Beauty Product Reviews

Could be softer! But not a bad deal.

This brush is my first foray into Chikuhodo. I picked it because at $40, it wasn't gonna break the bank if it's not as soft as my holy grail foundation brush, the Hourglass No. 2. It's packaged in a plain plastic cover, so not super luxurious, but it doesn't bother me because my Hourglass brushes were packaged the same way. It's got a long and tapered handle with a golden ferule--it looks very luxurious whenever I use it.

The brush hairs, however, could be a lot softer. It was off-white/yellow and scratchy straight out of the box, but fluffed up enough after washing. It doesn't really absorb a lot of product (unlike my Hourglass brush) so that's a plus. The hairs are dense and short enough that you could hold this brush one way to swipe liquid foundation on, and then hold it perpendicular to your skin to buff it out.

Overall, it is a great value for the money. I just wished the hairs were a lot softer.

I just wish it was a shade darker! (NW22-25 skin)

I bought this due to the overwhelming great reviews. I have light-medium skin, with peachy pink undertones and this was perfect for me for that lightly sculpted look. It's quite hard to give myself a sharp contour with this product but I don't think that's a bad thing at all--it's awesome for super busy days when I can't be bothered to be careful with my contour. I can dip my brush in the "sculpt" side and not have to worry if I'll look like I have dirt on my face.

Comparison-wise, I would say that the sculpt side is a tad warmer than NARS Paloma. I don't have many highlighters, but it's less glittery than the Mary Lou-Manizer, but not micro shimmer like Hourglass' Incandescent. If you're neutral-peach-pink enough like me, you can definitely get away with using this as bronzer as well.

Overall, it's a staple for me especially during busy days when I want my products to do some double-duty. I just wish it was a shade darker for just a little bit more of a dramatic contour.

Definitely one of my top three!

I'm comparing this to the Hakuhodo J142 and the Hourglass #4 brush. The handle and design is generally a lot more luxurious--the white handle is longer, tapered and is complemented very nicely by the golden ferule--and at $21 (and with Beautylish's amazing shipping times and customer service), I would say such a greater value than the other two. It was a little scratchy at first, but it got fluffier and softer after the first wash. You have to be super careful when drying this because the outer hairs tend to lose its form if bent while drying--and it's quite hard to get them back into original condition.

It's got the same density as the Hakuhodo, however, the Hakuhodo has softer hairs. Its hard to compare the softness to the Hourglass because the Hourglass has synthetic hairs, vs goat for the other two (saikoho for the Hakuhodo).

This Chikuhodo brush blends very nicely, and I admit I have been using it more than both the Hakuhodo and Hourglass combined as of late. It's wonderful at doing its job, but I didn't really notice one brush being better at it than the others.

I would definitely recommend this--but keep in mind that you do have to take care of it really well.