Last year, makeup artist and vlogger Wayne Goss (gossmakeupartist on Youtube) launched his range of makeup brushes to great acclaim. I’m not a follower as such but I do enjoy good makeup brushes and when I saw that his were primarily natural hair brushes and Made in Japan (by Artisan & Artist), I was all over them!
I didn’t get the whole set though. They were pretty pricey. But I did get a few to play with and while it would make sense for me to tell you about them as a whole, it also makes a whole lot of sense for me to tell you the one brush you’d want to pick up from the Wayne Goss brush collection, if you ever just want one. The reason is simple.
I haven’t come across a similar brush out there, and that’s good enough reason as any! :D
This brush would be the Wayne Goss Brush #8. There are 8 in the collection thus far, and they’re all numbered because they’re not meant to perform just one function, you can use each brush to perform a myriad of functions so numbers keep you from being tied to just a “Blush brush” or a “Foundation brush” or as I would call the Brush #8, a “Tightlining Brush”.
According to Wayne, this Brush #8 can be used for liner, push liner, highlighting lips, contouring lips, brows, micro highlighting, and under eye bags. I use mine primarily as a push liner or for tightlining and it is a dream!
The reason why this brush works so well as a push liner or for tightlining is simple – the bristles are short, firm yet flexible and soft, and not too thick. The firm square tip also helps a lot for it to get right in the roots of your lashes for a very natural liner that makes your eyes instantly look larger yet doesn’t look like you’re obviously wearing eyeliner.
The brush is slim and not too long nor too short and feels comfortable and nicely weighted in hands. The handle is a black glossy wood with a black metal ferrule so the construction is very sleek.
You may notice just how tiny the head of the brush is. It’s so tiny that when I first got it, I was a little surprised. I mean, how was I supposed to use this thing?!
See? It’s so tiny compared to my thumb! But seriously, this brush is genius.
I have been doing a lot of tightlining in recent times because I’ve just been too lazy to wear mascara, and wearing eyeliner is quite a fuss to get right and to ensure they don’t smudge. So, I went back to tightlining, which is essentially lining your eyes tight at the root of the lashes, usually from underneath and what you get is a very natural looking result, that doesn’t even look like you’re wearing eyeliner yet opens your eyes instantly.
I was previously using a pencil liner to tightline (I use the Guerlain Kohl pencil. Have been for years) and it works but I found recently that using a powder eyeshadow to tightline actually lasts just as long on my eyes, has a softer result and is easier if you’re travelling because you can skip carrying an eyeliner. All you need is a brush and a dark eyeshadow colour which should be present in most palettes! :D
Here are some examples of lines I get using the Wayne Goss Brush No. 8. I just dip it into black liner and draw it on. Apparently, you can also use this brush to draw brows. I tried it once and it works. I haven’t tried it for anything else because I don’t do a lot of detailed makeup, but if you are working with very small spaces, then this brush will work because it’s so tiny.
And here is how I use this Brush No. 8 as a push liner or to tightline my eyes.
- I first tap it into a dark eyeshadow, usually black.
- Then I lift my top eyelid and draw at the root of my lashes, working the short brush into the roots to draw a line.
- The difference between a tightlined eye and a non-lined eye isn’t very obvious but you may notice how my eye on your right looks a bit more defined as opposed to the eye on your left where you can see the skin at the root of the lashes.
It really is an optical illusion but one that works and doesn’t take very long because you don’t have to get it 100% smooth or clean all the time. Another reason why I like using this technique and this Brush N0. 8 helps me achieve the perfect result every single time very quickly.
And that’s why I say that if you just want one Wayne Goss makeup brush, consider the Brush No. 8. It’s also the cheapest in the whole collection, retailing at £13 or US$17 depending on whether you are based in the USA (USD) or in the Rest of the World (GBP).
In a nutshell
If you want just one Wayne Goss makeup brush, get Brush No. 8 which works wonderfully as a push liner or tightlining brush. It is small, firm, slim and does the job in a blink of an eye. No pun intended. Of all the Wayne Goss brushes I have, this one gets the most use and delivers the best results with almost no learning curve. I’ve found no other similar brush in the market to do the job so that’s another reason I love this one. Absolutely worth getting.
