With the rise of “beauty gurus” on the internet, the makeup industry has exploded in recent years. Currently, the beauty industry market is valued at an eye-popping $511 billion. While there are many affordable brands, there is also a large market for luxury beauty products, especially makeup brushes. Of course, any artist is only as good as their tools, so makeup brushes are considered investment pieces and many makeup fans are willing to splurge for the top-of-the-line brushes. This list features some of the most expensive makeup brushes currently out there.
- Chikuhodo Premium Line P-8 Powder
- Westman Atelier Makeup Brush Vault Set
- Sonia G. Lotus Set + Fusion Series Bundle
- Hourglass Vegan Brush Collection
- Beautylish Presents Yano Series Collection
- Chikuhodo Z-Series 10 Piece Set
- Koyudo Saibikoho Large Powder Brush
- Koyudo Silver Fox 5-Piece Set
- Rae Morris Pro Starter Set
- Artis Bespoke
Synthetic or Natural Hairs: Natural
Other Features: Made in small batches
Still Available: Yes
photo source: Beautylish
While most of the makeup brushes on this list carry a hefty price tag because they are full sets, the Chikuhodo Premium Line P-8 Powder brush is currently one of the most-expensive individual makeup brush on the market. Currently, it appears to only be available through Beautylish for a cool $424. According to the product description, the Chikuhodo Premium Line P-8 Powder brush is one of the brand’s rarest brushes because it’s only made in very small quantities by Kumano’s famed brushmakers.
Did you know?
The Chikuhodo Premium Line P-8 Powder brush is made with delicate gray squirrel bristles and Beautylish recommends only using powders with the brush to retain its integrity.
Synthetic or Natural Hairs: Synthetic
Other Features: Comes with bag
Still Available: No longer available on Westman Atelier website, but available on goop
photo source: goop
Did you know?
According to Gucci Westman, the Westman Atelier Makeup Brush Vault Set brushes came with ivory-colored bristles so it would be easy to tell when it was time to clean them.
Synthetic or Natural Hairs: Mostly Natural, some Synthetic
Other Features: Two different brush sets in the bundle
Still Available: Yes
photo source: Beautylish
Sonia G., a beauty blogger who runs Sweet Makeup Temptations, launched her own line of Japanese makeup brushes in 2017. Over the years, Sonia G. has released different makeup brush sets on Beautylish. While Sonia G. designs the brushes, they are all hand-crafted in Kumano, Japan by makeup brush artisans. Currently, Sonia G.’s most expensive set is the Lotus Set + Fusion Series Bundle, which retails for $440. Like other Japanese brushes, Sonia G.’s Lotus Set + Fusion Series Bundle features lacquered Maplewood handles and mainly saikoho goat bristles.
Did you know?
Sonia G. started her makeup blog in 2012 after she realized that a lot of products irritated her sensitive and super dehydrated skin.
Synthetic or Natural Hairs: Synthetic
Other Features: Comes with vegan-leather case
Still Available: Currently out of stock on Hourglass website, but available at other beauty retailers
photo source: Hourglass
Hourglass was founded in 2004 as a cruelty-free brand and since then, the company has been on a mission to end animal testing in the beauty industry. Everything Hourglass makes is cruelty-free and vegan. One of Hourglass’ best-selling brush sets is its 17-piece Vegan Brush Collection. All of the brushes feature PETA-approved, high-grade, ultra-soft Taklon bristles and, of course, none of the brushes were tested on animals. The Vegan Brush Collection costs $650, but it is currently sold out on the Hourglass website, but it is available at other online beauty reailers.
Did you know?
The Hourglass Vegan Brush Collection features some of the brand’s most popular makeup brushes as well as a few pieces exclusive to this collection.
Synthetic or Natural Hairs: Natural
Other Features: Maplewood handles
Still Available: Yes
photo source: Beautylish
Taking inspiration from the best Japanese makeup brushes, online beauty retailer Beautylish, released its own line of luxury makeup brushes dubbed the Yano Series Collection. The whole set features 10 brushes, five face brushes and five eye brushes, and retails for $655. The Yano Series brushes are also available to purchase individually. All of the Yano Series brushes have lacquered Maplewood handles and the brush part is made of gray squirrel hair or a combination of gray squirrel and goat hairs.
