Wayne Goss #02, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15 Face Brushes Review & Photos

Christine — Wed, 06 May 2015 16:00:00 +0000

Wayne Goss Brushes — 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15

There are nine Wayne Goss Brushes designed for the face. It’s a good, solid range for cheek and face options, with shapes that should work for many. The most interesting brush that I tried was the #14, while the brushes I used and liked the most would be the #02, #11, and #15. I also liked #12 a lot, but I have two very similar brushes that I favor a wee bit more, so I don’t tend to reach for it on my own. The brushes feel lighter-weight than some higher-end brushes, but they don’t feel poorly balanced with what weight is there. Japanese-style natural brushes have been noticeably better to significantly better in quality over most mainstream mid- to high-end brands (think Bobbi Brown, Chanel, MAC, NARS, etc.).

Wayne Goss Brush 02 ($35.00) is a small, tapered brush that starts off narrow at the base, flares upwards to about two-thirds and then tapers towards the tip to a rounded point. The brush is incredibly soft, moderately dense, with just enough flex and give for blending and maneuvering around the cheek bones, bridge of the nose, across the forehead, or underneath the eyes. It’s small enough to work on a variety of face shapes and sizes, but it’s not so small that it feels inefficient. The brush head is 33mm in length, 19mm in width, and 19mm in thickness. It has a total length of 6.6 inches / 17 centimeters. MAC 165 ($34, discontinued) is more rounded but similar in shape and purpose. Hakuhodo J5521 ($38) is similar as well, but it is also rounder overall with less of a noticeable tapering along the edges.

Wayne Goss Brush 10 ($53.00) is a large, stippling brush with a wide, flat edge with a mix of synthetic and goat hairs. It’s designed to work with liquid and cream foundations, which it does a nice job of, but I have found that more rounded brushes tend to provide the most streak-free finish relative to stippling brushes. These days, I like stippling brushes of this size for powder products (bronzer, blush, finishing powders in particular), as well as for diffusing and blending out the overall look (similar to the function of a buffer brush, but this will move base products less, as it has an airier feel against the skin). It is extremely soft and feels feathery against the skin, despite being a fairly dense brush, except for the last fourth of the brush, where it has more spring and feels less dense. The brush head is 40mm in length, 31mm in width, and 35mm in thickness. It has a total length of 6.5 inches / 16.75 centimeters. This brush is comparable to MAC 187 ($42), which is slightly less dense and narrower with less fluffy flaring.

Wayne Goss Brush 11 ($48.00) is a medium-sized cheek brush with moderate density, a rounded, domed shape. It is fairly soft, though noticeably less-soft compared to some of my other blush brushes (of which I have some very high-end options to choose from), but it’s with this brush that I noticed a lesser softness, whereas the majority of the ranges in the line haven’t been as distinguishable. I really like this brush for most blushes, except really pigmented ones, and it is a good option for that firmer pressed blush, as the larger surface and density seem to help it lift more product off the pan’s surface than a more feathery brush. It lays down color and blends it out nicely. The brush head is 37mm in length, 33mm in width, and 22mm in thickness. It has a total length of 6.75 inches / 17.25 centimeters. It’s like a much improved version of MAC 129 ($35), which has a good shape for an all-purpose blush brush, but it is one of the scratchiest MAC brushes made.

Wayne Goss Brush 12 ($53.00) is a medium-sized, dense blush brush with a wider, rounded edge with a gentle flaring outwards. It’s soft, silky, and smooth against the skin and has never felt irritating while I’ve used it. This brush is convenient for powder cheek and face products from blush to bronzer, especially for someone who wants medium to full coverage out of their cheek color. This shape is very useful for blending out harder-to-blend powder products along the edges as the flatter edge makes shorter work of it. The brush head is 32mm in length, 41mm in width, and 24mm in thickness. It has a total length of 6.5 inches / 16.75 centimeters. This brush is similar to Hakuhodo J5543 ($60), which I find is a smidgen denser and tends to retain its shape without fluffing up as much. Tom Ford Cheek (06) ($78) is very, very similar to the J5543, as they share the same shape, though the Tom Ford is slightly denser, while it fluffs up on the edges more similarly to Brush 12. Both of these are ever-so-slightly smoother against the skin.

Wayne Goss Brush 13 ($53.00) is a small-medium, round brush with a domed edge. In some ways, it’s like a small, buffing brush attached to a long handle. The shape works well with cream and liquid foundations, powder and liquid/cream blushes, as well as powder and liquid/cream highlighters. It can even be used to contour, depending on the style of contour you’re after (it’s large enough that it won’t give you ultra-precision, but the density gives you a lot of control in the initial lay down). It’s moderately soft; soft enough that it is likely to be a decent upgrade for most, but it is less soft than the best synthetics and higher-end natural fiber hairs. The brush head is 31mm in length, 25mm in width, and 25mm in thickness. It has a total length of 6.5 inches / 16.75 centimeters. It is very similar in style to MAC 109 ($35), which is denser and less soft. Hakuhodo 210 ($36), which is less smooth/soft (there is a J-series version for $44 that is likely to be softer), but shares the same size and shape. Chikuhodo GSN-04 ($64) is a little longer but is fairly similar.

Wayne Goss Brush 14 ($33.00) is a medium-sized brush that starts off narrow at the base and significantly flares upwards to a rounded, dome edge with low-to-medium density and a very feathery, airy quality to the composition of the bristles. If you like to dust and gently sweep your cheek products on, you’ll probably enjoy this brush, as you’ll never have to worry about being heavy-handed again with this one. I liked it best for applying highlighters and very pigmented blushes, as it yields a very diffused, sheer to semi-sheer coverage level (which can always be built up, of course). It works well for contouring, too, if, like me, you like a more diffused, subtle contour and tend to use a fan brush to achieve that result, but this can do that job as-is (I’d just prefer a denser version personally). It is fairly soft and is comfortable to use on the skin. The brush head is 41mm in length, 22mm in width, and 22mm in thickness. It has a total length of 6.5 inches / 16.75 centimeters. I don’t have a brush that’s similar in shape, but the SUQQU Cheek has a similar airy, feathery quality to how it feels during application (but this is much, much softer and smoother) — for those looking to mimic the effect of SUQQU without the bank-breaking price tag, this is well worth a try.

Wayne Goss Brush 15 ($25.00) is a medium-sized fan brush. It is the least soft face brush that I tried from the range, though certainly not genuinely scratchy or rough. I regularly reach for fan brushes like this one, as it isn’t too big or too soft, dense enough to deposit color on the skin but not so dense that it leaves harsh lines. It has flex and give, feels lightly feathery during application and diffuses edges easily. I use this type of brush for contouring, highlighting, and with heavily pigmented blushes. It’s also a good option for a more shimmery finishing or setting powder that you want to dust all-over without over-applying the product. The brush head is 38mm in length, 60mm in width, and 15mm in thickness. It has a total length of 6.6 inches / 17 centimeters. It similar in shape and size to MAC 184 ($24), which is a duo-fiber brush, so the composition of bristles is quite different. Sephora Pro Fan Brush (#65) ($27) is 10mm wider, which makes it less precise. Hakuhodo J4004 ($26) is very similar in shape and size.

There is also one face brush (that I don’t have): #01 (angled, smaller foundation), which would be most likely be used with cream and liquid products (primarily foundation).