IMATS Purchases: Hakuhodo, MUFE, Velour Lashes etc

Yesterday at IMATS, I spent the most time at Hakuhodo checking out their makeup brushes. These are truly top of the line hand-crafted brushes with uncut hair that feel incredibly soft against the skin.

After much deliberation, I settled on a Special Kit of six Kokutan brushes plus another five individual brushes. There was actually no discount on Hakuhodo, which was charging the US retail prices, so the main advantange of buying at IMATS was saving on the shipping fees.

The special kit comes with a zip pouch with a shimmery midnight blue finish. The brushes in the set did not have individual numbers, so I'm not sure of the model or type of hair used. The glossy black metal ferrules paired with the ebony wood handles give these brushes a lovely classic feel.

I also picked the G5519BkSL Blush Brush (blue squirrel), B021BkSL, G5528BkSL round eyeshadow brush (blue squirrel), J0305 small eyeshadow brush and G5520BkSL pointed eyeshadow brush (blue squirrel/horse). Again, these are not printed with the model numbers. B021BkSL and J0305 do not appear to be listed on the Hakuhodo website. I picked mostly squirrel hair brushes as these feel amazingly luxurious with a good density.

A reader asked for Hakuhodo brush recommendations but I honestly can't provide any as this is my first time purchasing their brushes and I have not used these yet. The most useful blogs for Hakuhodo recommendations are Glossed in Translation and The Non Blonde.

While searching for a flat-top brush for applying foundation, I settled on the Bdellium #957 Precision Kabuki brush (£7). I haven't heard of this brand before but they take part regularly at the IMATS in the US.


At Guru Makeup Emporium, the Make Up For Ever Wild and Chic Aqua Cream and Aqua Eyes kit was going at just £17.50, down from the usual price of £34.95. Nestled inside the chic violet snake print metal case are two full size Aqua Creams #1 Anthracite and #15 Taupe, plus two mini Aqua Eyes pencils in Matte Black and Pearly Brown.

Velour 100% mink hand-made lashes in You Complete Me (£15). On the Velour website, it is listed at US$29.99.



I've been looking for a brush roll for a long time and finally found one that I liked at Paris Berlin. This was £16 at IMATS, slightly cheaper than the Paris Berlin website where it is listed at €25.


And finally, I also purchased BeautySoClean Cosmetic Sanitizer Mist (£15) for quick disinfecting of powder and cream products.

For me, IMATS was great for getting to see brands that are not widely available. Not all brands offer generous discounts though, so it's worthwhile to do research beforehand to know if you are actually getting a good deal. MAC, Illamasqua and Sleek all offered attractive deals but I wasn't eyeing anything from them in particular, so I could safely pass them by.