I first fell in love with craftmanship when I was a child. I was raised by my grandfather and that was his work. He wasnt an artist but the things he was able to build with his hands were absolutely incredible. I remember rushing back from school to hide in his workshop and use the leftovers of the wood as my toys. Many things we had in our house were handmade by him, including our house, our soap, flour, bread, wine and much more. It was more a necessity because we didnt have the means to do otherwise.
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Funny story: I just remember that I made my vanity bench with leftovers from the wood we used on the walls of my office/brushroom. The bench is far from perfect but has a practical hidden compartment inside for my hair tools and is nicely padded, very comfortable and wide enough for my daughter to sit next to me I also transformed the very basic changing table from Ikea into the most amazing, safe and useful changing table I have ever seen anywhere Anyway, its just things I love to do and I am happy when I diy (do it myself though).
When I was 11, I moved to Switzerland to live with my parents, things changed, I blended in and I ended up doing business studies! I worked several years in this field but wasnt enjoying it much. Instead, I had fun repairing my colleagues computers and fixing applications so I decided to do something about it. I started evening classes and later did certifications and diplomas on Information Technology. I worked in IT support first, then jumped to IT engineer and then to IT architect. It was interesting, paid well, and I was lucky to work for the biggest luxury groups in the world. Really fascinating but still not quite what I wanted to do so I started this blog in parallel. Thanks to this blog I got close to Kumano, the manufactures told me to come see them and thats when I knew this was exactly what I always wanted to do. I am completely utterly in love with craftsmanship, since always. Today I do my best to promote it and I wish we will never lose it.
I didnt create my own brushes for the money or the fame, I do sincerely love craftsmanship and working in this field means the world to me. It requires a lot of patience, diplomacy and determination but I always insist on my motivations: artistry, innovation and quality, and I always will.
Some years ago, the audience for handmade make-up brushes was quite small and often already familiar with handmade make-up brushes. This audience has grown a lot in recent years. I am thrilled to see that customers appreciate craftsmanship and understand that art is very valuable. Maybe some of you may not know what materials, criteria or techniques make a brush more efficient, more durable or more expensive. It would take a book to explain everything in detail but today Ill love to do a brief summary just on durability and costs and talk a bit about machine made vs handmade make-up brushes.
As a blogger highly devoted to make-up brushes, and now an OEM company working with several Japanese manufactures, I am honored to share my experience and thoughts as to what to expect, specially with handmade make-up brushes.
The measurements done by machines are much more precise and regular, as a result, machine made brushes can be more consistent. The durability will depend on so many factors, for example the quality of all the materials used, the technique to attach the ferrules to the handles, how the bristles are shaped, what bristles are used, etc.
If the bristles are synthetic, those fibers will consistently have the same density, shape, weigth, etc. this facilitates a lot the bundling process and extends the durability. It should have a positive impact on the price because they can easily be mass produced. If the bristles used are natural, they are most of the time cut to shape so factories save a lot of effort and material in the process.
The paints used on the logo and the glues used in the ferrules can be much stronger as they dont need to be sniffed, handled or touched by a person. Since the materials used are much more robust and less noble, stronger glues and paints also dont need to respect the delicate natural materials used in handmade brushes.
The capacity of production by machines is exponentialy higher compared to handmade production, this already has a huge impact on the production costs, which should consequently be much lower.
With machine made brushes, I have seen everything when it comes to price tags, very cheap and very expensive ones. I own cheap machine made brushes which are solid and efficient and also very expensive ones that are a rip off, not the most expensive brushes are the most efficient or durable. We wont often know where, how or under which conditions the brushes were made so it will be extremely difficult to estimate the cost of the production. Some high end make-up brands keep a high price tag just to match the brands name.
I am not an expert on machine made brushes so I cant speak in detail about them. I often receive emails from renowned factories to make my brushes machine made with them and the production costs are nowhere near those of a handmade product. I am not speaking about the quality, I am just pointing out that the production costs are a world apart.
The durability of machine made brushes is very variable, it depends on the quality of the materials and how we take care of them. If the bristles are synthetic, they are likely to remain stable as they are very uniform. If the bristles are natural, it depends on the brand, I have seen so many different quality grades.
With regards to the handles, there is nothing that could go very wrong with a plastic or metal handle -again it depends on the quality- but they may not be that noble or sustainable. They are quite stable and durable though.
When it comes to the most common issues I have noticed with machine made brushes with natural bristles, is that they lose their original shape or they become more rough after wash or shed a lot. I also noticed in some brushes that the ferrules lost their original color or coating or occasionally that they got detached from the handles but there are very good quality ones in all the price ranges.
