Review: hakuho-do + SEPHORA pro Kusabi clean

I believed I’d evaluation this clean sooner rather than later considering that it is a restricted edition item, as well as on Sephora’s site, it shows a couple of the styles (including this one) as “only a few left”.  So if any individual was thinking about getting one of these, now is the time!

As you may recall, I bought mine on total impulse upon seeing the screen at the front of the store in Sephora’s “Hot Now” section.  There are 5 brushes in this collection (ranging in cost between $38 – $68) which are described in detail on Sephora’s site so I won’t rehash it here.

I’m focusing on the Wedge Sloping Powder (Kusabi) clean which is explained on Sephora as: A big angled powder clean with a brand-new shape established by the Sephora pro team for the self-application of powder, bronzer, or for neck shading.

The very first thing you’ll notice about the clean is the packaging, each private clean is housed it a unique red textured cardboard box, extremely similar to exactly how Oriental calligraphy brushes are stored.

Since this is a partnership between famed Japanese clean brand Hakuhodo (side note: not sure why Sephora hyphenated “Hakuho-do”? Hakuhodo themselves don’t hyphenate) as well as Sephora, the styling pays homage to the source.

The second function of the clean is that it has cherry red lacquered handle:

And the ferrule is a matte black.  The pairing of the shiny red with the matte black looks extremely sleek.

I selected this clean shape since it’s special to my collection – it has a squared off head with a front sloping angle rather than a side sloping cut (think angled contour brush).  Since it has a much broader ordinary for the slope, it would – theoretically – supply a softer blend that covers a larger area.

The clean head is a square, measuring 4.2 x 4.2 cm at the widest as well as greatest points. The hand feel of the clean is quite soft, as well as the bristles are densely packed.

I checked this clean over a week, very first utilizing it with my Shiseido Sun security Compact foundation SPF35 which I dust on lightly as my setting powder:

The bristles had a great amount of flex as well as firmness, however, I discovered the clean to drag a bit over my face.  I had to revise my application method – instead of sweeping the clean over my face, I utilized a lot more of a patting motion.  I checked the clean with other powder products and, in the end, I discovered this clean much better fit for bronzing as well as patting on lightly pigmented blushes (since the clean was so dense, medium or extremely pigmented blushes would apply as well strongly).  It’s much better for patting colour on targeted areas like bronzer and blush rather than sweeping deal with powder around – because of the dragging problem I experienced.  I haven’t tried this with liquid products but I checked out on Temptalia that it’s rather streaky.  Overall, I was a bit underwhelmed by this brush.

Comparison of the Kusabi clean to others in my collection which are similar:

L to R: Real methods Kabuki Brush, hakuho-do + SEPHORA pro Kusabi Brush, Inglot 1SS Powder brush, Smashbox blush clean #16 (I generally included this because it has a red lacquer manage too)

In terms of shape as well as function, surprisingly the RT Kabuki clean is the most similar as it has a sloping head as well as synthetic bristles as well. I really like the RT clean much better since it doesn’t drag on the skin as well as blends powders smoothly.  In fact, I like all of the other brushes shown in the comparison much better than the Kubasi!

I feel this partnership between Hakuhodo as well as Sephora did not draw out the very best of both brands – the clean head shape was established by Sephora pro team as noted in the product description, as well as the synthetic bristles are likely also Sephora influenced.  Which leaves what part of the clean as Hakuhodo’s contribution?  Just the handle, the packaging as well as the actual manufacturing?  If I was doing a partnership with a brand understood for their soft elegant brushes, wouldn’t I want to bring that to the final product? They truly must have gone with natural haired bristles for this collection, in my opinion.  The clean manage style as well as presentation are top-notch, however type over function doesn’t cut it in my books.  This was my very first foray into Hakuhodo brushes, however I wouldn’t let this experience cloud my viewpoint of the brand considering that I’d state this was a 80/20 partnership with a heavy Sephora influence.

Lastly, I should note that while I was photographing the brush, I inadvertently scraped the manage idea against a piece of white paper, as well as the red lacquer paint made a mark on the paper like a pencil crayon would. I inspected the clean manage as well as it didn’t look worn away, however I suspect that over time, the red lacquer will wear off.  I tried scraping my Smashbox clean manage (the only other brand with a red lacquered handled clean I own) against the paper as well as it left absolutely no red mark.

Pros:
• beautifully presented
• special clean shape
• great for applying powder bronzer / light pigment blush
• does not shed
• laundries cleanly
• made in Japan

Cons:
• overpriced of what it is
• drags on the face
• not extremely great at multi-tasking as claimed

Bottom line: a great looking clean however I wouldn’t rush out to get it

Stash worthiness: 6/10

Have you seen these brushes at Sephora? Did you pick up one?

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