Welcome, lovers of Japanese makeup brushes! If this is your first time visiting, I’d like you to know that I have a page with every Fude post linked, as well as a description of the topics discussed in those posts and a list of which brushes are in which posts. If this is not your first time here, welcome back!

Regarding my measurements, “hair width” is measured from the widest part, regardless of the overall brush shape. I don’t measure thickness. Anything with an asterisk indicates that I had to measure that one myself as those numbers were not listed on the website. All figures listed in inches are converted estimates.

With costs of materials ever increasing and supply of certain hair types being harder to acquire, brush prices also increase. So, the prices I’ve listed might not reflect what is current, though I will do my best to keep them updated.

*DISCLOSURE: Non-highlighted links in bold blue font (Example) are standard non-affiliate links. Links marked in bold black font with a light blue background (Example) are affiliate links. Affiliate links allow me to get a commission if purchases are made directly using my link. Whether you click to shop through them or not, I appreciate you visiting and I hope you find the information I’ve provided to be helpful!

CHIKUHODO

Chikuhodo ZE-1 Powder Brush

• Full Length: 167mm / 6.57 in
• Hair Length: 52mm / 2.05 in
• Hair Width: *50mm / 1.97 in
• Bristle Type: Premium Silver Fox

I love the Chikuhodo FO-9 because of how huge fluffy and luxurious it feels. So, when this brush came out, I assumed it would be even more of an upgrade between the “premium” hair and thicker more expensive granadillo wood (vs maple). I was surprised to see that the heads of both brushes are not the same.

Although both brushes are ovular, the ZE-1 is rounder and not as wide. Both feel similarly dense closer to the base of the head, but the FO-9’s wider splay from the mid section to the tips gives the brush an airier feel with a lot more bend while moving. When it comes to the bristle softness, they are nearly identical. I only notice that the premium hair feels softer when I use them side by side for several minutes. It takes so much focus to tell the difference, that they may as well be the same to me.

Below is a photo of my largest powder brushes for reference.

I have zero complaints using this brush for all my powdering needs. It gives a soft, even layer on the skin. Because of the shape and it being more dense than the FO-9, the ZE-1 is better for buffing.

At the time that I bought this brush, the retail price was 27,000 YEN. The link to it can be found HERE, but the ZEN series is technically discontinued. Additional stock crops up from time to time, but it’s very rare.

Chikuhodo x BoBo Silver Fox/Saikoho Mix Makie Owl Handle

• Full Length: *153mm / 6.02 in
• Hair Length: 33mm / 1.3 in
• Hair Width: *43mm / 0.16 in
• Bristle Type: Silver Fox and Saikoho Goat

If you guessed that I bought this brush for the handle, you would be correct! I have a hard time resisting makie handle brushes if the price is within my budget. Besides the beautiful moon and owl motif, I also am such a big fan of brushes with fox hair. I believe this is the first one I’ve bought with a mixture of silver fox and goat. I wondered if this could be an upgrade to my Eihodo WP PC-1 Puff Goldfish Makie Brush, which I essentially used to replace the Chikuhodo T-13 which had softer hair, but continually sheds.

I find that fox is softer than saikoho. So, it makes sense that the Owl brush having a mixture of fox and saikoho would make it feel a little softer than the T-13’s saikoho alone. I can feel less friction on my skin when buffing the Owl compared to the T-13, and much less drag on the skin than the PC-1. Plus, this doesn’t have a shedding problem.
Are those perks worth the estimated $25-27 higher price? Because my skin has gotten more sensitive over time, my answer is yes! It’s worth it and I am thrilled!

When using a setting powder specifically, I tend to prefer airy and wispy brushes because my dry skin benefits from having the thinnest layer, and most of the time I don’t want to set every inch of my face with powder. An evenly dispersed amount is good enough. With this brush, I can cover my entire face in just a few seconds. I can buff everything to help all the makeup blend together, but with the amount of powder my brush picks up, sweeping everywhere tends to be just fine. However, if I want to use this brush with other types of products, such as powders prone to sticking to the skin right where it is placed, this dense brush isn’t so good for that. Since most of the makeup I use is super finely milled, I don’t usually have this issue. Working with bronzer and blush can be tricky if they’re heavily pigmented, especially because of its wide surface area. As long as the powder doesn’t stick, I don’t find this brush to apply colored products that heavily (working from 1-2 taps into the pan at a time).