With machine made brushes, the issues are actually often less frequent thanks to the stronger materials used, with more stronger techniques used to attach the ferrules or with stronger glues.
The measurements for the parts are done by the artisans, with tools that may not have the same surgical precision as an industrial machine, this can be a a con and a pro. The machine consistency is lost, each single brush is in some way slightly different from each other, therefore unique.
The paints and glues used by the artisans are more gentle because they are handled by a person and need to respect the natural materials they come into contact with.
Since each natural bristle is different and in this case they are treated with utmost care (they rarely cut the bristles), its really difficult to bundle natural brushes, the artisans need to be highly skilled to work in a consistent way. They use some tools in the process but the process involves so many steps that every step affects how the brush will look at the end. Each brush is unique not only because each natural bristle is different but also because of the artisan who shaped it.
With handmade brushes, the production capacity is much lower and the final cost depends on how much work goes into each brush, into the handles, the quality of the bristles, the quality of the ferrule, the uniqueness of the design (how much work went into customizing the shape) and the skills of the artisans. A handmade brush can be as expensive as jewellery.
A high price tag does not mean that the durability is multiplied. In some ways, its a bit like a 200$ handbag versus a $ handbag, the $ handbag is probably not 10x more durable but its even likely to be more delicate and youll need to take more care of it. The expensive handbag may have more hours of work, more precious materials, more people involved in the making and a story behind it which impacts the final price. This applies to bags, shoes, suits, cars and so much more. But if we take good care of them, they will last a very long time.
There are too many variables to consider and I will talk about some of them in the technical deep dive below, this may give you a little idea on what the challenges are and what makes a handmade brush so much more expensive.
Its nice when you see a high end brand sticking to handmade manufacturing for their make-up brushes and supporting the artisans. Although I understand that sometimes its not possible because the brands cant affort it -or they dont want to-, or sometimes handmade mass production cannot be considered as there are limits with regards to quantities that can be produced by hand on a schedule.
The issues I have seen with handmade brushes depend on the quality of the materials and the work, I am going to mention the possible issues and challenges in the technical deep dive below.
My mission is to create beautiful, unique and luxurious products that marry efficiency and craftsmanship. This is a formula that automatically generates high production costs. However, it has also an impact on the artisans mindset and their personal motivation, when they can work on something challenging and different, they truly enjoy it.
Many OEM companies work with one manufacture, I want to work with several of them. This has been one of my conditions since the very start of this adventure. My objective is to bring to you the best of all, create items that havent been made before. Today I already work with a few companies on projects to come, with small steps but so exciting for all of us.
So, when a make-up brush is made in Kumano, I have a good idea of know how much of the process its actually handmade but keep in mind that the Kumano manufactures work in different ways, with their own techniques and they are quite confidential about them, it is their intellectual property and what makes them stand out from each other.
When the brushes are made somewhere else, I dont know how much of the process is handmade or made by machines. If a brush has the label Made in France (or Italy, or China., etc..), in most cases you dont have information on how the brush is made, but maybe thats ok because customers arent always interested either. If we dont have information regarding the manufacturing, whether its handmade, machine made, etc, its pretty much impossible to estimate the production costs behind the items, we can probably only make estimations based on our personal expertise with make-up brushes.
Each brand and each brush has its own challenges and associated costs. I can only speak about what I know but this is the opportunity for me to share more details about the manufacturing and the challenges of Sonia G brushes. I cant reveal all the details as I have to protect my designs and ideas due to some companies apparently quite eager to copy them. Also, Kumano manufactures are competitors and they dont want me to share who their providers are, or why and how they achieve such results.
If the shape, ferrule or handle already exist in the manufactures portfolio then its easier and more affordable. In my case there is nothing quite the same I always go for completely custom brushes. As a result, before the production starts there is quite a lot of work to do per prototype. The ferrules may not be available, some tools may need to be created in order to start a prototype. Once the prototype is done, we may need to tune it and this can actually represent a lot of time and effort. When I design a brush, I know exactly what I want to be able to achieve and wont compromise until I reach exactly what I want. When it doesnt work, the prototype goes in stand-by mode until further notice.
Sonia G brushes have different manufactures or providers involved in the background but I am not allowed to disclose details on this topic.
The heads are made with the finest quality goat bristles, they are extremely soft but also more delicate and less durable compared to synthetic or thicker/rougher natural bristles.
