Chikuhodo GSN-03 Cheek & GSN-01 Powder Brushes Reviews & Photos

Christine — Sun, 31 Aug 2014 10:00:00 +0000

Chikuhodo GSN-03 Cheek Brush

Chikuhodo GSN-03 Cheek Brush ($96.00) is a large, dome-shaped face brush made out of gray squirrel and goat bristles. The brush head is 48mm in length, 38mm in width, and 22mm in thickness. It had a total length of 190mm with a pinched, metal ferrule. It’s such a large brush for cheek products; I couldn’t see this being useful for blush or highlighter for most, and only if you apply bronzer all-over would this be practical. It’s soft, well-cut, and hasn’t given me any problems with shedding or dye bleeding through over a dozen washes.

The brush head is dense but feathery against the skin, with the base being denser and firmer, and then as it tapers and flares outwards, it has more give. I’ve been using it primarily for applying loose setting powder and pressed finishing powders. The brush is well-weighted with good weight distribution, and it feels comfortable in the hand. The way the ferrule and handle are shaped, the brush isn’t prone to rolling off a counter/desk.

Chikuhodo’s sizing for some of the GSN brushes seems off–several brushes are a lot larger than the average is. Brush size and shape is always going to be a combination of personal preference, application technique, and face/feature size, but just know that this is the size of your average powder brush.

Chikuhodo GSN-01 Powder Brush ($127.00) is a long-ish, extra large, dome-shaped powder brush with gray squirrel and goat bristles. The brush head is 56mm in length, 43mm in width, and 28mm in thickness. It had a total length of 193mm with a round, metal ferrule. It is similar in overall shape as the GSN-03, just a good deal larger. It is longer, so it had a little more flex, and it wasn’t as dense as the GSN-03, which makes sense for powder application. I’ve used this for applying powder foundation, loose and pressed finishing/setting powders, and for general blending of face products as a last step.

The brush feels soft against the skin and moves more as one, so it feels like silk, when you sweep it across the face. I haven’t had any issues with the overall quality of the brush after washing it over a dozen times. It does take awhile to dry, because it is a larger brush (though not as dense as the GSN-03, it’s still moderately dense). Like the GSN-03, this brush has good weight distributed and feels balanced in the hand, so it is comfortable to hold and use. It reminded me somewhat of Hakuhodo’s J104, which isn’t quite as soft, but is a fuller, rounder, less dense brush.

Neither are brushes that I’ve fallen in love with personally, as the GSN-03 is too large for blush but too dense for how I like to apply my loose setting/finishing powders. The GSN-01 is larger than I’d like, and I really love my Make Up For Ever #128 for a large brush and use it for loose setting powder application.

GSN-03 Cheek Brush

PPermanent. $96.00.

GSN-01 Powder Brush

PPermanent. $127.00.