makeup around the eye. When you use this brush, use light strokes as if you are removing excess product . This enables you to achieve a natural but glamorous finish. You can also use it as a blush or shading brush.”
| Use application | Highlighter, Blush, Shading, Contouring |
|---|---|
| Hair | Blue squirrel & Goat |
| Handle | Wood black (I got the Gold version!) |
| Ferrule | Nickel-plated brass |
| Size | Brush length:164mm Hair length:34mm Hair thickness:10.2mm |
The brush length is 164mm. Shorter than #002. Very agile and good control on all your face-shaping, face-highlighting needs.
Hair length 34mm. Shorter than #002 again as it is made to place product more specifically where you want it. It is really a multi-tasker to me – for blush, highlight and shading / contouring.
Hair thickness 10.2mm. It is much more denser than #002 (which is really fluffy soft like dreamy cotton balls), but the density helps you pick up product abit more easily to place them exactly where you want it.
Hair is made from blue squirrel AND goat so it is slightly firmer for its very purpose for cheeks and face contouring. But because there IS blue-squirrel hair in it, it is still as luxurious to touch it on your face and feels really soft too. Definitely the softest-yet-firm-enough cheek brush I have tried (compared to for example MAC #168 large angled contour brush).
Because it is mixed with cheaper goat hair, the price is not that unreachable ~USD50 (although still considered pretty high-end).
MY VERDICT
Pros
- Unbelievably superb quality – from hair to handle to ferrule.
- Hair type, hair shape, hair length, density, softness level perfectly meets the purpose of the brush type. K002 fully blue-squirrel for extreme softness to achieve that all-natural sheer finish. G512 with mixed blue-squirrel and goat for better firmness for specific face contouring.
- Made in Japan. I like.
- Travel friendly. Length below 190mm. Some MAC brushes are too long to fit into any pouch.
Cons
- Cost. Not cheap. (but I will urge you to still get it! haha)
- Maintenance. Must dry with brush straight up, hair on-top and the shape must be in original state when drying. Cannot lay brush horizontal in its ‘wet’ state as that will flatten one side and change the shape. Apparently, should avoid washing too often so that the ‘hair’ last longer. Gosh, a thousand rules.
- Hair type suitable for powders only. For liquid / creamy products, stick to synthetic-hair brushes.
Overall
I really count myself lucky to have chanced upon this Hakuhodo store in Shibuya. As a new makeup junkie, I thought I was crazy to splurge on high-end brushes, but I can’t be happier with my purchase now that I have tried and tested them. It is really awesome, muuuuuuch better than any face makeup brush I have tried so far (MAC, Innisfree, etc).
So, have I learnt why people need makeup brushes? Yes. Yes I definitely understand why now.
beautychoccafe 