Inside my brush collection

Be-wa-re, do not try to do this at home. I am serious, having so many brushes is not a necessity and it will never be… unless it helps you find happiness. It does help me, not because I am a superficial junkie but mainly because my passion triggered the creation of this blog and it just could not get better, the insane community of truly amazing friends gathered around this topic is just as passionate and genuine. “I am what I am because of who we all are.” As simple as that.

In the past I have done so many student jobs, from modelling to working in hospitals, working in a radio, or in restaurants, some of these jobs were either volunteering or to pay for part of my studies, I usually get bored very easily unless I keep myself busy at all times. Despite everything I did in the past during my free time I never had as much fun as I have today and I can’t thank you enough. You keep me busy and I love that!

I don’t think I have the largest collection in the world because I know some collectors live in the shadows, I talked to a few of them in MakeupAlley so I know they exist, they may not own as many Japanese brands but they do own just as many brushes as I do -I think, but I am not betting my brushes on it either! 😀

I am really looking forward to having the studio ready for the final furniture and decoration but they still have to break the walls, the floor, move the windows, ALL of it still has to be done. I am tired of waiting, I just want to grab the tools and do it myself!  The dust has calmed down but still, no way I am leaving the brushes in holders at the moment.  I had to find a safer temporary solution : the Ikea Alex drawer unit.

I got it last week, built it myself in under one hour and couldn’t wait to start filling it with brushes!  Well, that was close, just enough room, for the majority. The Hakuhodo S series (3)  didn’t make it but since I love to look at them for the moment they are outside the drawers, I’ll find some room for them in my other dresser. I took the smaller version of this Besta Burs since the longer one does not fit for now… In glossy white of course … love it!

The kabukis (2) are stored under muffin bells (most of the kabukis anyway). For the rest of the brush collection it fits in the 6 Alex drawers, I will today open the drawers for you, one by one, if you are ready for it… take a deep breath.

First drawer

I need to be able to access the brushes really very quickly, it’s better for me to order them by brand or by series rather than by functionality. Except for the little eyeliners and concealer brushes, these I prefer to just have them together so that they don’t get lost in the mass.

1. Little powder puffs from Yojiya and Guerlain. Mineral goat kabuki brush from Jill Stuart (it sheds but I like it and it’s just soft enough to use).
2. The very big and delicate brushes from Suqqu or from the Chikuhodo Z series.
3. RMK, Lunasol, Addiction and on the left, the portable Chikuhodo brush Mr Takemori gave me when I met him during my visit. Since I got a few questions about this brush I have to tell you that this brush is only available in Hiroshima but Melissa shared a link of this company where I found a similar one here but nor sure if that’s exactly the same in terms of softness.
4. Jill Stuart (I have two blushes and these are the two portable brushes that came with the blushes), even if they are not extraordinary they are actually quite useful if you happen to have one, it’s great to keep them.
5. Pine squirrel brushes from Chikuhodo
6. The Chikuhodo Temari and the amazing G-9.
7. These are all extraordinary soft brushes, Suqqu, Chikuhodo, Kyureido or the little Chicca (I haven’t reviewed that one yet…)
8. Tom Ford… loving all of them except for the little eyeliner which is a bit too firm and can hurt a little bit.
9. Various Chikuhodos, G, Gs, GSN or other misc series. I have a few others pending in an order at the moment with Malin (Kohlido).

Second drawer

1. The Koyudo Fu-Pas and more… maybe it’s a good thing that the handles are short (specially for storage reasons!) but I do prefer longer handles if I had to choose.
2. Misc eyeshadow brushes (not necessarily only Koyudo ones, there is a bit of everything)
3. The Kihitsu foundation (on the right), the Koyudo Mickey (on the left) and some kabukis that I don’t use very often.
4. Koyudo squirrel red set plus some other brands with red handles. By the way, I have great news regarding the Kashoen. I will tell you soon exactly what happened but as you may know Melissa went to Japan to their boutique with a mission… she took my Kashoen brushes to see if they could explain why the quality was not 100% satisfactory. Melissa already told me how it went and I will have excellent news for the Kashoen fans-to-come, I am just waiting to make sure I can publicly tell what happened over there 😉
5. Fans! love them, want more.
6. Koyudo BP series, amazing, the goat brushes are devilishly efficient and the squirrel brushes are supremely divine.