The handles are made in Japan with maple wood. Wood lives and moves with temperature, humidity, the making of wooden handles involves calculations and variables that metals or plastics dont require.
Each handle is handmade, truly handmade. There is a lot of work per handle before we start to layer the lacquer on them. The lacquer process is not a one step process, it takes a unpredictable amount of weeks as it depends on the local weather conditions, temperature, humidity, availability of the artisans, availability of locations where they need to be painted, etc.
The handles I use have a step where it connects to the ferrule, they do not have crimps, this is very important because steps make a more beautiful brush, but they are more fragile and more likely to detach from the ferrule compared to the crimped ones. We should for example be careful when tapping the brushes directly against a hard surface to remove excess product, its much better to just blow the product off the head.
Ferrule and handle Step handle with no crimps Crimped ferrulesWith the step handle, when the handle is pushed into the ferrule, it clicks gently as it is designed to fit nicely, but some give has to remain so that the wood can expand and not crack, then glue is necessary in order for the handles to not wiggle and come off.
The ferrules are usually made of aluminium or brass mix, the ones I use are entirely made of brass and are heavier, they look more luxurious but are extremely expensive.
The lacquer on the handles is done with special paints also used on luxurious cars, those paints are more precious and delicate versus regular paints and they dont like to be cleaned with products that contain ethanol.
The paint used for the logo is hand mixed and the color is completely custom. It doesnt look very sexy here but thats the beauty of it.
The beauty of an object is a measure of the work that went into its creation. Adolf Loos
Also devotion and love.
What should drive you towards handmade brushes is the artistry behind them, a more personal, maybe more meaningful product reflecting the skills and hands of the artisans who worked on them.
The effort, time and money invested on the creation of a product is not proportional to its durability. A cheaper machine made product can be more robust and more durable. In both cases, the better we take care of them, the longer they last.
With regards to handmade brushes, due of all the variables and challenges I mentioned above, a small percentage of brushes may show issues after they leave the manufacture, even if they passed quality control. That small ratio of defective brushes are considered unavoidable by the manufacture because of the nature of a handmade product. As a result, its normal to expect great customer service with handmade products in case any issues arise.
I think there is a place for both machine and handmade brushes, one certainly does not exclude the other.
The main reason why I prefer to invest on a handmade product is because supporting the artisans helps them to continue their art or craft, generation after generation, even though it evolves over time. Technology makes it possible to replace skilled workers with machines, but its important to keep hand-making goods a financially feasible career choice for those who love it and for those of us who appreciate it.
When you are looking for the best of the best it takes time and money to find the perfect brush just for you. This post is a roundup of what I consider to be the best or most interesting foundation brushes available to us, I will show you a few pictures, share my own experience with them and also some guidelines in order to help you find the perfect foundation brush just for you.
Foundation application is probably the most complex step of a makeup application, probably the most feared too ! If we go for it, better get it right, we cannot just simply copy someone elses make up routine, we have to find our very own and as we go along feel whats right or wrong and fine tune the process. You wont necessarily need brushes for that, not all the foundations are meant to be applied with them like the Armani Fusion for example. But thats another story. Dont please dont do this at home, you dont need a hundred brushes to do your foundation, it is just a passion of mine to collect beautiful makeup brushes.
Some foundation brushes are more efficient than others but at the end it will be a matter of following your own preferences and taste. I will show you some of mine which include :
My life does not depend on foundation application but I do love it, I think there is an intriguing and experimental process behind achieving a great application of foundation, it can be fun and it can sometimes be depressing ! My curiosity and my delicate dry skin motivated me to research for the best foundation brushes and the best way to apply it. Youll see that it got a bit out of control (again), but I hope that at least my lack of control will benefit you, help you compare the options and guide you in your own research.
There arent that many foundation lovers around me, when I ask them why they hate foundation they say: I dont want to feel it or I dont want to see it or foundation brushes are too rough.
I am not saying that its necessary to go through this step, absolutely not, but if the reason why you dont apply it is just because of those reasons be aware that today you can apply foundation and still look natural and fresh and for the tools, dont worry, there is probably the right one just for you.
I dont often use mineral foundation and I dont often go for more than medium coverage. My needs are those of a woman in her 40s with extreme dry and sensitive skin who aims for a fresh glowy complexion. Depending on the days I can barely stand to apply make up at all so I need the most efficient tools : the best results possible, in the fewer strokes !
I have tried to pick different types of foundation brushes to guide you in your selection, each one with its own qualities and characteristics, they can really differ in shape, material and it will be up to you to find the one that fits your personal requirements. I dont have an answer for every situation, if I did, I would not be working in IT !!! Believe me, I wouldnt.
