Koyomo nadeshiko Pearl Pink is a series of Fude brushes designed and manufactured by Tsubokawa Mouhitsu using the ancient goat hair known as koyomo. The two brushes I will be talking about are the Blush Brush and the Shadow Brush (round crease/blending). The other two brushes available in this series are the Face Brush (the largest) and the Flat Shadow Brush (think MAC 217), and there is also the Pearl Pink Set (which includes 3 out of the 4 brushes).
One of the main reasons I got these brushes is because I was intrigued by the concept of the ancient goat hair koyomo and I wanted to include at least some of them in my collection before they run out. I say run out because koyomo are the goat hairs that have been collected in the 70s, so their supply is obviously limited. Koyomo are known to have unique properties, most notably being softer than their actual grade. The Pearl Pink series is made out of ototsuho grade hair, which comes after sokoho and saikoho (and, of course, after the extremely rare and expensive saibikoho). So, normally, you would expect hairs that are a bit coarser, thicker, and wavier. But because koyomo ‘boosts’ the grade up a notch, you actually end up getting something that is perhaps around sokoho grade or slightly above. If you are seeking for both a supreme softness and a koyomo hair, I am afraid you would have to shell out for one of the premium koyomo series which would cost you much more: Koyomo yuki Aizu-nuri Shinogi and Koyomo tsuki Aizu-nuri Hananuri (at the moment, I do not have any of those brushes). I think the main advantage of the Pink Pearl Series is that you are able to get an affordable koyomo in brushes that still look absolutely gorgeous.
The brushes are made out of short cherry-wood handles covered in pearlescent baby pink and glossy black ferrules with white lettering on top. The Blush Brush is a rounded, medium-sized blush brush, with a medium hair density (neither too wispy, neither too dense). It is quite firm/dense at the root of the brush head, which gives it a good level of bounciness and springiness. I think it is overall a very nicely designed and functional blush brush. You can see its size on the picture with the doll head (but please note that the doll head is comparable to a smaller human head, so the blush brush may appear larger in the photo than it really is).
In terms of shape, the Shadow Brush is your typically-shaped round crease/blending brush. Its most notable feature is that it is super short (it feels more like a travel brush), which is something that may or may not be to your liking. With this one, I do have to say that I can detect slight coarseness in the bristles, so a forewarning to those with very sensitive eyelids! Otherwise, for majority of people, it should be just fine. The brush looks very cute and is a great addition to the blush brush.
Overall, the brushes from the Koyomo nadeshiko Pink Pearl series are beautifully looking brushes that offer an affordable way into Fude made from the ancient koyomo goat hair. Each brush comes in a creamy-white presentation box with a speckled finish and would also make a great gift. Finally, I would like to mention that CDJapan offers a complementary name engraving service for these brushes, if you follow the procedure described here. I only realized this was possible once I already ordered my brushes, so I am telling you this in advance if you wanted to make use of this opportunity,
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