Made in Poland: Hakuro eye brushes

EYESHADOW BRUSHES

H76 (top), H78 (centre), H80(bottom)

H76 seems to be a dupe for Sigma E30 brush, the dimensions, bristles, shape, purpose and colour seems the same (I say seems cause I don't own any Sigma) but they substantially differ in price. Sigma E30 is $9 and Hakuro H76 is approximately $4.5 or £3. Hakuro H76 brush is a so-called pencil brush which, depending on your eye shape and size, may be employed to perform different tasks. It's a perfect detail brush for lining your bottom lashline or accentuating the inner corner. May be also used to smudge a liner along the upper lashline or for blending eyeshadow very precisely on small areas. It's got a very precise tip and soft but firm bristles. 

Unfortunately after washing and a couple of months in use the bristles tend to stick out here and there, the brush definitely needs careful reshaping to prevent that. However, it retains its shape well and these minor issues do not affect its performance. This is a very decent brush but as far as precision/pencil brushes are concerned I like my Maestro #410 much better.  

H78 and H80 are dome brushes with pointed tips which according to the manufacturer are meant for exactly the same purposes as H76 but I wouldn't agree with that statement. They are simply too big to be good brushes to line the lower eye lid or highlight the inner corner. These brushes are more of small blending brushes or a brushes to apply eyeshadows more sheerly than with a flat eyeshadow brush. H78 has shorter and firmer bristles than H80 which makes it better for applying eyeshadows in the crease and outer corner when I want a more precise and less smoky application. H80 can be used for these purposes as well and also it makes a nice blending brush to blend and smoke out eyeshadows in small areas. I must say that having both of these brushes is not necessary at all. H80 is more versatile so if I were to make a choice H80 would be the one. Moreover, these brushes are not indispensable in my brush collection. They can be easily be replaced with a number of more multi-purpose brushes. I don't regret buying them because of their high quality and a good piece of craftsmanship but I would never repurchase.

H76 (top), H78 (centre), H80(bottom), my finger for size reference

BLENDING BRUSHES

Hakuro H74 (top) , H77 (bottom)

H74 and 77 are two blending brushes made of natural bristles (one bleached, the other one dyed black). Both are round tapered brushes with a very narrow tip. According to the manufacturer's description

H74 is 18mm long and 6mm in diameter while H77 is 18mm long and 7mm in diameter but in case of my brushes the white one is about 2mm longer than the black one. The hair they're made of seems to be similar but H77 seems to be more prickly than H74. Perhaps the bleaching process influences softness of hair. The manufacturer describes H74 as a typical blending brush while H77 is more of a multitasker which performs well at applying eyeshadows in the crease and outer corner and blending them. Well, to me it's the other way round, H74 is perfect for everything, even for all-over-the-lid eyeshadow application while H77  doesn't pick eyeshadow as well as H74 does and causes much more fall out.

I wash these brushes regularly and they never shed a hair, though H74 requires careful reshaping while wet if you want it to retain its tapered shape. 

If I were to choose one of these it'd definitely be H74, but both of them are worth having.

  

Hakuro H74 (top) , H77 (bottom) against my fingernail to give you the idea of the size

ANGLED EYELINER BRUSH

H85 is one of the most unique eyeliner brushes ever. You can't see it in the pictures but while it's 5mm wide (like most of eyeliner brushes), it's the flattest brush ever. The edge measures a fraction of a milimetre which makes it possible to draw a very fine line indeed. The brush is made of very soft natural bristles, but unfortunately they're not firm enough to work equally well with all kinds of eyeliners. It works fine with my MAC Fluidlines and Essence gel eyeliner but fails to draw a nice crisp line when using drier products like my Bobbi Brown eyeliner which makes the bristles bend and dance along the lashline in all directions. The manifacturer adverises it as a brow brush as well, but I wouldn't recommend using this brush there at all. Nonetheless I love this brush. It was dirt cheap ($3, £2), I wash it after each use and it always goes back to its initial shape, doesn't shed or get discoloured. Even though it doesn't work with all kinds of products it works beautifully with others.

If anyone's interested in the full range of Hakuro brushes here is the website I bought them from.

Disclaimer: I bought the product myself for my personal use and I am not affiliated with any company. I am not paid to do this review and everything I said here is my genuine opinion.