Third drawer

1. These are not all Hakuhodo J Series, there is also a few G series lost in there. I went crazy when they were released and I got a lot of them…  I thought planet earth had just lost it, but it was just me.
2. Hakuhodo and Chomotto with colorful handles, it’s just good for the eyes that they are all gathered together. I love the champagne handles they have in Japan for the J series. On the USA website you can get only black handles (I think) but in Japan they have so many different handles. If you want your brushes with different handles just ask Hakuhodo, they may be able to import them for you.
3. Hakuhodo G or B series or K… a bit of everything actually.
4. Concealer and eyeliner brushes, all brands mixed together so that I don’t need to look for them when I need them.
5. Hakuhodo J series eyeshadow brushes.  Some are duplicated because I use them a lot.

Fourth drawer

1. Hakuhodo misc series face brushes. The gold pink are from a winter set.
2. Misc Kabukis (MUFE and R&R), when I did not had so many kabukis I loved them and I still find they are nice kabukis.
3. Misc blush or foundation brushes. If you zoom you can see the brands. Oh you can also see some Piccasso brushes ther but Koyudo BP series or Hakuhodo J series are way above them. Not impressed by the brand and not impressed (at all) by their customer services. I do love the brush pouch they sent me with my big fat Piccasso order but other than that, I have tried to contact them (politely) so many times by phone or email and spent so much energy with them ! I still send them an email from time to time just to see if their customer services will get better one day and reply to me, but there is no reaction so far.
4. Shu Uemura collection (I also have the big face brush but it’s too floppy and I don’t use it at all).
5. Misc eyeshadow brushes from any brand, Paula Dorf, Sephora, Laura Mercier, Addiction, EB, Charlotte Tilbury, Mac, Sigma, Nars, Chanel, Burberry, etc … The only one I don’t use is the Burberry slanted actually but any of the others gets to work, some I could get rid of them but it’s very useful to have them for reviews or comparisons. I love the Mac 239 since the first day I got it, I still use it today and often on daily basis.

Fifth drawer

Wood party theme!

1. Make up forever brushes, today I use only the round eyeshadow brushes for cream eyeshadow application but they are all kept together, the face brushes are just at the back.
2. Billy B, Bobbi Brown, Rae Morris…
3. Ebony brushes from Evgeny, Hakuhodo and Yojiya.
4. RM Radiance(ssss), Yachiyos, other Hakuhodos and mini brushes.
5. Rae Morris punished brushes, the only way to keep them from sticking to each other is to tie them up.

Sixth drawer

1. Tanseido brushes, you can get them with longer or shorter handles and with black, blue or red handles. Amazing quality hair for their squirrel and white goat brushes.
2. Trish McEvoy, not bad at all (some are a bit too scratchy). Before I started with the Japanese brands these were amongst the best I had.
3. Misc Chanel or Sephora brushes (and Sephora professional surpasses Chanel here…)
4. In these compartments, there is a bit of everything, synthetic or natural brushes that I use but not on a regular basis. I do like them so I keep them available at all times.
5. The Louise Young powder brush and the Illamasqua could host an entire life inside them.  The LY 07s I use it on the face but the Illamasqua is for body application of bronzer or highlight, or you could use it as a pillow if you are stranded in the wild.

This is what didn’t make it inside my drawers because I don’t use them right now. Sorry some little eyeshadow brushes are dirty but I didn’t had time to wash these and I am preparing a post about cleaning where I am going to experiment with them :

That’s it, once I’ll have my final studio ready I will reorganize the storage and I may share again….

What next ?

I won’t order many more brushes for now – I have just a few in my basket but I won’t need a second Alex dresser for now that’s for sure!

I have a few lemmings or curiosities, like the new Becca that looks like the RM Radiance or the Eihodo brand or the Artisan&Artist or… (I could carry on for hours believe me). No, this will never end.

Wayne’s brushes will arrive soon and join my beloved family and I have just the right place ready for them 😀  On my beautiful glossy white beauty dresser just freshly installed, sexy to die for and they will shine on it 😛