all brushes are handcrafted in Kumano, Japan by master artisans.

later this year, we'll be announcing additional tools such as eyelash curler and brush cleaning soap, also made in Japan.

the rèphr concept store is a place where customers can test products and provide feedback to help us improve our brushes and design better products.

since one of our company mission is to give back to the people in our community, products in the concept store are marked down significantly.

feedback form requests will appear in your account under the feedback section. you can sign in via this link.

please see the following video for a demo on how to clean brushes.

important tips:

• when running a brush under the tap, always point the brush downwards to prevent water from seeping into the ferrule. This will loosen the glue and cause hair fallouts.
• after washing, ensure all of the soap and cleaning solution have been rinsed out before the drying phase.
• when drying brushes, leave the bristles extended for the edge. If a tighter shape is desired, feel free to use brush guards.

one of the biggest challenges in designing the perfect makeup brush is the tradeoff between softness and application effectiveness. while a soft brush is more comfortable to use, a brush that's too soft is generally less effective in getting pigmentation and blending out product. In fact, synthetic brushes are often just as soft as natural hair brushes (though admittedly much less luxurious) since it's now possible to create extremely fine fibres that are microscopically smooth. However, just like brushes that are made too soft, synthetic bristles also tend to struggle with picking up, depositing and blending out powder based product.

at a high level, there are 3 main types of goat hair that are common in brush making:

• type 1 - the thickest in terms of hair fiber diameter. most pigmented due to its robust cellular structure and springiness, but can feel rough for hyper sensitive skin.
• type 2 - finer hair fibres, pigmented and still extremely soft. Loosely defined as "Sokoho"
• type 3 - even thinner in diameter, one of the softest goat hair available with tradeoffs in reduced pigmentation and precision. Loosely defined as "Saikoho".

we use the words "loosely defined" here because that's how hair types are classified in Kumano, Japan - the brush making capital of the world. Since the definitions of "Saikoho" and "Sokoho" are not regulated, each brush maker will have their own interpretation and the variance can be high. This is the main reason why "Saikoho" brushes of similar shapes from different manufacturers can feel and perform quite differently.

the majority of natural hair brushes on the market use Type 1 goat hair since it's significantly cheaper and delivers adequate performance, while luxury brush makers gravitate towards type 2 and 3. The cost difference between type 2 and 3 are in fact minimal, and the decision comes down to the brands' marketing and the brands' style of makeup (if they have a makeup line). For instance, brands that appeal to premium brush collectors tend to use type 3 (Saikoho) to achieve maximum softness, while brands that appeal to high-fashion backstage pros will gravitate towards type 2 (Sokoho).

instead of selecting one type of hair and using a one-size-fits-all approach to our entire brush lineup, we've decided to calibrate each brush using their own custom blends of type 2 and type 3. This allows us to focus on the design intent of each brush and maximize its performance without unnecessary sacrifices on softness.

as an example, brushes that are designed to be impactful with pigments will use a hair blend that's more similar in profile to type 2 (Sokoho), while brushes that are designed to be airy with lighter application will use a hair blend that's similar in profile to type 3 (Saikoho).

brush 01, 02 and 03 are optimized to work with all eye shapes, while brush 14 in particular has been specifically calibrated for the hooded eye.

in terms of overall effectiveness, we recommend having multiple brushes like brush 01 as its shape has been the most compatible with hooded eyes and monolids.

brush 15 and 16 on the other hand are designed for larger lid spaces.