Precision Instruments

I favour precise tools. Usually this means small, and almost always directional, both to suit my features, which are small but defined (i.e. lots of protrudey bits and sunken-in bits) and, more importantly, to complement how I like to apply and wear my makeup.

Of course, there being no justice no justice at all in the world, sometimes even a small, directional brush in an exquisite hair type just...won't work. As I'm in full autumn clean mode (back-to-schoolism?), this post will be consist of much typing out loud to sort out some of the whys and wherefores of a few recent delights and disappointments.

Delight: Hakuhodo 5515 (G5515BkSL for $15)

This tiny pencil brush is a perfectly formed miniature of the MAC 219 -- its horse hair actually feels softer than MAC's goat and the shorter hairs maintain their tapered shape better, making it feel denser and work more precisely. The 5515 handles every formula I've thrown at it, from cream and powder shadows (used dry or foiled) to kohl and gel liners, and it even does a great job of smudging out liquids. It's both precise enough to line with (even tightline with), and has enough body to smudge with.

1. Real Techniques Pixel-Point Eyeliner Brush (synthetic, from the Starter Set)
2. Hakuhodo 5531 (synthetic)
*3. Hakuhodo 5515 (pony)
4. No 7 Smokey Eyeliner Brush
5. Laura Mercier Smoky Eyeliner Brush (synthetic)
6. MAC 219 (goat)
7. Suqqu Eyeshadow S (grey squirrel, discontinued)
The Hakuhodo 5515 is smaller than every other pencil brush in my collection, and its tip is even finer than the brushes to its left which are marketed as eyeliners (which, precision freak that I am, I use for spot concealing instead).

Disappointments: 

Chikuhodo Artist 6-6 (¥2520 for long or short handle) 

Hakuhodo 127 (B127BkSL for $33 or S127 for $51)

Neither of these brushes worked for me, for the same reason: a mismatch between shape/size and hair type (Canadian squirrel). They share a slightly tapered paddle shape, which is, along with the pencil, my favourite shape for eyeshadow brushes. 

1. Chikuhodo Artist 8-1 (kolinsky)

*2. Chikuhodo Artist 6-6 (Canadian squirrel)

*3. Hakuhodo 127 (Canadian squirrel)

4. Shu Uemura Natural 10 (kolinsky and sable)

Canadian squirrel lacks the body and snap of kolinsky/sable which makes the middle two brushes far less effective at lay-down. Each squirrel hair is also much finer and more naturally tapered which results in a thinner and less fluffy brush tip, so the sable brushes also win out for blending -- the reason I love this shape so much is because I can both pack on colour and blend it out with the kolinsky versions, used on their sides and tips.

My most-loved blending brushes are squirrel hair [hence the logic behind my original purchase] but they are much more rounded and precise, which prevents the softness of the hair from becoming a floppy liability.

1. MAC 286 (the only synthetic in the bunch, but to illustrate my consistent preference in blender brush shapes)

2. Stila 9 (old blue squirrel version; current version is goat)

3. Suqqu Eyeshadow L (grey squirrel)

*4. Hakuhodo 127 (Canadian squirrel)

*5. Chikuhodo Artist 6-6 (Canadian squirrel)
6. Nars 12 (squirrel)

Delights: 

Hakuhodo 5512 (G5512BkSL for $15)

Hakuhodo 521-D1 (G521 D1 for $20)

Before acquiring these two brushes I hardly ever tightlined, even though its benefits are ones that really do appeal to me: the appearance of thicker and longer lashes with just a few squiggles of an intriguingly gimmicky brush? Why won't you let me love you as I know I can? As it turns out, I just needed to go even gimmickier with the brush to fully appreciate the wonders of the technique....

1. MAC 231 (synthetic)
2. Chikuhodo Artist 6-1 (kolinsky)
*3. Hakuhodo 5512 (pony)
*4. Hakuhodo 521-D1 (weasel)
5. Laura Mercier Flat Eyeliner (synthetic)
6. Stila 13 One-Step Eyeliner (synthetic)

Compared to conventional tightlining brushes (especially 5 Laura Mercier's most famous rendition), the Hakuhodo precision instruments are, at a fraction of the length and width, and in ultra-short dense natural hairs, far more precise. My eyes are small but my lashline is quite curved so the wider, totally flat brushes tend to stamp awkward too-long, too-straight lines which look like makeup -- missing the very point of tightlining, invisible augmentation. And with a thin line of longish synthetic hairs, I find both the Laura Mercier and Stila versions unweildily floppy when trying to do the textbook 'wriggle in between the lashes' manoeuvre.
The curved push brushes (1 and 2) which I love for regular eyelining would be a workable size and length but their fluffiness (which stops liner from being too harsh) makes them too thick for tightlining -- at which the Hakuhodo 5512, a scaled-down version of the same shape, excels. But it's the 521-D1, with its concave curve -- it pushes colour right into the curve of my lashes by itself -- which really has me bewitchedbotheredandbewildered tightlining on the regular.

