The Traditions Holiday Trio is a set of 3 eye brushes with new keyaki wood handles and matte black brass ferrules.
This Holiday release was created with the fude lover and collector in mind. The brushes and the handles are new designs, they showcase exceptional fude craftsmanship and traditional Japanese woodworking techniques.
THE DESIGN AND THE HANDLES
The wood used for the handles is Keyaki Zelkova Serrata, which is native from Japan. It’s the same wood used for the short handle brushes of the Keyaki set currently in my collection.
Keyaki is a high-grade type of wood, famous for its beautiful grain and for the fragrance coming from the oils that it contains. It has been used since a very long time for the constructions of temples, shrines, high-grade Buddhist altars and lacquer wares. It’s also used for high quality furniture and decorative pieces.
I am very grateful that I had the opportunity to see the artisans at work. I love the strong scent coming from the wood in their ateliers, it’s so delightful!
These Keyaki handles showcase a combination of traditional Japanese woodworking techniques.
These techniques are usually time consuming and come with a high manufacturing cost, they are often reserved for special art pieces. I think that it’s extraordinary to incorporate these Japanese traditions in pieces that we get to hold and use on a daily basis, it makes our fude even more special.
For example, here, the technique with Tonoko (polishing powder) is used for the underneath layer to make the wood grain look beautiful and smooth. Then, the handle is finished with a thin layer of urethane paint that has been meticulously applied to achieve a beautiful smooth surface.
In this video, the artisans are working on the short Keyaki handles that are used on the mini Keyaki set.
These new Traditions handles are made by the same artisans, using the same products and techniques.
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.
The logos and names are applied in a beige mocca colour, same colour as on the short handle Keyaki set.
The name of the brush (S1, S2 or S3) is written vertically and underneath it, the words “Kumano Fude” are written vertically in Kanji.
These brushes were handmade by master artisans in Kumano, Japan.
Each handle is slightly different, in hue and grain. If you have the Keyaki set with the short handles, those handles were made following the same traditional processes so you can expect the same feel and quality.
The Traditions Keyaki handles are 2,5 cm longer in comparison to the short handle eye brushes in the Keyaki travel set.
The Keyaki Traditions handles are similar in length to the PRO or SKY series, they are 105mm long (excluding the ferrule). The ferrules are brass metal with a matte black finish.
THE BRUSHES
I have received many requests to create something special for the Fude lovers and collectors. For this Holiday release, we had the opportunity to create precious keyaki brushes that have been bundled with yellow and white canadian squirrel bristles, 2 with yellow, 1 with white.
These Traditions brushes are named S1, S2 and S3, where S is for special. The names are short as there is already quite a lot going on on the handles.
The set comes with a very small detail brush (S1), a medium laydown brush (S2), and a crease/blending brush (S3). They are a great team of brushes allowing us to achieve a complete eye look: precision, laydown, crease, blending.
| Brush | Total Brush Length | Bristle length | Material |
| S1 | 148mm | 8mm | Yellow canadian squirrel |
| S2 | 154mm | 14mm | Yellow canadian squirrel |
| S3 | 155mm | 15mm | White canadian squirrel |
The TRADITIONS S1
The S1 brush is a tiny laydown brush, it can work as a flat defining brush or work a shadow with precision on the mobile lid, the inner corner, or the outer corner.
It has quite long bristles for its size, it has movement and flexibility.
The TRADITIONS S2
The S2 brush is a medium laydown brush and is a great compromise in terms of size. It can work on the entire lid, focus on the mobile lid, or intensify the outer area of the lid. It’s a good size for a brush to do one-shadow type of looks.
The TRADITIONS S3
The S3 brush is a crease and blending type of brush. It can be used for shadow placement on the entire eye area, or focus on the outer v. Depending on the precision that we need, it can also be used to place the inner corner highlight.
It has a round ferrule and the brush is just slightly tapered in the center. I wanted to give it as much fluffiness as possible so that it wouldn’t be too directional or too pointy, and still be a good option for blending or difusing the edges. Even though the shape is not splaying out like a typical crease brush, it has enough fluffiness and volume to apply a crease or transition shade easily.
It’s quite versatile as it can be used in the crease, or on the entire lid, or on the outer v, or sections of the mobile lid, and it can also be used as a blending brush.
The tip is slightly tapered but it’s not a pencil brush. We can use it on the bottom lashline to smoke out a placement but it won’t be able to do a sharp precise work on a narrow path.
The Fusion Blender is the most similar in terms of ferrule size and bristle length but the shape is different.
The Fusion brush is mostly a blender type of brush so it’s good to have more surface at the top to work with. In comparison, the S3 is going to be able to work with more precision and target a placement with more accuracy.
This Traditions Trio is quite different from all the brushes currently in my collection, they are all new designs. If you are familiar with the brushes in this pic, it will give you an idea of their shape and size.
The S1 is smaller, softer and has more movement than the Flat Definer.
The S2 is bigger and softer than the Builder Pro.
The S3 is more directional in comparison to a Classic Crease brush but still has the capabilities of a crease brush.
The packaging
Each brush comes with its Kumano sticker and the set is wrapped in a washi paper enveloppe.
Price and availability
This special set is limited edition and the retail price is USD 140. It will be available starting on the 13th of December 2022 at 10am PT on Beautylish.
6 comments
I wish I could smell the fragrance of the wood! Thank you for making these handles long. Is there special care for squirrel brushes? Sonia, are you considering making more squirrel brushes in the future? I almost want to purchase two sets! But do I wait for more designs to come?! : D
Wow, these brushes look gorgeous! I have both of the short handled Keyaki sets, which I love. The wooden handles are so lovely to hold, and the brush tips are so soft and comfortable <3 Now I can't wait to add these longer brushes to my collection! They will be perfect for playing with the the new powder eye shadow palettes from Lisa Eldridge!
The new eye brush set, can these be used with cream products? Thanks in advance for your reply!
I’m going to love this set Sonia. I love the traditional aesthetic, and I love the brush type (you know how much I love squirrel hairs). I’m excited to receive mine.
These brushes are a great creation. I love the Japanese wording the most. It makes the brushes feel more authentic. Can’t wait to receive mine and take it with me on travel this holiday
Just received my brushes today and I love them so much. The aesthetics and different hair bristles is great.
Super soft and I will definitely get uses out of them.