They can be made of natural bristles, a mix of synthetic and natural hair or only synthetic bristles, so many options are available today and many of them are very good. Do not consider my opinions as expert advice, I will simply share what I think about them and why I love them or not.
If you are starting
First you want to identify what your profile is (oily, dry, sensitive skin), then what coverage and finish you desire. If you already found a foundation product that is matching what your skin needs, now you can start looking for the right tools. You may think that brushes are very expensive and that the investment may not be worth it, I dont know about you but I wasted a lot of money on foundation products that didnt work for me just because I didnt have the appropriate tools to apply them. I am not saying that brushes will solve all your problems but they definitely will make your life easier, the application more pleasant and they may even save you money in the end.
Targeting a brush adapted to your profile
Many brush companies will not recommend you goat brushes if your skin is dry and sensitive, they will direct you towards synthetic or stippling brushes. They are right but I still found many full goat brushes that are soft enough for me to use on my very dry skin and I have absolute no problem at all. Basically if your skin is sensitive, it shouldnt be moving around when applying foundation with your brush, it should not feel molested, on the other hand using a too soft brush will require many more strokes to blend and you may want to avoid that too since it may also irritate your skin at the end. The right balance would be a brush that is soft enough but still has efficient blending power. I have got some here.
Below, a synthetic brush vs a goat brush, if you want my honest opinion, this synthetic fun brush looks great and has thickness to it, which should be a good thing. Its not a terrible brush but these two are a world apart.
Bottom line : Natural or synthetic it will depend on the brush, again its a matter of preference and also skin tolerance, some cannot use natural hair at all and some cannot use synthetic.
Targeting liquid or powder foundation
If you have very dry skin you are less likely to use powder foundation and less likely to go for heavy coverage, in most situtations it will end patchy and not comfortable. Even with the right tools its difficult to go against these laws. When I apply a heavy coat of mineral powder foundation on my very dry skin, despite the quality of the powder foundation and the perfect brush, after just a little time my skin starts to beg for help, my wrinkles are maximized and dry patches appear all over, it ages me dramatically. Nice brushes will help but just to a certain point. Choosing the right skincare and foundation product for your skin profile is even more important, then you can try some foundations at the counters see how they evolve on your skin throughout the day until you find the perfect one for you.
Targeting the coverage you desire
The foundation product youll use will really help deliver the coverage and finish you are looking for. In terms of brushes, the denser and flatter the brush, the more coverage it delivers. The fluffier and rounder the brush, the more flexibility youll get allowing you to start from sheer and to build up to medium. See it in action with EnKoreMakeup.
Example of round vs flat :
Targeting the finish
The foundation product will help you a great lot if you want either a glowy or a matte finish. Then, if you are looking for an airbrushed finish, either you pick a brush that can achieve it directly in one step or youll need a two-step application, the first to apply, the second to blend/buff. There is no shame in using two different brushes and I will give you some examples where its even better : save you product, reduce the washing frequency of the blending brush. There are many techniques and many ways to get the finish you want, if you watch youtube videos on foundation application youll get many ideas.
I always go for a natural, glowy, airbrushed application and I takes me 3 minutes more or less. Sometimes I powder when I really need to or when my pores are playing tricks, but its rare that I do. If you target the comfort of your skin with the right skincare youll have better chances of wearing a wider range of foundation products or finishes but you are still limited with your skin condition.
For a foundation brush to deliver an airbrushed finish it needs to be fluffy, not overly dense, not too flexible, if its very soft and too flat it will not fit that purpose. To achieve the best airbrushed finish there isnt simply a better brush than the Rae Morris Radiance, of course you can get airbrushed finish with others but this one will do it faster = less strokes. The Radiance looks perfectly flat but it isnt, the controlled flexibility and placement of the hair does the job perfectly well, you dont need to put too much pressure on it and thats the great thing for me.
If you own this brush, my recommendation is to place the foundation roughly with a flat foundation brush before, then use this one only for finishing, it will keep it cleaner -well, less dirty- for longer, you wont need to wash it as often and it will last you longer. It is insanely expensive so you better take great care of it.
Targeting the best material for you
I have tried most of the brushes and most of the materials, I know which one is my favorite but every month I may discover new brushes and my preferences may change.
