I hope I will be able to briefly show you these big little brushes without sounding too irrational. In a few words : are they essential ? no.  Are they lovable ? Absolutely 100%.
I felt like Alice in Wonderland unwrapping these beauties. They are huge, long and you will feel insanely small in proportion ! Specially when you spend a lot of time using tiny Koyudo or Kihitsu brushes and then you jump to these !
- The YSS 17 is a grey squirrel highlight brush, 6300 yen.
- The YWC 14 is a goat eyeshadow brush, 2940 yen.
- The YSC 17Â is a grey squirrel cheek brush, 6300 yen.
I wanted to try different cheek brushes, soft and smaller than usual blush brushes, if possible a shape that I didn’t already had in my collection -which I admit is difficult to achieve at this point. I think I was never tempted by this kind of brushes in my earlier quests, maybe Hakuhodo have similar options, to be honest I don’t even know, I first started to build my collection with brushes that I needed the most. Today I look at different options that I am very curious to try.
I ordered them on their website, got them delivered to Tenso and the whole process took less than 1 week ! Impressive !
Here you can see a picture of the three together with some other brushes for size comparison :
I recently got the SS14 but I wanted one slightly bigger that covered more surface at the tips, this YSS 17 is approx twice the size therefore better for blush application.
The quality of the YSS 17 is outstanding, it’s not as firm as the SS14 but the hair is incredibly soft, soft like the Suqqu cheek brush actually. I have the impression that such soft hair is more difficult to bundle and will present small shape irregularities, you can see that the hair is not sharply bundled like the SS14 but I think it’s something that goes in line with the softness of the hair and not a default. Just my humble opinion.
Compared to the Suqqu cheek brush, it’s not the same shape so don’t expect the same behaviour, the shorter side is firm, the longer side is extremely flexible. If you push the hair from the longer side to the shorter side (the opposite you would do during application), then you get similar spring than with the Suqqu. It does blend better than the Suqqu since the shorter side will put more pressure when you need to and the longer side softly diffuses as you go.
Difficult to get a good clear picture, the surface is angled but flat :
The YWC 14 is meant to be an eyeshadow brush, they recommend it for beginners. It’s hard to believe that this brush can be used on the eyelids, it’s actually really big, very slightly rounded, it fits in my lid area but touches my eyebrows. Â I don’t think I will be able to use it at all on the eyes, even for the blending but this brush is great value for money and I think you should absolutely get one if :
- You want an extremely soft goat brush with flexibility but that can pack a good amount of product
- You want a fantastic contour brush
- You want a small brush for finishing (removing the excess powder)
- You want a precise brush for setting your foundation  (or concealer) with powder
I can also apply my blush in swirling motions with this brush, absolutely no problem at all, it works with all types of products and even with less pigmented blushes.
Compared to the Hakuhodo J5521 the YWC 14 has the same softness, not as firm, not as dense, but the hair is exactly same length.
Compared to the Hakuhodo  J5533 the hair of the YWC 14 is softer but obviously it’s much bigger and more rounded.
I thought a picture near my face would help give you a better idea of its size.
The YSC 17 is actually one of my favorites brushes to apply blush, I will need a few more days to give my final judgement but I am *very* pleasantly surprised, I use it for blush application, to me it feels softer than the Suqqu Cheek brush. Even though it’s flexible and very soft it keeps its shape and you have enough surface at the tip of the brush to easily apply blush and blend, you can put pressure, it will place and buff the product very softly but efficiently. I love that I can apply blush in rounded (swirling) motions, the result is flawless and extremely natural.
The tip of the surface measures 2cm diameter, but if I use it in rounded motions it will cover the perfect size of my cheeks and I can take it slightly upwards to the cheekbone.
I assumed this would be a “luxurious” impulsive purchase and that they won’t be useful on a daily basis but I was wrong and that worries me quite a lot, for me it opens a door for even more unthinkable possible temptations…
32 comments
oh, these are so nice! I love small not very dense face brushes as G511 from hakuhodo, these seem even better and more origanal, especially YSS17.
The Yss17 feels like a feather in comparison to the G511 and the base of the ferrule is round, I know you like very soft brushes so this is one you will love. The G511 is the size in the middle of Yss17 and SS14 just to help you imagine how it compares.
You should try either of the Tanseido 🙂
Heaven help me! I am just starting to get into Chikuhodo with Malin but secretly, I am tempted by what you write about Tanseido. Thank goodness their site is in Japanese! We’ll see but for now, I’m going to stick with exploring Chikuhodo. I got the MK-2 from Malin and have 3 other brushes on order when she gets stocked up again. Can’t wait.