I bought this brush from Fude Bobo for 16,000 YEN, but this style sold out. They restocked a plain white handle version, but that is out of stock too.

Chikuhodo x BoBo Trapezoidal Multi-Purpose Brush Silver Fox/Saikoho Mix Makie Baby Owl Handle

• Full Length: *148mm / 5.83 in
• Hair Length: *32mm / 1.26 in
• Hair Width: *38mm / 1.5 in
• Bristle Type: Silver Fox and Saikoho Goat

When I think of “3D” brushes, I associate them with having a medium-dense section near the base, at the bottom of the angle, that gets airier with more splay towards the top. This brush is thicker and denser than those, so calling it “trapezoidal” indicates that it’s not a typical 3D brush within the category of angled brushes. It’s still thicker and denser than most “paw” shaped brushes, which also have a sharper angle than this one.

I love the feeling of it on my skin, but this shape of brush being firmly bound makes me like it less than 3D brushes. There isn’t as much movement of the bristles.
When using Baby Owl with blush, I essentially have to pounce the product to ensure it doesn’t go outside of the area I want. The amount of blush picked up by the bristles needs to knocked off first to ensure it doesn’t look like a stamp on my cheeks, but it can still happen with very pigmented blushes. The edges will not be diffused from the pouncing, so if I try to use the tips to sweep or buff in such a small area that, it has me wishing the application was just sheerer and more diffused from the start. Essentially, this brush makes me do more work or requires an additional brush to pair with it instead of being able to do everything I want with a single brush alone.

I can use a sweeping motion for bronzer in a small precise area instead of pouncing, but the powder layer still tends to be heavier than I want.

So, although this brush is functional, I prefer to just keep it on display. Also, according to my friends, this brush seems to perform similarly to Sonia G’s ALP2, which is why I decided to skip getting that brush.
For those that have similar tastes to me, I recommend looking into the Bisyodo B-P-03. I’m not ready to review it yet, but it will likely be part of Fude Part 11 in the future.

I paid 14,000 YEN for Baby Owl, and it was available HERE, but it’s limited edition. So, restocks are few and far between.

Chikuhodo Z-12 Eye Shadow Brush

• Full Length: 127 mm / 5 in
• Hair Length: 12 mm / 0.47 in
• Hair Width: *9mm / 0.35 in
• Bristle Type: Gray Squirrel

Chikuhodo’s Z-Series is their most well known line of brushes, and one of their best made. I already know that I’m partial to saikoho goat hair brushes for eyeshadow usage, but I still keep my eye out for new squirrel hair eye brush releases that have the potential to become a favorite. Prior to buying this brush and the Chikuhodo GSN-09, the only gray squirrel hair eyeshadow brushes I kept in rotation were the Sonia G Crease One (restock of the original squirrel) and the Muragishi Sangyo MS-4 Mai Sakura Eyeshadow Brush. Sonia G’s brush I only use for outer corner work with heavily pigmented eyeshadows. The Muragishi brush is the one that I use regularly, but it’s discontinued through CDJapan. The current inventory will not be restocked once it sells out. So, this is why I was especially interested in seeing if I could like other packing eyeshadow brushes, especially from the famed Z-series.

This brush is perfectly fine at packing on eyeshadows and doing some light blending, but it’s still not as quick or effortless as my Sonia G saikoho goat brushes. The Z-12 isn’t as firm, making the tips feel gentler on the eye at the expense of me needing to pack on more layers. I save myself the effort by not bothering to use this with sheerer eyeshadows. Essentially, I still like this brush more than some of the other squirrel eye brushes I’ve used in the past (excluding some pine and canadian squirrel brushes) because I’m still able to pack on a decent amount of product. However, it’s unlikely to be in my regular brush rotation. For those that aren’t trying to have the most opaque eyeshadow looks or ones who prefer squirrel eye brushes, this could be a much more valuable brush to have.

At the time I bought it, this brush was listed as 4000 YEN and is available HERE.

