Hakuhodo Brushes G5510BkSL, G5522BkSL and J5523

Friday, August 9, 2013

Recently I made another Hakuhodo order to pick up more brushes, as they are my absolute weakness. This time the brushes that I picked were all eye brushes. I decided on G5510BkSL and G5522BkSL. A friend of mine (Kat from Hooked on Polish) and I ordered at the same time so I'm able to show you J5523 as well, which has been compared to the MAC 217 brush.

G5522BkSL Eye Shadow Brush Tapered. $28. Made of a mixture of blue squirrel and goat hair, this brush is ultra soft. It is really great at diffusing colors in the crease and blending them outward. I use this a lot for neutral looks where I really want the color to look seamless, not so much for bright eye shadow looks because this brush is too soft to grip and work intense pigmentation. Does that make sense at all?

Left to right: Giorgio Armani #22, Stila #9, Hakuhodo G5522BkSL, Laura Mercier Finishing Eye Brush

Out of these four, the Hakuhodo G5510BkSL is easily the softest with the finest hair.

G5510BkSL Shadow Brush Round & Flat, made of horse. $20. I ordered this because it looked bigger on the website than it did in person. I was a bit let down NOT because of the quality but because it wasn't quite what I was expecting (completely my fault as the Hakuhodo USA website even has a pictured ruler). I wanted something a bit bigger since I already have three brushes that are basically this size and shape. However, this brush is superior to all three.

Left to right: Sigma E20, NARS Smudge Brush, Hakuhodo G5510BkSL. The reason why this brush is way better than the others is because of the natural tipped hair as opposed to the other brushes that have cut tipped hair. Due to this difference, even though the brush is made of horse which is a coarser hair than say, soft goat or silky squirrel, it feels incredibly soft. Viewed from the top, this brush also comes to a slight taper and is very dense. It's also cheaper than the NARS which was $24. Though smaller than what I was hoping for, it is absolutely fantastic for packing on color. I think the G5509BkSL is what I should have ordered instead.

J5523 Eye Shadow Brush Round & Flat is the brush that has been hailed as the MAC 217 dupe. It is $18 and made of white goat. Here, it is on the left while my scraggly 217 is on the right. I would say that they are nearly identical (keep in mind that my MAC 217 looks puffier but it is about two years old and gotten plenty of mileage) in terms of size, shape and density. I think that the Hakuhodo is slighter softer actually, and the hairs are arranged in a slightly more pleasing way. It's also cheaper than the MAC ($24) at $18, so a much better value. Definitely buying the J5523 when my MAC 217 gives out. A great brush for blending.

As usual, Hakuhodo service was exceptional and speedy. I'm repeating myself here but they shipped out my order within 30 minutes of placing it online. I definitely recommend Hakuhodo's brushes over MAC and most brushes carried at Ulta, Sephora or in department stores. They just are fantastic and I really feel like you get your money's worth.

Picked up any new brushes lately?

Products featured were purchased by me, for my own use. For additional information, please refer to my Disclosure Policy.