27 - Yachiyo

Full disclosure: I swapped for this brush. It was new. And boy oh boy, I would never pay the full $50+ for this brush. The hair is beautifully cut but the handle looks poorly made, not sturdy and too delicate for my taste. I have used this brush for my very pigmented blushes to get a light application. Other than that, it doesn't apply blush or highlighter any better than your typical fan brush. I don't understand the cult following. I had to carefully wash this brush because I read reviews that the handle begins to peel off after continued use. For $50+ this brush should never shed or peel off.

Owned this brush twice. I don't entirely know what I was thinking either time I purchased it, and I purged it for the same reason twice. I'm not the best with my money. Just don't bother. I wouldn't wish this brush on anyone. It is VERY SCRATCHY. And you know what? Twice I read reviews about how uncomfortable this brush is to use and bought it anyway thinking "hey, but the application is supposed to be amazing, so who really gives a toss". I think there was a time when this brush would have been the gold standard for applying ANY blush. Not anymore. The look is unique and awesome... too bad there are cheaper brushes on the market with the same look, so this one doesn't have a leg to stand on as far as aesthetics are concerned. Just do yourself a favor and get a Chikuhodo or Wayne Goss brush. WG14 is good. So is the Chiku z-4. If you have $50+ for a scratchy mess of a brush, you have the money for a Goss or Chiku, and you will see that this one is nothing special. Not anymore, at least. Mine is permanently retired, and I'll be damned if I ever buy one again.

A simple, beautiful brush. I would rather splurge on the Hakuhodo one, but this was more readily available to me. On first use, this brush smoothed out blushes and bronzers and highlighters better than any of my other brushes could, but if I had the money for more brushes, I could probably find multiple brushes that would be better at blending colored powders. However this brush is a great multitasking brush, it's good for loose powder, highlighter, bronzers, basically repeating myself. A bit expensive, but gets the job done and quickly too.

This brush is ok. I've had it for a couple years or so. Mine seems pretty pointed at the tip, the brush looks more rounded in most pictures I see. I don't like it for blush like I thought it would, it's a little too small for me. I use it to try to contour or highlight sometimes but I think eventually I will find a better brush for those purposes. For the price, I think there are less expensive brushes that perform better for various purposes. October 2016 - Now the wrapping is coming undone from around the ferrfule/handle part of the brush. Downgrading from three to two stars.

I do not get why this brush is so popular. To me, it feels scratchy on the face, does not pick up product very well, and sheds both on the face and when washed. To me, this feels like and acts like a cheap brush, I really do not get the big price point. *shrug* As much as I dislike returning things, this is probably going to go back. Thank goodness I saved my receipt! Maybe they made a bad batch of these, but I just think there are far better brushes out there, even at much less price points. It is cool-looking on the vanity, but while it looks cool, even the brush handle itself feels 'cheap'.. *shrug*

This brush looks really cool almost like a wand, which is why I bought it.... unfortunately for me that's all it has going for it. It's a very harsh and scratchy brush that does not feel good on my skin and I don't enjoy using it. I don't think it applies powder well and feels like it drags. I love the Ita brush and don't mind that it's scratchy as well because it blends the contour amazing. This however on the apples of the cheek or forehead feels annoying and I will be returning. Made in china.

The high rating for this brush absolutely baffles me - which is the only reason I am taking the time to write my own review. I'm actually quite angry I was duped into buying this expensive piece of crap. At its price point, the Yachiyo should barely shed if EVER. I first purchased it about two years ago from a Sephora. I noticed the shedding to be a bit of a nuisance - but kept trucking on with Eman's obsessive support of the brush. I did like that the (original) shape of the brush allowed an ease in applying either blush, bronzer, or using the tip lightly for highlighter. It was a bit of a time saver. However, the fact that you then lose time picking up about 6-7 bristles off of your face completely negates that benefit. And I missed one from time to time and have even had fellow girlfriends and guy friends let me know that I had "a hair" or even "some hair" on my face. When the bristles come out, they are at such an odd curve at the end that my boyfriend honestly thought a small one was a nose hair. As I lightly mentioned above, the brush has COMPLETELY lost its original shape. It literally looks like I purchased a completely different brush. My brush cleaning process is sound and all of my MAC, Sonia, E.L.F. and Sephora brushes that are 1-10 years old are completely intact and in their original shape. Constant support of this brush led me time and time again to retry it and even think the shedding was worth it. It's not. Into the trash can it goes.

Well, I'm sorry that a number of people have had bad experiences with this brush, but the same isn't true for me. I knew I needed some kind of "light handed" brush, i.e. one that could lay down a light dusting of heavily pigmented blush--and this one IS IT for me! I actually did get mine from eBay and as far as I can tell, it is the real deal, down to the NARS packaging and the number 27 on the handle If I was fooled somehow, well, they did a good job. I will agree that the brush sheds, but not horribly so. It does a perfect job of laying down a light dusting of blush which you can then build up gently. All in all, I love this brush and would definitely buy again--I own a quazillion brushes but none of them can do quite what this one does. Love it.

This brush wasn't as great as I expected it to be. It was small, not too soft but not too scratchy... I used it for my MAC MSF highlighter. Why am I using past tense? Because I bought this for myself for Xmas, and sadly I lost it by New Years...left it in a hotel room and hopefully someone else is giving it some use now. RIP little one, you are missed, but not enough that I will replace you. Don't plan to repurchase.

I have wanted this brush for years, ever since my friend, who was a MUA at the NARS counter, used it on me. Somehow I always thought it was the HG of blush brushes. It just seemed so exotic and expensive. I finally bought it, and while I do like it, it's not as luxurious as I thought. It's a great shape and does a perfect job with very pigmented blushes, but it's just not that soft. It's not scratchy per se, but is not as soft as my other favourite blush brushes from MAC and Quo. I do use it several times a week, but always feel a bit let down by the quality.