My preferences also change depending on the product I use, one brush will be great for one foundation but could be dreadful for another. The thicker the consistency of the product (the resistance to blend) the thicker the bristles have to be and the more blending power youll have to put in your application. If you can find thicker and reasonably firm goat bristles that are very soft then they are very likely to be great for foundation. When I say thick, I mean thick like a Koyudo BP013 and not thin and soft like a Tom Ford blush brush for example.
Your preferences will be based on many different aspects, some materials do not trap as much foundation inside their bristles so better for the wallet, others will make you feel like a diva during application, others will make you feel like a Michael Angelo. Honestly I have two personalities when it comes to foundation application : the rational and the utopian, they cross eventually during the same application routine. I am not totally crazy, I just love to relax and enjoy a make up application, when I have time I play it like Tim Burton when I dont, I go Fast and Furious
Since I have very delicate skin, most of the brushes I will show you are appropriate for dry and sensitive skin since they are very soft.
General rules, more or less true
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A few years ago, I first started applying foundation with the Sigma F80 for liquid and the Bare Escentuals for powder. I have used them for years before I even started using anything else, I was quite happy with them until I got older and the Sigma was not delivering the finish I wanted which had to be more flattering and lightweight. The Bare Escentuals was great and I have even went through several pots of mineral foundation but one day I just couldnt use this brush anymore, it had become too rough and nasty and the ferrule broke.
From the Sigma F80 I went to the Louise Young LY34, it was a fail, it wasnt delivering the airbrushed application I was looking for. I then switched to the Real Techniques stippling brush that I found better for my needs, the coverage was spot on, the application is quite easy but even though the bristles arent rough, they werent soft enough for a daily application. Thats why I kept on searching for options.
Then I found the Shu Uemura 18, it was great but just too small. It was taking me ages to apply my foundation. Kept on searching for other options and I found the Tom Ford 02, it was insanely soft but using it everyday was not the best option, I had to wash it so often that I decided I would only use it for contour cream or cream blush, but its good for both foundation and cream blush. Then I found the Chikuhodo and Koyudo that are similar to the Shu, but they are the same size so I was facing the same issue with the speed of application. Then came the Koyudo Fu-pa02 ! Imagine when you are looking for a bigger option and you get this Koyudo you just squeek with emotion.
Today, my very top favorite application of liquid foundation is done with either a combination of two brushes, a flat one to place the foundation and a buffing one to give it an airbrushed finish, or to use one that does both the placement and finishing like the Chikuhodo GSN 05 :
Liquid foundation
There are many that I really love to use and experiment with :
Koyudo Fu-Pa02
: is soft, firm, very large, extremely pleasant to use and efficient with so many foundations. The best thing to do (again) is to place and roughly spread your foundation with a flat brush (concealer or foundation) and then use this to blend, you will save money and washes.Tom Ford 02
: soft and very pleasant to use but a shame to use on a daily basis. More appropriate for more liquid foundations than thicker ones. Similiar in size than the Chikuhodo GSN-05 but the GSN will work better with a wider range of foundation textures, from very liquid to quite thick.Tanseido YGQ 17
FUYI BRUSH Product Page
: its a bit too floppy to use with foundation, avoid thicker ones. Better for more liquidy foundations or tinted moisturizers. Very soft, the bristles are a bit thicker than their usual white goat blush brushes but Id rather preferred if it was denser. A good brush for liquid or cream blush though.Chikuhodo GSN 05
: its a work horse, doesnt poke, works with all the foundations I tried.Artisan and Artist LQ-11
: same as the GSN 05, but I dont know if this one is still available.Shu Uemura 18
: nice little brush, as I said before quite small for the full face.Koyudo BP014
: same as the Chikuhodo and Shu but if I had to keep one it would be the BP014, it is more pleasant on the skin.Chikuhodo G-10
: same as the Koyudo and the Shu.Takeda (flat)
: I bought these two Takeda in Japan, in the TAU boutique in Ginza, there is no specific name, no number on the brushes and I could not find them on their website, if you know what they are and can let us know I would appreciate Anyway, they are not that amazing but they are different and I was in my research mode. I really didnt like this flat one at first, I am not blown away by the quality of the hair and the bundle of the head but some time ago I was playing with it, used my cream foundation and then I dip this brush into Mac MSF medium plus and applied on top, it was absolutely freaking perfect. When I pair this brush with both liquid and mineral application it is particularly beautiful. Patting the recently stained hair from blending the liquid foundation on Mac Msf powder and finishing the buffing like that did a great job ! Maybe it is supposed to be used wet with powder ? I am afraid I dont know yet but I will try to spray some water and dip it on MSF for scienceTaketa (round)
: I bought it in the Tau boutique, dont remember the price and actually it looks terrible and doesnt feel great. I dont understand the shape of the head, it doesnt feel nice, too firm and not that pleasant. I still have to find a way to use it but so far I have not been very lucky with it.I am showing you just 4 of them on their side because they are the most uncommon :
The little Houkodou and the Koyudo Fu-pas
I love these brushes, the hair is very soft but still firm and with just enough flexibility to allow a nice flawless blending. You notice the Fu-pa05p has a synthetic side for a more smooth application of foundation, it combines a very soft application and a nice blending power with the goat side. I love to use them just like the Radiance as finishing brushes, specially the three on the left but I can also use them from A to Z. The only problem is that they get more dirty more quickly and that depending on the product you better avoid wasting too much of it.