Hi Mimi, this is what I say to myself every single day but I am just hopeless 😛
stick with the Chikuhodo, these Tanseido will probably be easier to get so better get some z or mk series 🙂
I know you gave Nemo my email address and I thank you for that, she wrote me but I accidentally lost it. Can you tell her, or ask her if it’s OK for you to give me her email address? Thanks so much for your patience and help!
Finding Nemo! Cats & fish! Sorry, I think that’s just hilarious because, well, I’m sure she’ll mention why I find it so funny in the email if she reads this 😛
I just gave Nemo your address again 😛
No worries 🙂
Please have mercy on my wallet Sonia! O_0 I really like that you put the brushes up to your lovely face in order to show their size. I hope you start doing it more often because that is really helpful, thank you! 🙂 🙂
I had this idea with the MUFE 412 (the post will be up later on today), thank you for your feedback, I am glad that helps 🙂
I have been obsessed with your site since I made a impulsive Hakuhodo purchase in January and a subsequent more thought out purchase a few weeks later. I just wanted to say thank you for all that you do and that this is by far the best website for makeup brushes period. I have the Koyduo red squirrel brush on its way to me and I hope it is just as soft and nice as yours. Thank you for putting the brushes next to your face, that was very helpful. I have a Tanseido wishlist and the YWC 14 is on it and it is now a need because it will make the perfect powder brush, I just need to build up the courage to use Tenso. I have one question though, I am going to make another Koyudo order sometime this month and was wondering if the head of the fu-pa 08 is about the same size as the Real Techniques Expert Face Brush? I know they’re not the same shape but just general size of the heads. Thanks again!
you are welcome Devin and thank you for your sweet comment 🙂
the first time you use Tenso it’s a bit time consuming but honestly today it got too scarily easy ! and one week from the moment I order till the moment I get my brushes is just incredible.
I have checked and the RT is similar size as the fu-pa08, different shape but the head is quite similar size.
Thanks for checking Sonia, the fu-pa 07 it is then.
I don’t think Tanseido will ever disappoints us. *fingers crossed*
In Asian forums, many says that once you’ve tried Tanseido, all other brush companies seems mediocre.. except maybe Chikuhodo. I am beginning to think the same..
Gotta add YSS17 in my list!! Thanks for the post. 🙂
I can understand them, they sent me an email mentioning they have a small production site (probably scared they won’t be able to cope with the orders?!) don’t know, but I know their quality level is higher than many other Japanese brands. I don’t thinkk they will disappoint but I have tried their brownish-red dyed goat, neither the black one… I have to some day.
Yeah, I read from some forums that they have a very small production site.. probably why would not want to cope with international orders.. and perhaps it would be easier for quality control.
The Tanseido goat brushes are insanely soft, how do you do a quick cleaning for this kind of goat hair? Paper towel / baby towel but no BB spray?
I use paper towel (I spray very very little BB spray in the towel and very briefly rub the brush) but most of the time I just wash them, they dry very quicky.
Another fabulous, fabulous post, Sonia.
Thanks so much!
It’s always about quality here and I love that because my vanity/ego/self-worth demands make-up but my aging skin dictates the softest of the soft.
Devin, do you know about Tommy? She has an enabling service for placing orders with Japanese firms from abroad.
She has an FB page and a blog. Try googling bringblingjpto find her.
I’ve placed a Tenseido order, based on Sonia’s recommendations, with her.
Oops- that should be bringblingjp to find her.
Thanks Sylvia 🙂
Just got home so I can finally read this post. I’m loving YSS17! It looks amazing and the shade seems quite efficient. That might end up on my list too :S
Btw, I’ve been meaning to ask, do you have a special reason for choosing red or blue for your handles? A colour code, or is it at random? Was just curious!
🙂
I was trying to take blue handles for eyeshadow brushes and red for face but I did not manage to follow it 100%..
I prefer the blue handles actually, easier to spot, they are the only blue handles in my collection 🙂
Same here! 😀 And I love the blue handles a lot. They add colors to my otherwise all boring-black collections. 🙂
Ahh, so there is a method to this madness! 😛
Do these come in the shorter handles Sonia? 🙂
Bea, I couldn’t find them but I’ll ask my contact in Tanseido, since I received an email and I have to reply to them, I will add that question 🙂
Super! Thanks Sonia. <3 🙂
Hi Bea,
this is what they replied :
They said also that the reviews and the comments are very encouraging to them so don’t hesitate to comment 😉
Thanks so much Sonia! I prefer shorter handles. Like Bonnie sez, long handles make it difficult to maneuver if you’re really short sighted lol!
you are welcome Bea 🙂
Hi Sonia, which one is softer ysc 17 or suqqu cheek?
Hi Ece, well, they feel so similar but I think Suqqu is a bit softer, well, if I had to choose I would get the Suqqu 🙂