Hakuhodo Large Itabake Brush

You may remember that I wasn't too enamored with my NARS Kabuki Ita brush No. 28 (it's discontinued, though the slimmer Ita 21 remains part of the line). For the most part it's been languishing in the back of my powder drawer until a few months ago when I watched this foundation application video by Wayne Goss (skip to the 3:40 mark):

Goss uses a Rae Morris brush, but I fished my old NARS and gave it another chance. Indeed, this brush is wonderful for foundation, but the design flaws that annoyed me from the very beginning are still there. That's why I got this Hakuhodo Large Itabake brush (it comes in several sizes, including an extra large one).  Hakuhodo's Itabake is of a very similar size and shape as NARS, but there's really no comparison. The goat hair used by Hakuhodo is of a higher quality and feels much more pleasant on my skin. If you look closely at the last photo you'll notice that the hair in the Hakuhodo brush goes all the way along the handle, while the NARS stops about 3mm before the edge. This prevents you from poking yourself with the corner, and allows for an easy and smooth application.

Bottom Line: one of the best.

Hakuhodo Large Itabake Brush ($78) is available from hakuhodousa.com (they ship all over the world). It's part of the Japanese Tradition collection.