I dont experience irritated zones or flaky application but if I dont use the appropriate foundation and skincare product it may happen, in those circumstances no matter what brush I use the finish will be flaky anyway. If you have oily or combination skin these are really nice brushes to use, on my just moisturized greasy skin they take away the excess shine but still leave some glow to the skin.
I took a picture of all the brushes, from left to right from the softest hair to the less soft. You have visual info of what type of softness to expect if you own any of these brushes :
Stippling foundation brushes
The stippling brushes are a great invention. No abbrassion and often you dont need a finishing brush afterwards. They are really beautiful when they are white synthetic on white goat and now that they are made with red handles they are even more gorgeous
In this picture you can see where the goat bristles end. The lenght between the end of the goat bristles and the end of the synthetic bristles will serve as shield or bumper and will prevent you from putting too much pressure against your skin therefore being less abbrassive. The bigger that stippling lenght, the more gentle the application. The shorter that length the stronger the blending but that is less recommended for delicate and dry skin.
Depending on the stippling brush I use them for different purposes, the S, J I love them specially with cream bronzers, *healthy* finishing powders or creams. They will not easily blend a hard textured foundation but they will deliver a lovely healthy finish with a more sheer application.
The G and S are more appropriate for foundations, the S has a strong blending power, personally I dont use them in stippling motions but I gently swirl them without putting too much pressure, we often tend to press the brushes too hard against the skin but its often not necessary.
The J544 has more firmness and is more densely packed than the J, I love it because I can use it for the application of foundation when my skin is really sensitive, its more precise than the J, soft and with more blending power than these bigger sisters. Also good for cream blush, you will not hurt yourself with this. I love it more than the Mac 131 because the goat bristles are denser and has more blending power. Although they are both very soft, I prefer how the Hakuhodo white brushes feel on the skin. This one is a crazy brush with a high potential.
The J is denser than the Mac 188sh you see here. The J is a bit more firm than the J and since its also smaller youll get more precision, I love it for foundation when my skin is not feeling good, it feels extremely gentle and I actually use with with more liquidy and easy to blend foundations, like the Chantecaille Future skin.
I add a pic with the Mac ones in order for you to see the difference:
Thicker bristles in foundation brushes
Its totally fine and extremely efficient, they just need to be soft enough, these two are. They are the best tools for the application of thicker foundations with a natural finish, also for mineral powder foundations, or cream bronzers (healthy overall application, not precise).
The Kihitsu is the best option for a replacement of the Bare Escentuals, the Koyudo BP013 is perfect for my Mac Mineralize cream foundation.
For powder bronzers I would reach more for these :
For the Chanel Bronzer Universel or the Givenchy Croisière this one :
What about flat brushes ?
I am not going to lie to you, I dont like the finish, if I press too much I dont like the streaky lines they leave behind and if I want to avoid that impression and press more gently, I feel like the product remains in the surface and I dont like it either. I use them but I then buff with something else like the Radiance, the Fu-pa07, or the Houkodou for example.
I even got the amazing Kashoen but I have the same issue. I love the way the brush looks and the bristles feel nice but I still want to buff afterwards. Its ok to leave it like that if you just give it a little bit of work but it will depend on the product and also the situation. If you work on models its nice to use flat brushes, probably if you approach them with the giant Radiance they would think their face will be brushed away in one stroke and they will freak out The flat brushes will certainly also last longer than a soft goat brush, thats why I think its good to have the two-step application : place with a flat, blend with a goat
There are other options of natural/synthetic brushes like the Hakuhodo G520 (weasel-synthetic) and the Evgeny (sable). Both are very soft and both are good for foundation but they will also require a bit of work
The Hakuhodo G520 I still need to buff afterwards, even though you cannot see huge obvious streaky lines I still like to finish with another one. I feel like a glamorous artist when I use it, you are holding something expensive and you feel it a bit, not sure I would pay again what I paid for it but the quality is outstanding and I already found a great use for this one. The placement and blending of cream/mousse blushes and cream contour Comanche style, is really fantastic, you place and blend, I love the precision it allows, precision means dimension to me, and if feels really nice on the skin, pleasant and artistic.
