Hakuhodo + Sephora Pro Kanpeki Perfection Brush Set Full Review

    So November is the year-end vib sale month for Sephora.. that being said, a splurge month. I have purchased so many items from Sephora, both online and in store, because I cannot pass by all those value sets with this great sale! For those who do not know, Sephora has a 20% off year-end sale annually, and LITERALLY every single item in the store are eligible for the sale event! So it is definitely a good buy to purchase items from brands like Burberry, Guerlain, and Marc Jacobs, because they are never on sale. 

    Anyways, today is a review on the Hakuhodo + Sephora Pro Kanpeki Perfection Brush Set. This set is $185 CAD, which values $317 if purchase separately. Sephora has collabed with Hakuhodo to release five brushes recently, and they originally sell these brushes individually, ranging from $40-$80 CAD. And couple weeks ago, Sephora decided to release a value set that has all the five brushes PLUS an exclusive eye crease brush. Both the brush set and the individual brushes are limited edition, so if you want it, GET IT NOW! 

    So, before I begin, let me give you a little more factual information about the brand Hakuhodo! Hakuhodo is a renowned Japanese brand that is known as its handcrafted makeup brushes. Hakuhodo, Chikuhodo and Koyudo are the 'big three' famous makeup brushes brands in Japan, and even worldwide. As Japan is the origin of makeup brushes, these brands' makeup brushes quality are top notched. Almost all makeup brushes from these brands are made of animal hair, especially blue squirrel and saikoho goat hair. These two types of animal hair are known as the softest hair you can use for makeup brushes, and they are extremely pricy and require high maintenance. 

    Now, let's get back to this brush set! In this brush set, there are six brushes in total, and all brushes are made of synthetic hair. On sephora website this is how they describe the brushes: 'These beautiful brushes feature an innovative synthetic bristle material—the first to benefit from exclusive technology—that creates a softer, fluffier feel with actual bounce while retaining the benefits of synthetic bristles. As a result, these brushes are soft as cashmere, yet deposit more product onto the face due to less absorption and are more hygienic than natural hair.' Considering the fact that they are made of synthetic hair, they are extremely soft and are priced reasonably. I would say they would be the same softness level as saikoho goat hair. The synthetic hair bristles do not irritate my skin, even when I tried to directly pressed the bristles against my face - this is very important, because I have tried a lot of high end synthetic hair makeup brushes, even though they feel soft on my skin when applying makeup, their bristles still irritate me when I tried to press the bristles directly on my face. Moreover, these brushes do have the bouncy feeling and texture that animal hair brushes do not possess. 

    The website described it as 'A limited-edition, exclusive six-piece collector's brush set in a keepsake Japanese box.' It is basically a hard paper box with a glossy finish, with geisha - a traditional Japanese female performer printed on the surface of the box. This is how the packaging looks like:

    I personally am not a big fan of the box, because it is not that practical for me to keep my brushes in there for daily use.. but it does look nice and artistic. 

    This is what it looks like when I opened the box, you got a piece of sheet explaining the functions of each brush, and six brushes wrapped in individual plastic bags. I do want to mention that the handles of these brushes look very well-made, and in my opinion they have the perfect weight and length - not too heavy nor too long. The black and red handles paired with white bristles look very luxurious.

This is a more close-up picture for the description of each brush.

WEDGE SLOPING POWDER BRUSH (KASABI)- $68 CAD

'A large angled powder brush with a brand-new shape developed by the Sephora Pro team for the self-application of powder, bronzer, or for neck shading.'

I have a love-hate relationship with this brush. This brush has a really unique shape - it is slanted, but the sloping area is quite large. I love how it feels it feels on my skin, but this is the only brush from the set that shreds..:( It does not shred like crazy, but I have seen 5-6 hair fell off the brush so far, and it upsets me a little because I really like this brush. Also, in order to provide a better review, I actually have tried to use this brush on both powder and liquid. It worked perfectly fine with my liquid foundation (I use Guerlain Parure de Lumiere), no stroke marks or cakey feeling. But it does gives less control when applying liquid, because the bristles are relatively long and soft. And for powder - it applies like a dream. I use it with my Laura Mercier loose setting powder, and I really like that velvety finish on my face once applied with this brush. 

