The Keyaki brush set

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I love little brush sets, especially when they are unique, beautiful and functional! With that vision in mind, I worked with Japanese artisans to create this Limited Edition Keyaki brush set with short handles.

This set feels so special to me because it features Fude craftsmanship paired with traditional Japanese woodworking craftsmanship for the handles. The result is elegant, the look is traditional, understated, and it’s an effective set of brushes that allow us to achieve a complete look.

THE HANDLES

The handles are made of Keyaki Zelkova Serrata, which is native from Japan. It is a slightly harder wood and requires a longer drying period of one to two years compared to other Japanese woods. 

It is considered a strong and high-grade wood and since a very long time it has been used for the construction of temples, shrines, high-grade Buddhist altars and lacquer wares (Shikki).  Keyaki wood is also used for high quality furniture such as special tables or counters, it’s famous for its beautiful grain and for the fragrance coming from the oils contained in the wood.

The handles showcase a variety of traditional Japanese woodworking techniques.  For example, the  wood filling technique with Tonoko (polishing powder) which is used for the underneath layer to make the wood grain look so beautiful. Then, it is finished with a thin layer of urethane paint that has been meticulously applied to achieve a beautiful smooth surface on the handle.

As a result, the handles have a unique pattern and a soft matte finish. The keyaki grain can be linear, striped, wavy or a mix. Even micro dents may be apparent on the wood and although it’s rare, this is totally normal and part of its nature. The artisans worked with all the characteristics of this wood and adapted the techniques for us to appreciate its raw beauty. 

This set has been on the works for a long time as the manufacturing has presented quite a few challenges. The biggest challenge with this Keyaki handle was to apply the logo beautifully since the surface of the Keyaki is not smooth. The artisans wanted us to feel the texture of Keyaki, but for the application of the logo on such a small surface, the use of the Tonoko technique has been crucial- it allowed them to work with the raw beauty of the wood and yet achieve a flush application of the logo and brush names on the handle. 

The black matte brass ferrule pairs extremely well with the black details of the keyaki grain, while the logo remains the usual light brown colour as it matches the elegance of these handles. 

Finally, we are really excited to release this very special set and even though this will only be for a Limited Edition, it was worth the effort. We embraced all the challenges and enjoyed every step of the process. 

I add some pictures of wooden handles to give you a better idea of the shade, if you have some of these or are familiar with them, you’ll know what to expect with Keyaki.

This is a short handle brush set, the longer brush is the little crease brush which is 129 mm in total length.

THE BRUSHES

The brushes for this set had to be brushes that we love to have with us, specially when we are on the move, and that help us achieve the biggest range of looks with the most types of products, I did my best to aim for this.

The eyeshadow brushes

With regards to the eye brushes, the ones that I believe to be very functional, that work so nicely as a team, and that I always love to have with me are the Flat Definer, the Mini Booster and the Jumbo Blender from the Sky series.

The three eyeshadow brushes that you see in this Keyaki set are simply the same as the ones in the current permanent collection, but, they have been bundled with white undyed saikoho goat bristles so that we can use them also with cream products if we wish to.

These eyeshadow brushes are effortless and versatile and very relevant for this small set as they can easily achieve an entire look and work with many type of products, creams or powders.  

The Flat Definer takes care of the details, works closely and gently along the lash line to add definition, it can place the inner corner highlight, darken the outer V or deposit an accent shadow in the center of the lid.

Material: white saikoho goat bristles
Hair length: 8mm
Total length: 123mm
Ferrule: 4mm x 7.5mm

The Mini Booster quickly builds the application in or around the crease area, diffuses and blends with control.

Material: white saikoho goat bristles
Hair length: 14mm
Total length: 129mm
Ferrule: 5.5mm

The Jumbo Blender is the brush we can use for a one shadow look or for a quick blending. It can lay down the product with the sides but can also work as a crease brush – larger than the Mini Booster if used sideways. The tip can be used for blending, softening or to smoke out an application. 

Material: white saikoho goat bristles
Hair length: 15mm
Total length: 125mm
Ferrule: 7mm x 10mm

The face brushes

I was aiming for high versatility with these two little face brushes. They are not part of the current permanent collection. 

The Mini Base can be used with creams, liquids and powders. It is bundled with natural bristles (sokoho goat) and synthetic fibers (PBT and nylon).

This specific blend of bristles and density can handle foundation. Although it’s a small brush (the surface at the top is 23mm diameter), it can be used for the entire foundation application and it will blend beautifully but it will take more time compared to a bigger face brush. On the other side, the benefit is that it is also more versatile and can be used for cream blush, cream contour or to diffuse concealer if you like to apply it on a larger perimeter.

This Mini Base can also be used with powder products, I use this brush to set my foundation with powder or as a mini buffer.

Material: white sokoho goat and synthetic fibers (Nylon and PBT)
Hair length: 23mm
Total length: 123mm
Ferrule: 15mm

The Classic Face is a brush to use with powder products. It is bundled with dyed and undyed natural bristles (saikoho goat).

This brush is the perfect size for the one-brush-for-all powder products. It’s small enough for blush application, big enough for bronzer application and can also handle highlight or contour application.

The shape is simple, yet quite unique.  It has an oval ferrule but when washed, it blooms to an airy, generous domed surface at the top, so it provides enough control with sheer products and prevents the harsh edges when applying more heavily pigmented products.

Material: dyed and undyed saikoko goat bristles
Hair length: 33mm
Total length: 128mm
Ferrule: 11mm x 14.3mm

These pictures will give you a better idea of its size.

We all have a slightly different interpretation of density, softness, precision, but I thought the ratings below could help understand why the Classic Face is a more multipurpose brush compared to the other brushes in that picture.

A medium density brush is going to handle a wider selection of products, whether they are more of less pigmented. If it more on the denser side it may be too aggressive with heavily pigmented products but if it’s floppy, it may not pick up the more sheer products.

A brush that has more splay out will deliver more diffused edges, if it has less splay out and more precision the application is going to be more directional.

Availability

The set will be available as a Limited Edition release, on Beautylish, starting on the 9th of December 2020, 10 am PT and it will cost 125 USD.

If you have any questions about this Keyaki set, please do not hesitate to ask me! Thank you so so much to all of you for taking the time to read and for your incredible kindness and support!!!