The Evgeny foundation is tiny so not much for the whole face for me, but I have another and an even better purpose for this, I have very hard to pick cream blushes like the Chicca ones (you are even supposed to use a sponge or the fingers), but this brush allows me to pick up the product nicely and apply it, its flatish at the surface, the picking of hard blushes is easier. It also feels really nice on the skin, no poking, no wasting product either.
Size comparison with the Shu 18 :
Mineral foundation
Most of the brushes you can buy in the shops are too rough, not dense enough or they will shed like crazy. It is really worth investing in something soft, efficient and if possible beautiful !
In my hunt for the best mineral foundation brushes, this is what I believe to be some of the most impressive candidates in my collection :
Koyudo BP013 (goat)
: I use it for Pressed mineral powder, it has enough density and firmness to pick up harder pressed powders (like the Mac MSF) and apply flawlessly, no harsh lines, no muddyness, the blending is totally perfect and it does that without harassing my skin at all. I also use if with cream foundation in compacts (Mac mineralized cream) mostly in winter. Its also a fantastic finishing brush. For softer pressed powders (like Serge Lutens for example) it will work but its better to use a less powerful brush otherwise it may pick too much product that is unnecessary.Kihitsu (goat)
: Same usage as the Koyudo above but it has more flexibility so excellent with loose powders but a bit less good with cream foundations. The Koyudo feels softer on the skin but both are soft enough for me. To work efficienctly with loose powders better if the brush is not too floppy and not too soft either.Koyudo Fu-pa14 (squirrel/goat)
: its a very dense brush but very soft and with medium flexibility, thats for example a great brush for Serge Lutens powder foundation which is pressed but volatile and easy to buff. With any mineral foundation application you have to tap the excess off and preferably follow Bare Escentuals ritual that I love : pat, swirl and tap in a container to avoid wasting product.Chikuhodo Temari (goat)
: this brush is a workhorse, it can do anything related to powder and it exceeds my expectations. Its goat hair so its not as soft as the Fu-pa14 but gosh its good. I took it to Spain this summer and I was using this with all the SL products : foundation, then bronzer, then blush. Ok, blush was not applied in a precise mode but I wanted the blush to be more like a halo on top of the cheekbones and the temples for a summery easy look. It was too hot, we were always relaxing at home in the little swimming pool and if we had to go out it was not really a planned thing, the makeup routine was restricted to this brush with the SL, some mascara and lipliner/gloss, then sometimes I added eyeliner and eyeshadow for going out at night. Its good for loose or for pressed powders. The BP013 is softer but this Temari is a really good mineral foundation brush and more easy to carry than the long handle one.Koyudo White Mushroom (goat)
: its extremely soft, the blending power is not as strong but if you want to apply a healthy/sheer coverage with some powder or bronzer thats a nice one for that. I use it when I want just a healthy looking skin or sometimes I actually like to apply a very sheer layer of liquid foundation with another brush and then with this one apply a sheer layer of mineral foundation (like the SL, soft pressed), still looks natural but its a bit more efficient against the pores than using only liquid foundation.Hakuhodo Kokutan Kinoko (goat)
: it has more density than the Chikuhodo Temari, its softer too but it has a strong blending power and the application will deliver more coverage, usually the thicker the brush the heavier the coverage. Its rounded but you can still use it easily in a stippling mode because the surface at the top is flat enough for that. I already mentioned that in the past but Ill say it again: it has a high level of density but the way the bristles bend and adapt to your skin during the application will make you go slow motion mode. The Fu-pa14 and the white mushroom too but this Kokutan has just more massaging power and it makes me chillKoyudo H005 (squirrel/goat)
: more flexibility than the Temari, its not just a kabuki, its a hell of a kabuki. Its fantastic for so many things, you wont get heavy coverage but you will get a lovely and flawless application of anything powder. Its flexible enough to not leave a harsh application and its just strong enough to blend.Hakuhodo Maple Kinoto (goat)
: its very dense and firm, more coverage, more buffing power, soft bristles but it will deliver a more precise application since its not very flexible.Koyudo Fu-pa01 (goat)
: extremely dense, heavy coverage, you can use it in a stippling mode because it doesnt poke but if you have delicate skin I would recommend you a squirrel brush. I use it mostly to buff the blush harsh lines when I couldnt stop myself from applying too much and if you want to buff the pores away thats a great option too.Koyudo Deka-fu-pa (goat)
same as above just a giant version of it.
