Hello, everyone, hope you are all good? Today, I wanted to talk about a topic which may trigger some people.
Will be as gentle as I can but certainly going to put my opinions out there.
Fude is Japanese for "a brush" including being recognised as a general term for Japanese makeup brushes. My focus here is on Chinese natural hair makeup brushes.
China brands have also been into making natural hair makeup brushes for a while now.
However, going to say you do have to be careful about where and how you buy as bristles are sometimes mis-represented or synthetic hairs added which are not disclosed.
The best place I have seen so far with the best prices is the Taobao site but for Non-Chinese speakers, this site will not work for you. It also does not translate well which makes it impossible to use.
Most of the sellers from Taobao now have stores within Ali-express, however, also noticed there is a significant cost mark-up from the prices on Taobao.
My preference here and to avoid most of the pitfalls is to custom design my own brushes with reputable china brands. QLG (Qiaolianggong). The retailer is also on instagram under the same name. Does impeccable work. Been using her services for a few years now and only ever had one issue where my brush measurements were wrong. She refunded me, re-did my brush for a nominal fee plus apologised profusely for the error.
Also done some customs with Shoushoulang. Had an issue with mis-representing a bristle type with this store. However, the design was not mine. Did not return because the brush served it purpose and the hairs that were mis-represented was not a bad one but the issue left me with a bad taste.
There are other stores such as Markupstory store, girls story, Qin brush store etc. The general idea is make sure you obtain references from other buyers before dipping your toes into these places to avoid getting burned.
Going to turn this reviews into a series of multiple posts, so lets' get started......
I had this custom idea floating in my head for a while. Taking my favourite foundation brush and making it better. Function better.
Everyone who knows about my Fude love, kenos how much I love Sonia G Fusion face set. The jumbo brush to be precise. It is a perfect foundation brush. Natural goat hairs mixed with synthetic.
My thought process was making this better. Eliminating the use of the synthetic fibres.
Utilizing Kolinsky hairs and softening it with natural fox bristles. Combining strength, flexibility and softness alongside the brush shape I adored.
Was going to use Takeda to bring this brush to life but for a combination I had never seen before nor was I sure it would work, seemed an expensive experiment.
Contacted QLG and she admitted, she had not seen that combination before but was willing to work with me on it. Utilized a ratio of 60% kolinsky and 40% red fox. This is how this brush was born. She has since used the combination for other designs.
This brush comes off as very dense and packed full of bristles.
The slanted 3D effect also makes it an effective tool to move around your face and will move easily around the angles and dips of your face.
There is no poking or pain when using this brush. Will work for those with sensitive skin as well.
You use significantly less product when using this brush as it does not soak up your product and can recommend it for liquids and creams products.
Also does not need to be washed often as rubbing off excess on a micro-fibre towel works well for cleaning.
This is a comparison of my brush design with the Sigma F47 and the Sonia G Jumbo base.
The 3 brushes have very similar design.
The F47 is not a brush I find useable. When pressed against my skin, the side with the shortest hairs, flattens up that you can feel the ferrule on your face when the brush is pressed against your skin.
The Sonia G bush has some give against the QLG brush While I adore this brush, there is still some pokiness but slight.
I also use more product with jumbo base than I use with the QLG brush.
I adore red fox brushes. I find the bristles slick, soft, springy and silky. That is a lot of Ss. Lol.
Due to the nature of these hairs, I don't feel that have great pickup. Hence why i typically use them for highly pigmented blushes. It makes it easier not to look like a clown.
Now onto the brush, I use this for blushes and highlight. This brush just slicks it. Application of products is just perfection.
I got this from the china handmade brush store. However, I only did after recommendation from Fude Kyun who is very knowledgeable about Fude and has a youtube channel dedicated to this topic.
An added bonus is also the handle, the dip in the wood fits perfectly where my finders grip the handle for comfort and control.
Both of these brushes, the dome headed and candle shaped brushes are made from a mix of blue fox and saibikoho hairs.
I got them via custom orders from makeup story store and I suspect they were created by QLG.
I have never been enamoured with candle shaped brushes but this changed my mind. It bloomed out so much and very multi-functional. Powdering, bronzing and even blush. It does it all.
When my skin is going through it, I switch to powder foundations/powder products completely. My powder foundations range from Colourpop, Sephora, Chanel and Fenty beauty. This brush comes in handy. Gives you sheer to medium coverage depending on which you apply.
The white Canadian squirrel hair brush I had prior to this is a powder brush.
They are typically fluffy and airy and this brush is no exception
I saw this brush and thought it would be good for blushes and it is.
This brush was listed on QLG's site so not a custom order.
So far, though small, used for targeted powdering, blushes and buffing out lines.
Trying not to make this post too long and like I said, will be turning this into a series to showcase my China Fude brushes.
So......will be seeing you in the next post. If you have any questions or comments, hit me up in the comments section.
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