Chikuhodo GSN-09 Brush

• Full Length: 182 mm / 7.16 in
• Hair Length: 12 mm / 0.47 in
• Hair Width: *9mm / 0.35 in
• Bristle Type: Gray Squirrel

Had I known how similar the GSN-09 and Z-12 would be, I potentially would have skipped out on getting the Z-12 for sheer redundancy. The main differences between them is that the GSN-09 has slightly more tapered tips and is a little stiffer, making it that much more similar to the Muragishi brush I love. The hair quality of the Z-12 might be a higher quality though. At the very least, it feels the tiniest bit softer, but I’ve owned and been using the GSN-09 for longer.

This brush packs on a good amount of product and I can blend out the edges fairly well. It’s still not quite as good at blending as my Muragishi brush, but I still reach for it enough times that I feel it was worth buying. I am satisfied with it.

If this brush has not been discontinued, it costs 3200 YEN and is available HERE.

Chikuhodo GL-6 Highlight Brush (Long Handle version)

• Full Length: 195 mm / 7.68 in
• Hair Length: 35 mm / 1.38 in
• Hair Width: *27mm / 1.06 in
• Bristle Type: Gray Squirrel and Goat

This is one of the renewed GL series brushes that I bought in June 2025. I like to think of this as a giant version of the Wayne Goss Air Brush because that brush is the first one I ever bought with that particular shape. It’s similar to how “Beautyblender” became the name for all makeup sponges. When Wayne Goss had the relaunch of his brushes, he said he would bring the Air Brush back (or something similar to it). It has been several years and that still hasn’t happened. Within this time frame, he’s been rumored to be working with a different OEM, so making an exact dupe of the Air Brush might not be allowed. For over a year, he also lost control of his UK website that the brushes were sold at by his partners (could be former partners by now). So, the whole Wayne Goss situation is a mess. He has been cryptic about what his website would be about after announcing in May 2026 that he regained control of it. Other than stating, “My goal is simple: to create something honest, useful, and genuinely empowering for women everywhere,” there’s no telling whether he will continue with brushes. His plans will apparently be announced in Fall 2026.
Long story short, I was tired of waiting for another version of the Air Brush, so I bought the GL-6. The brush I own that is actually most similar in size and shape to the GL-6 is the Chikuhodo KZ-4. I don’t own the revived 2026 version from the Homare series, but I still have my original. Because the KZ-4 is so costly and expensive due in part to the Kazan Squirrel hair, I only use that brush a few times a year. The GL-6 is my way of having a soft but less expensive alternative.

I will bring this up again in the Eihodo Blush Brush review, but I think it’s important to mention that the hairs feel more similar to using a goat hair brush than a squirrel one. Then again, if I’m using a squirrel and goat mixed brush, the goat is usually Saikoho. I almost never use Sokoho anymore. The one exclusion is the Eihodo Puff brush with the Dior Powder No Powder.
This brush doesn’t feel scratchy on my skin in normal usage situations, but those with sensitive skin might find it safer to just use a pure squirrel hair brush instead.

This brush is marketed for highlighter use because that is the best function. In my review of the Givenchy Highlighter, I mentioned that I can’t use my holy grail brush as well with that product because I need to blend it out a bit more than other highlighters require. The GL-6 is one of the brushes I use most with it. It’s great for picking up semi hard pressed powders or just regularly pressed ones that I want to blend out in a way that combines well with my blush.

There are times when I’ve used this brush with bronzers that I wanted to have in an even sheerer layer than I get with my go-to bronzer brushes, or an application that’s confined to a smaller area than my large bronzer brushes produce. With contours, I can make a stronger line with the angled side and then blend it out in a sweeping motion with the flat wider side.

I have occasionally used this brush with darker blushes that I’m trying to create an ombre look with. Sweeping with this gives me control to build up sheer layers before switching to a different brush to apply the lighter color to the apples of my cheeks.

Aside from highlighter usage, one of my favorite uses of the Air Brush was to sweep powder away from my under eyes after setting my concealer. However, this brush being larger makes it harder to maneuver between my nose and inner corners of my eyes. So, I don’t use the GL-6 this way.

The GL-6 does not replace any of my favorite highlighter, blush, or bronzer brushes. Instead, I use this when my favorites don’t perform the way I want with a particular product. So, I don’t think I recommend this brush to beginners or those with small brush collections. I think it is more useful to the type of person who likes to have a wide variety of makeup tools.

It was listed as 6500 YEN and is available HERE.