Large Teardrop Pointed Powder Brush (OTSUBU)- $61 CAD

'A large pointed powder brush to apply powder, contour, or bronzer. '

I like to use this brush to set my under-eye concealer, and the area between my eyebrow to the tip of my nose, because it is pointy, it fits better in those tricky areas. I also like to use this brush to apply my blush. This brush in particular, makes me see how this brush set is mimicking the texture of animal hair - the bristles are ultra soft, therefore it won't grab too much product when dipping the brush on the pan. This is actually a good thing, because it ensures that you won't go heavy handed and make yourself looks like a monkey's bum!

Small Teardrop Pointed Highlighter (KOTSUBU) - $48 CAD

'A revolutionary medium-point highlighter brush for precision contouring and highlighting. '

This is a smaller version of the previous brush. It is the perfect size to apply highlighter on your cheekbone. I have tried to use this brush on both powder(Hourglass ambient lighting blush) and cream highlighters (Becca poured), and it works amazingly on both!

Small Teardrop Pointed Highlighter (OUGI) - $50 CAD

' A universal blush brush to apply blush, contour, or for a natural, no-makeup look.  '

This is another uniquely shaped brush - it is like a little rectangle. The brush is relatively narrow, so I actually like using this brush to apply sculpting powder (KVD contour palette). It is also suggested to use this brush on blush or even highlighters, so it is a really multi-functional brush! It applies powder product really nicely and blends the color really well :)

Angled Concealer Brush (KUSURIYUBI)- $38 CAD

'A multitasking brush with angled shape for allover eye shadow, cream eye shadow, undereye concealer, and highlighting.'

This brush is great to blend the concealer under your eyes, on blemishes, and on some dark spots. It leaves no stroke marks when blending creamy concealers (I use Marc Jacobs remarcable concealer). Oh also it is worthy to note that this brush's bristles are a little more rigid than the others - maybe it is because it is more densely packed. You can also use this brush to blend eyeshadows on your lids. 

Crease brush - exclusive in the brush set

So this brush can only be found in the brush set, and you cannot buy it by its own. It reminds me of Wayne Goss's brush 05 in its original collection set. It is very narrow, with moderately long bristles. I actually really like this eye brush, and I mainly use it to apply transition color/crease color to define my eye crease, and to contour my nose. It is very soft so it does not irritate my eyes :) I like how it is not a fluffy dense eye crease brush, so it allows me to have a more precise application of eyeshadows and contouring powder!

Critiques from others: 

    I have seen a lot of criticisms from makeup brushes junkies saying they are too pricy for synthetic brushes, and the quality of these brushes are not comparable to other Hakuhodo brushes they have tried. I just want to do these brushes a justice: Yes, they are not as soft as the blue squirrel hair brushes you have tried from Hakuhodo, but those brushes can get to at least $100 per brush, or even more. They are NOT MEANT to be comparable, they are made from different materials at different price point! It is like some brands release different brush lines, both vegan and animal hair line. Even those brushes from different lines under one brand can vary in texture, price and appearance. For those who said it is too expensive for synthetic brushes, you may be right if buying them separately. But for the brush set itself, I would say they are at extremely good value. With the VIB sale, these brushes are around $27 per brush (with tax)! Even though you are buying the brush set at its original price, you are still paying $35CAD per brush on average. They are softer than normal sephora pro brushes, and are made of synthetic hair like all other sephora brushes do. Also, synthetic hair has its good advantages - they pick up products better than natural hair, and they require less effort to clean, and they are a lot cheaper! 

Verdict:

    Overall, I am very pleasant with my purchase, these brushes may not worth the price when buying separately, but it gives really good value when buying as a set. It has been out of stock ever since it was released online, so I would recommend you to search if they are in stock in your local store, by searching your postal code on Sephora website: http://www.sephora.com/hakuho-do-sephora-pro-kanpeki-perfection-brush-set-P401901?skuId=1734151