As you may have noticed, I love my Hakuhodo brushes. Over the years I've amassed a serious number of them and they're usually the first one I reach for when doing my makeup. One thing about Hakuhodo that nearly drives me to drinking is that other than their S100 series (the ones with the vermilion handles) the brushes are not numbered. It wouldn't bother a regular user, but as a blogger who needs to brush and tell this is a big issue (and, yes, I know I should have marked them myself from the very beginning, but by the time I realized this I already had too many brushes with black handles). I keep a spreadsheet and name my photos as soon as I take them, so that helps, but still. One needs a ruler at hand and some patience when coming to compare and contrast.
Today's brushes are B532 (the Basic series) and G532 (G series, but not available online at the moment). They're made of blue squirrel hair and are meant for use on the upper lid. These wide and springy brushes are firm enough to collect enough product for a wash of color all over the lid, and their softness allows for eay depositing the eye shadow in one stroke and blending it to perfection.
These brushes obviously see a lot of use here. They're almost identical but not quite. At first I thought it might have been a fluke, but after consulting the Hakuhodo booklet/brochure (also known as my choice of porn) I can tell you that G532 is, indeed, shaped a bit more square (oblong, actually),while the edge of B532 is slightly rounded. Size-wise the brushes are similar-- 14x15x5mm.
Compared to other brushes of similar use, G532/B532 are right in the middle size-wise. They're not as thick as Bobbi Brown's Eye Sweep, not as long as Shu Uemura 13G, and decidedly softer than Louise Young LY47 or Sue Devitt Kolinsky Eye Base. All of the above are great high-achieving brushes, and some products, like cream shadows, perform better when applied with the rougher brushes. Which one to get and/or use is a matter of preference, texture and technique, and it's up to you to assess your needs and choose the right brush for the task.
Hakuhodo B532 ($38) is available from hakuhodousa.com.
Thank you so much for another great post. Could you tell me how B532 compares to S121 or S127? I understand that they are all in different sizes and the S brushes have more rounded, tapered shape and so would imagine more multi-functional. But in terms of packing on colors, which would you say more effective in quickly packing on strong colors and blending edges? Or would you say different hair brushes (goat, sable, etc.) are better for that?
ReplyDeleteI've found some of my more recent brushes (from the g and b series) have had their names engraved on the handles, I think maybe Hakuhodo has got the memo and is now labelling their brushes. :)
ReplyDeleteHi, does the Bobbi Brown Sweep eyeshadow brush work better to apply a wash of color, thats not too pigmented or the hakuhodo g532/b532? Is there a difference in application with the hakuhodo and the bobbi brown?
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