Obsolescence: Hakuhodo S116 Highlight Brush Round and Flat ($78 here)

Technically not really a disappointment -- I originally bought this ridiculously airy blue squirrel paddle to tap/sweep on soft blushes in soft Jung Saem Mool style placements (while humming her plinkyplonk music), and it worked perfectly well for that. Since ruthlessly editing my blush wardrobe this year to focus on creams and pigmented powders, I realised I kept passing over this in favour of more rounded brushes with greater bounce.

1. Illamasqua Highlighter (synthetic)

2. Chikuhodo Z-2 (grey squirrel)

*3. Hakuhodo S116 (blue squirrel)

4. Suqqu Cheek (grey squirrel)

In particualr, the Suqqu Cheek is my go-to for powder blushes, and the Illamasqua Highlighter for creams. But it's really the ridiculously versatile tapered candle shape and perfectly balanced grey squirrel hairs of the Chikuhodo Z-2, which can mimic the placement of a slim flat brush as well as a dense round one depending on the angle at which you use it, which finally convinced me to say goodbye to the S116.

Mascara Review: Fasio Ultra Curl Lock Volume BK001

In short: the neater and more intense but just as hard to remove version of Majolica Majorca Lash Expander Frame Plus.

Yeah, those kooky Japanese companies and their polysyllabic mascara names, eh? After trying dozens over the years my eyes automatically skate over them looking for my personal mascara keywords -- and were recently arrested by this offering from Kosé drugstore offshoot Fasio: Ultra Curl Lock Volume.

My lashes: very straight and quite long; each individual lash is fine but there are quite a lot of them
Mascara requirements, in order of importance:

1. HOLD A CURL
2. Volume
3. No flaking into my easily irritated contacts-wearing eyes
4. Black (no wishy washy grey or potential pink-eye brown tones)

The combination of 1. and 2. seems to be the sticking point -- I've lost count of the number of mascaras which either volumise but weigh down my lashes OR hold a curl all day but make my lashes look spindly and spidery and generally spoiled.

Since the reformulation/suckification of my old favourite Majolica Majorca Lash Enamel Glamour, the best compromise formulas I've found are:

• Majolica Majorca Lash Expander Frame Plus -- not enough volume, too many fibres, requires a separate remover.
• Lancôme Hypnôse Drama Waterproof -- formula is a bit too wet and can clump upon layering, so takes longer to apply and often requires some cleanup with a lashcomb. If I rub my watering eyes a lot throughout the day I can end up with a little bit of darkness at the outer edge of my lower lashline.

Fasio Ultra Curl Lock Volume Mascara is a compromise within a compromise, offering more volume and 'oomph' than Majolica Majorca while giving more definition than Lancôme, as well as being more tenacious and quicker to apply -- after the usual teething period, harhar, of learning to work with a new applicator. TIP: with comb mascaras, it's best not to wriggle the wand and just brush through from lash root to tip working from the outside of the eye inwards. A mascara guard / curved bit of cardboard held against the lid can prevent smudges.

Packaging
The sleek gunmetal tube clicks shut and is effectively airtight, ensuring that the formula stayed consistent over two months of daily use.

Wand comparisons

Fasio and Lancôme applicators are larger and have gentler curves than Majo Majo; they are also longer from tip to handle.

Fasio and Majo Majo are plastic combs, while Lancôme is a bristle brush.

Wands close up

The Lancôme brush comes out of the tube coated with the most product; Fasio and Majo Majo are about equal, but the product is more evenly distributed along the Fasio wand.

The teeth of of Fasio's combs are much more finely spaced than Majo Majo's; it is easier to achieve separation and definition of each lash with Fasio. Sometimes Majo Majo can clump lashes together into two's or three's after a second coat.

Majo Majo's formula has fibres; the other two do not.

Before&After

Lashes curled with Chanel lash curler

One coat of Fasio Ultra Curl Lock Volume Mascara BK001 (top lashes only) 

And that's how my lashes look until I take it off -- my testing has only gone up to 24 hours as I am no longer a wild young thing, just a highly disorganised-with-deadlines youngish thing but I don't doubt it would last for days if necessary....
I would prefer more volume but this is really pretty good for an Asian mascara -- and a step up from Majolica Majorca, which I'd been happily using for years. This Fasio formula is a little wetter and lacks fibres, which makes for smoother, neater application, and also doesn't set quite as 'crunchy' as the Majo Majo. The finer wand/neater formula even works well on lower lashes.

As with Majo Majo, and unlike Western waterproof formulas, I do need to use a separate Japanese mascara remover [old standby Kiss Me Heroine Make] as a pre-cleanse step to get this Fasio mascara off without losing lashes or half an hour of my life.


Fasio Ultra Curl Lock Volume mascara retails for ¥1260 in Japan; I ordered it from adambeauty for $15.50, and have repurchased since.