Eihodo No.765 Blush Brush [Outlet] (perhaps Chikuhodo GL-4)

• Full Length: 186 mm / 7.3 in
• Hair Length: 36 mm / 1.42 in
• Hair Width: 17 mm / 0.67 in
• Bristle Type: Gray Squirrel and Sokoho Goat

Since Chikuhodo makes the Kumanofude for Eihodo, I feel fairly confident that my outlet brush is a minorly defected version of the GL-4. I cannot tell what the defect is though.
The brush has a slightly courser feel than I’d expect from a squirrel-mix brush. It feels only a little softer than my Eihodo Puff brush, which is listed as Sokoho goat only. The Eihodo Sokoho quality is extremely high though, so it cannot be compared to how Sokoho from other brands feel (except in this case where the stock could be the same). The most important aspect is that these tips are not scratchy on my face. They are soft enough for me to be able to use this brush quite often, though it can start to hurt my cheeks if I use it to take multiple blush demos within a short period of time (for blog photo purposes).

The brush is nicely filled out so that the base has some firmness, but the tips splay enough to prevent the application from looking too concentrated in one spot. I’ve enjoyed using this brush with stiffer pressed, yet sheer blushes, such as the Gucci Glow Blushes. Because I’ve spoiled myself using some of the softest brushes out there, I wasn’t as happy with this brush initially. However, I have liked the end results from using this brush so much that I have continued to reach for it far more than I ever expected. Plus, I’m very happy with the sturdy construction of this brush and the long handle.

Because it’s a traditionally shaped cheek brush, I prefer to use it exclusively with blush. It can be used with bronzer, but for the amount of powder that gets picked up and it not being dense enough towards the tips to be that strong of a buffer brush, it applies bronzer more heavily than I like.

If the outlet version that costs 5440 YEN is still available, it can be found HERE. If not, Chikuhodo’s GL-4 can be found HERE.

KOYUDO

Koyudo Yoshiki Blue Fox Powder Brush S (round)

• Full Length: *158mm / 6.22 in
• Hair Length: 43 mm / 1.69 in
• Hair Width: *27mm / 1.06 in
• Bristle Type: Blue Fox

When I first heard of blue fox, I thought it was a marketing term situation similar to blue squirrel vs gray squirrel. However, the blue fox brushes I’ve purchased from Koyudo via Fude Bobo have hair strands that feel as thick as premium silver fox hair, but they’re even softer to the touch! I’m such a big fan of fox hair brushes, but now I’m even crazier about blue fox. It’s just so difficult to acquire! I usually miss out on the first launches from Fude Bobo and only snag the brushes in restocks. In the case of the two brushes in the photo below, these are Fude Bobo’s outlet brushes. These three in total comprise of the only blue fox brushes I’ve been able to get, and I am continuing to keep my eye out for more.

I’m not ready to review these, but they will likely be in the Fude Update Part 11 future post.

The reasons I like this brush specifically, besides the plush soft hair, are that it’s fully round, is dense enough to allow for some minor buffing, splays in a way that allows for some minor diffusing, doesn’t pick up too much product with one dip, is small enough to maintain precision, and has a beautiful handle. I was using this brush so often during the time that I was working on Fude 9 and had to force myself to stop so I could give more time to test the other brushes.

The performance is great and it’s in a common shape. There are plenty of dupes for this brush, but it’s the hair that makes it worth buying over others. It’s just unfortunate that it’s hard to get.

KOYUDO x CDJAPAN Beauty 2024 Silver Fox Powder Brush S and KOYUDO x CDJAPAN Beauty 2024 Silver Fox Powder Brush L

Powder Brush S

• Full Length: 160mm / 6.3 in
• Hair Length: 45mm / 1.77 in
• Hair Width: *42mm / 1.69 in
• Bristle Type: Silver Fox

On the left is the S version. On the right is the L version.

Powder Brush L

• Full Length: 170 mm / 6.69 in
• Hair Length: 50 mm / 1.96 in
• Hair Width: *55mm / 2.16 in
• Bristle Type: Silver Fox

I can pretty much review the S and L Powder Brushes together because they are identically shaped, just one is larger than the other.

