This is the most recent brush from RMK, I didn’t even know it existed before Buggsiebee told me about it. I immediately had to get it because I am particularly fond of contour at this moment, contour and pigmented bronzers actually but applied with a light hand.
Specs: 15,3cm total length, the base of the ferrule is 1.9 cm, the hair length is 3cm. In terms of softness, although the Paula Dorf is squirrel, this RMK feels as soft to me. If they had the same density, I guess I wouldn’t even notice a difference, it doesn’t poke and feels much softer than Mac ones, but if you need very soft brushes you better go for a blend with squirrel/goat or a squirrel brush made in Japan. The Paula Dorf squirrel hair is thicker and rougher than other brands as Hakuhodo or Chikuhodo. As I said many times before, thicker does not always mean bad, thicker often allows more durability and more efficiency.
This angled brush is not as soft as the other two cheek brushes from RMK, one is a blend of squirrel/goat (the S on the left) the other is just squirrel and denser (looooove). Since the angled is flatter at the surface, firmer, it will pick a generous amount of product and will blend it well, I think that RMK made brushes that go very well with the texture of their products.
For contour I use mostly the RMK MT-08 sculpting blush, the difference it makes on my skin when I have been sculpting it, it’s unbelievable, I can easily fake a weight loss of several kilos 🙂 and cheat on the Droopy ageing face. For the cheekbones, sides of the nose and temples I use the Paula Dorf big blender eyeshadow brush nearly everyday, I need a brush with precision but with a fluffy border so that it doesn’t leave a stripe and can act super fast. For the jaw line I use a “bigger-small-brush”, either this RMK or an angled blush brush like the Paula Dorf but at the end it doesn’t really matter. I find angled brushes easier for the jaw line, holding the longer side of the brush facing up and the shorter just underneath the jaw (I guess that’s when I should have taken a pic, I will… and I will add it here).
Here is the comparison with other angled brushes, the Hakuhodo J series goat hair is softer, the squirrel/goat blend of the B512 and G511 is also softer of course, same for the Chikuhodo Special G-2. The squirrel/horse blend of the G504 results in a not as soft brush as the RMK but it’s very firm and narrower and I do like narrow angled brushes like the Chikuhodo Special G-2.
The RMK is also a very efficient blush brush, not too firm, not overly dense but it will apply products with medium to heavy coverage (you can still dose if you remove the excess). If you use a lot of heavily pigmented blushes this may not be the best brush option to keep the application subtle.
Hopefully this gave you a little overview on this new brush, I am at the moment discovering other brands that are more widely available but still not that reviewed online and I hope to be able to find some dupes for higher end brands. Always in research mode here 🙂
This RMK brush is available at Selfridges, BeautyBay, Lookfantastic or anywhere they sell RMK products and it costs 32 GBP.
2 comments
Thank you for sharing. Lovely review as always.
Hi Sonia. Hope you’re doing great! Would you please kindly let me know if the Hakuhodo B512 is a good size for blush application? I have a small face with sensitive skin. I’m looking for a good brush with squirrel hair and was thinking of getting the Hakuhodo B512. As I was reading your blog, I saw the pictures between B512 and J4003, the B512 looks a little bigger. I was just wondering if it might be too big for my face? Also, can you please let me know how do the two compare? Is the B512 softer than the J4003? Thank you!