Did you know?
The Beautylish Yano Series Collection brushes are handcrafted by master brushmakers in Kumano, the brushmaking capital of Japan.
Synthetic or Natural Hairs: Natural (blue squirrel and tanuki)
Other Features: Genuine leather case
Still Available: Yes
photo source: Chikuhodo
In the makeup world, Chikuhodo is widely considered to be the pinnacle of makeup brushes. Each Chikuhodo brush is carefully hand-crafted with only the best natural fibers, such as blue squirrel or tanuki (Japanese raccoon dog) While all Chikuhodo brushes are high quality, the brand’s most luxurious line is the Z-Series. Chikuhodo’s founder and master brush maker, Tesshu Yamaoka, was involved with every aspect of the Z-Series brushes. Although you can buy the Z-Series brushes individually, the Chikuhodo Z-Series 10 Piece Set features everything needed to apply a full face of makeup. The luxury set retails for ¥86,240, about $785!
Did you know?
Every aspect of making a Chikuhodo makeup brush is done by hand and the brush makers even massage the hairs to ensure that they feel right and perform correctly.
Synthetic or Natural Hairs: Natural
Other Features: Comes with Paulownia wood case
Still Available: Yes, in limited quantities
photo source: Koyudo
Currently, the Koyudo Saibikoho Large Powder Brush is the single most-expensive makeup brush we could find. There are few of the brushes left for sale on Amazon for $1,040. The Saibikoho Large Powder Brush features “Saibikoho,” which is very soft goat hair that creatures a silky-smooth texture on skin. The other brushes in the current Saibikoho collection are also incredibly expensive: the small powder brush is on sale for $740 and the cheek brush costs $524.
Did you know?
The Koyudo Saibikoho Large Powder Brush is part of a collaboration between MAKIE (Lacquer works) and Fujimori Uematsu, the brush artisan.
Synthetic or Natural Hairs: Natural
Other Features: Lacquered Cherry wood handles
Still Available: Yes
photo source: Koyudo
Koyudo is another well-known Japanese makeup brush brand. Typically, Koyudo makes limited-edition sets and of its most exclusive at the moment is the Silver Fox 5-Piece Set. As its name suggests, Silver Fox hair was combined with gray squirrel saikoho goat to create the bristles. Because of the rarity of using Silver Fox hair, the brush set is limited to only 50 sets for sale. At the time of this writing, the Koyudo Silver Fox 5-Piece Set is still available on Amazon for $1,048.
Did you know?
Koyudo’s brush handles are made using the Raden decorative technique, which involves lacquering wood and mother of pearl shells. The Silver Fox 5-Piece Set features lacquered Cherry wood and a maple leaf design.
Synthetic or Natural Hairs: Natural and Synthetic
Other Features: Comes with travel case and Rae Frame
Still Available: Yes
photo source: Rae Morris
Did you know?
Each one of the makeup brushes in the Rae Morris Pro Starter Set has its own dedicated page on the Rae Morris website that features a video tutorial on how to properly use the brush.
Synthetic or Natural Hairs: Synthetic; special proprietary hairs called CosmeFibre®
Other Features: White gold plating, diamonds, black diamonds, or rubies
Still Available: No
photo source: lofficielsingapore.com
Just in time for the 2018 Holiday Season, famed oval makeup brush makers, Artis released the most expensive makeup brushes ever, dubbed “Artis Bespoke,” which sold for $25,000 apiece. Artis only released three of these Artis Bespoke brushes, which were special editions of their best-selling Elite Oval 7 brush. Each Artis Bespoke brush featured a white gold plated handle that was either encrusted with diamonds, black diamonds, or rubies. The handles were also customizable and any design or message could be engraved by Artis.
Did you know?
The Artis Bespoke brushes were so special, that each one came with a custom luxury brush case, dedicated phone and email support, a special care kit and servicing, an optional insurance policy, and seasonal makeup training with Artis artistry and training lead, Lindsey Jackson.