Blush application, bronzing, and powdering are the three tasks these brushes can help accomplish. Powder Brush L is unsurprisingly best suited to use with all-over face powder because of its bigger size, while having the same denseness as the smaller one.
Powder Brush S is unsurprisingly better suited for blush, since I’m less prone to sweeping or patting blush outside of the area I want.

When it comes to which brush is better for bronzer, that’s all about preferences whether larger and faster is better or smaller and targeted. With density out of it, I prefer the smaller brush since I get more precision with the same amount of diffusing capability.

Compared to the brush options from my entire collection, The L is among the top for powder. That being said, I don’t have any particular favorite powder brush because they all tend to perform the same. The Blue/Gray Squirrel brushes are my softest and most delicate powder brushes, but they don’t need buffing power because they don’t pick up as much product anyway. So, wherever I apply will have a thin layer.
My fox brushes with the near softness of squirrel and resilience of goat grab onto more powder, but are better buffers. So, the outcome is pretty much the same. Squirrel hair brushes might require less blending, but they take a longer time to layer or cover the face. Fox hair brushes might require buffing, which adds more time, but I might have needed to do that anyway for a more polished look in blending blush, bronzer, and highlighter together on my face. The powder brushes I reach for the most are the bigger fluffier ones for a plusher and more luxurious feel, or the ones with the prettiest handles that I can enjoy looking at. Although I wouldn’t call this handle the prettiest, the dragon symbol is very cool and the reason I wanted brushes from this collection in the first place.

Regarding bronzer, the S is nice, but I prefer the wider size and slightly denser Bisyodo B-F-05 Perfect Fit Brush. Even the Sonia G Jumbo Bronzer Brush, which is a little less soft, is one I prefer because of the way it lays down product.
Lastly, very few sweeping brushes can impress me with blush over my favorite rounded ones. So, I’ve been using these brushes mainly for face powder, which is why they’re aptly categorized as powder brushes! Final things to note is that the L was shedding a ton in the beginning. I almost stopped using it out of frustration, but it eventually got to a reasonable level after about five months of using it. It also has thinner and more delicate hair strands than the S. For some reason, the hair in my S brush is as thick as Chikuhodo’s premium fox hair in the ZEN series. The S also sheds significantly less.

The S version once cost 25100 and is available HERE. The L version once cost 30100 YEN and was available HERE.

KOYUDO x CDJAPAN Beauty 2024 and 2025 Flat Top Kabuki Brushes

• Full Length: 53mm / 2.08 in
• Hair Length: 22mm / 0.87 in
• Hair Width: *40mm / 1.57 in
• Bristle Type: Goat

Kabuki brushes are expected to pack on a lot of product, but evenly, and buff it out very well. Since I typically try to use as little product as possible, I rarely have use for these type of brushes except for the cuteness factor of them being stubby. With these brushes, each individual strand doesn’t hold that much product, but because there are so many hairs in total, I get a thin wide layer when I apply it. So, I actually do like how these perform with powders!

I kept specifying “powder” because most people say undyed goat hair (particularly sokoho and other sturdy hairs around the goat) can be used with liquid products. CDJapan doesn’t specify what part(s) of the goat are used in these brushes, but it can be assumed based on the price and lack of labeling that it’s not saikoho. That being said, this brush is softer than I expected. It’s likely a very high quality sokoho, or sokoho mixed with other goat types like Ototsuho or Tankoho. I think it’s too soft to be Hakutotsuho, but I admittedly don’t have a lot of experience with goat that isn’t sokoho or saikoho. I own brushes from Koyomo that’s listed as “Haku-ototsuho Yomo,” which I assume is a mix of Ototsuho and Hakutotsuho hair, but one brush felt amazing while the other felt like Sokoho. So, I don’t have a good grasp of those hair types due to inconsistencies.
The point I was trying to make is that even though this is likely not the thinner hair type (Saikoho), some of these bristles are still delicate and some of the tips have snapped off on me when I’ve used these kabuki brushes with a normal liquid foundation and even a serum foundation. So, I recommend using these brushes exclusively with powder products.

For all-over setting or finishing powder, this brush works very well. It’s great for buffing. By now, I own so many brushes that perform with similar results, have a larger surface area, and are far softer. So, I wouldn’t think to reach for this brush for powdering. Instead, I love this with bronzer because of the airbrushed look I get. It’s great to use with my subtler or lighter colored bronzers, and if I want to use it with one that is very pigmented, I just make sure to pick up the product with a small portion of the brush so that I can blend it out with the clean section of the brush.