In the next picture, I place some of them ranked by density/flexibility from left to right (the most flexible on the left), it will give you an idea of how they compare to each other:
Here they are ranked by softness of the hair, the softest on the left :
If you are looking for very soft hair mass type stippling brushes, the Koyudo H008 and H011 are to die for, its difficult to get any better than that but keep in mind the bristles are short and very dense.
I still havent found a way to use the Hakuhodo G543 but you see it in the pic for reference.
When I dont want to bother with a lot of mineral foundation, I apply concealer where I need it (spots, marks, eyes, nose) then I use simply the Chikuhodo Z-1 or the Chikuhodo G-9 for a sheer layer of mineral foundation, as long as they are dense enough to pick up the product and firm enough to softly blend it, it will work. This type of application will be very lightweight but sometimes less is more as they say and when I know I will be standing out in the bright sunlight I prefer to avoid looking like I have any foundation on at all.
The finished application will depend on the density, the firmness, the technique, the product and the material. I dont have a precise formula but roughtly :
Sometimes the softer way to go is not the better way to go, its up to your preferences and the results you need.
There are also loose bronzers but the application is similar to loose powder foundation, these are the ones I like to use with the Guerlain loose :
Synthetic brushes
When it comes to brushes, I have a bit of everything, I use synthetic brushes too but I prefer natural brushes. The Rae Morris 23 here is one that I love like crazy but that I also hate like hell because its not made anymore !! I cannot believe that, seriously, we had a great brush here (still room for handle improvement though..) but honestly I think the most sensitive people would adore something like this.
The synthetic ones that I use the most are the Real Techniques, their stippling brush is now a bit too harsh for me but I quite enjoy the Face expert, although it moves my skin a bit too much and the feeling of synthetic bristles is not the most pleasant thing for me but its a great affordable brush.
The Shiseido is a bit too flat and too dense for me and although its really soft it also moves my skin too much (obviously its something I dont like) during application and stippling a flat mass of hair onto my face is not what I love the most, if you are looking for this kind of brush and want something that doesnt poke then thats perfect. As I said, its often totally linked to your own preferences and something that doesnt work for me, it will certainly work for others.
In the waiting room..
These are the items that I am still trying to use. The Chanel brush here is really very soft and will not poke at all if you use it in a stippling motion, but I dont use this technique and I dont like to use it another way and it takes just forever to dry. Maybe one day I will use it for something, I keep on the research.
The Koyudo Fu-pa03 is too flat for me, its bigger than the Sigma F80 and denser. So far I havent played with it a lot, the feeling of a mass of synthetic hair on my skin is not my favorite thing, but its really very soft and if you use it in a stippling mode with powder youll certainly be happy with the results. Its just something I dont like to do with my skin condition at this moment. If you have any experience with it, please share !
The BeautyBlender this is not a brush, what is it doing here ? hmmmm I have been fighting with this one in order to use it and have it deliver good results. Yes I managed, it took me a while but I got it. What I found is that it doesnt work well with all foundations and I have to be patient to use it. To be honest with you I feel a bit dumb when I am stippling with this and it makes me do silly faces not sure why, also I have to be free of migranes because stippling is definitely the technique to use but not a technique I can afford on a daily basis. I love brushes too much also so thats a bit of a challenge to make me use something else for foundation ! Still under investigation.
I found a brush with similar bristles than the Chanel in a drugstore in Japan and for much cheaper, its much smaller but its the same fibers. From Felicela and I saw them in Sasa.
Unfortunatelly, I could not write about every case and situation, not only I have a problem finding free time but also because my skin is playing tricks to me at this moment, I spent some time without my usual moisturizer and its not liking it now, playing with too many foundations at this moment would be a dangerous hazard But now we have the forum, dont hesitate to ask for advice also over there, many of us use exceptional brushes and I am sure you can get proper advice. By the way, this week I will share 3 little posts with you before I leave on holiday (yes holiday again!!! but that is an accident). Those posts are about Kashoen, the Yojiya brushes and some new Koyudo ones I am also preparing a post on brush cleaning but I am still performing some research and awaiting for some info.
I hope this was helpful and it gave you an idea of what kind of foundation brushes are out there ! (A lot !)
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