As for blushes, the size is small enough that I don’t really have to worry about applying too high or too far down on my face, but it can look a little heavier with the amount of product I pick up if the blush happens to be on the more heavily pigmented side too.

If I’m being honest with myself, I really just bought them as collector items, but they are absolutely functional for those who actually want to use these brushes for their intended purposes.

I paid 4500 YEN for these brushes, and they were available HERE and HERE.

KOYUDO x CDJAPAN Beauty 2025 Grey Squirrel Powder Brush

• Full Length: 150 mm / 5.9 in
• Hair Length: 50 mm / 1.97 in
• Hair Width: *35mm / 1.38 in
• Bristle Type: Gray Squirrel

I believe this is only my second brush made by Koyudo that has Gray Squirrel hair. Usually they reserve that hair type in large bundles for their most intricate handles, which are both aspects that raise the price. So, I’m happy this collaboration brush is available. The current price still isn’t cheap, but it’s the most affordable Koyudo brush I’ve seen that uses gray squirrel hair.
Funnily enough, CDJ working with Koyudo is the reason I was able to buy my first and only white Canadian Squirrel Face Brush!

I was worried that, since this is a more affordable Koyudo Gray Squirrel hair brush, the hair might not be soft enough to my liking, but I think even the lowest quality grey squirrel will still always be to my satisfaction. They are so soft innately. So, I’m very happy with how it feels!

The head of this brush has such long hair that it steers it towards powder brush use, but the overall circumference is small enough that I prefer using it with blush and bronzer. Using it to cover the face in a thin dusting of setting or finishing powder naturally takes longer than my typical larger squirrel brushes, but it can be done and the end result is nice. It’s just not dense enough to give a good buff though. This brush is suited for building up color in gentle swipes, not buffing.

When I have a bronzer that’s too dark or too pigmented, this brush has been perfect for ensuring the application is sheer and diffused. I can do the same with blush, but I have far less examples of blushes that are too pigmented, only harder pressed. When I used this with the Gucci Glow Blush, I was impressed that I was able to pick up a decent amount of powder, but that formula is so sheer that I got frustrated trying to build it up with that brush and switched to the kabuki one from this 2025 collection instead!

I’ve grown accustomed to using the Rephr Koyo brush for products that I want to apply in a sheer manner and build up. However, in times when I don’t want to apply blush or bronzer in as wide of an area, I’ve been reaching for this brush instead because the hair doesn’t splay out as wide and therefore it’s easier to apply a diffused application to a spot precisely. Especially if I am trying to ombre one blush shade into another.

This is listed at 16100 YEN and is available HERE.

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UPDATE ON INTERNATIONAL CDJAPAN ORDERS: In Fude Part 9, I mentioned that I wasn’t sure how often I’d buy through CDJapan anymore, even though I am an affiliate of theirs. I always try to get the best prices and deals, so as much as I respect and admire the company, if another business worked out better shipping prices, offers higher discounts, or some other perk, I am going to shop through them. I am first and foremost a customer and I have to do what’s best as a customer with a limited budget.

Since posting Fude 9, there have been additional changes. Not only is the free shipping minimum not feasible for me to reach, but shipping costs have gone up even more! There has always been VAT, but there is now a duties fee (not to be confused with added customs if the order exceeds 150 Euros), as well as a fixed customs clearance fee. If I try to buy an item that costs $49, my final total will be $101. Thanks to the reward program, occasional coupons, and the kind people who shop through my affiliate link, I have enough points saved up to help offset some of these fees. However, I want to save them for a time when I see a brush so great that it suddenly feels worth it to pay extra for it. A brush so fantastic that I will feel regret if I don’t buy it (and yes, there are three brushes I’ve missed out on that I still can’t get over missing). So, I will be buying significantly less brushes this year and going forward. It’s possible that every Japanese retailer will have these fees when shipping to Europe, but I will be shopping around just in case I find one that’s better.

If you live in the US, you might not have this kind of problem from CDJapan or other retailers. I cannot be sure.

Anyway, that’s all for Fude 10! Thanks for reading!

-Lili ❤