Pros: Tightlines like a dream, Easy to use and hold, Good size, Brush is short yet soft and firm to get into roots of lashes without irritating the eyes
Cons: Pricey, Shipping costs is quite high as there are only 2 sites selling these brushes
Who will like this: Anyone who does tightlining for eye makeup on a regular basis, Anyone who wants a multi-function brush for lining, brows and working on small spaces
For now there are just 2 websites that retail Wayne Goss brushes:-
- In the USA: Beautylish
Rest of the World: Love Make Up
I got mine from Love Makeup (of course, since I’m in the “Rest of the World”) and shipping to me is a painful £12.50 flat rate and comes by registered mail. It only makes sense therefore to share your order with friends or make a larger order so it evens out. For just one brush, it isn’t worth it. However, shipping within the UK is free so if you have friends there, see if you can ship it to them and then get them to send it to you which might be more affordable.
Update: LeGeeque and Lipglosseater below have commented on how Nars has a similar brush. I believe they maybe referring to the Nars #15 Smudge Brush which I also own and love but it performs a different function. I managed to grab a quick comparison shot after reading their comments.
The Nars brush is thicker and is tailored more towards smudging of colour whether close to the lashline or on the lower lash line (which I use it most). It is however, too thick to use to tightline even as it can be used on the upper lash line over liner to set it or to smudge out a smokey eye. Hope this helps anyone else wondering :)
Do you own any Wayne Goss makeup brushes? Do you tightline your eyes?
I picked up the Brush No. 1, 2, 3 and 5 as well. I can’t seem to find my Brush No. 1 lately but I’m sure it’ll turn up somewhere :P I found I had a learning curve when it came to using the other face and eye brushes but not with this Brush No. 8 which worked from the get go. Definitely one I was happy I splurged on :D
Paris B
Wayne Goss Makeup Brush No. 8 Price: £13 or US$17 Availability: Beautylish
That sounds amazing! I’m curious because I THINK you have the NARS brush that’s similar and you used it to tightline as well? How does it compare? Feel free to knock me on the head if I’ve confused your brush with another :P
Thank you for this question! I really get to know about brushes with MWS now! =)
Late to reply but I think I addressed your query in the post :D Nars is too “fat” to use to tightline :)
Eh this reminds me of the NARS makeover I had sometime ago – the makeup artist used a brush like this one to “press” eyeshadow unto my waterline over the eyeliner. It really made the eyeliner stay on the waterline until I removed it at the end of the day! :D
Yep! He probably used the Nars #15 Smudge brush :) Addressed the comparison in the post :D It’s a great brush that one. I love using it for smudging colour on my lower lashline too
oh.. so expensive! I would probably wait until it has a sale or something =(
but it looks sooooo useful.
On its own, I’d agree that it’s pricey but in the big scheme of things it isn’t really. That said, the shipping is quite killer so hopefully another store with more affordable shipping picks up the brand. It’s quite ridiculous to charge us so much for just brushes :(
I have a similar one from Hakuhodo, and it is also a dreaaam for tightlining! <3
Ooh Hakuhodo does a similar one too? Great! I can’t get my head around the many different brushes Hakuhodo has – so confusing! I did read that the brushes from Artisan & Artist are also manufactured by Hakuhodo so essentially it might all end up being the same thing :D
It’s pretty tough to find a god brush for tightline. Glad you found one. I always use pencil eyeliner to tightline because i find it easier. hehe XD But…this WG brushes is pretty expensive.
Yep! I’d been looking for a tightlining brush for a long time so this was perfect :) For the quality, I don’t find WG brushes too pricey. They are priced pretty much like Japanese natural hair brushes and since they ARE Japanese natural hair brushes, I’m fine about that :) But I will agree that on a micro scale, they are very painful on the wallet
uuuhhh la la! I have not heard of this brand before, thank you paris for introducing!
The brush no.8 seems good and I can now see how well it is for tightlining.
Just a question though, how do you find HOLDING it to tightline your eyes? Comfy?
Sorry, I mean when you are tightlining your eyes, does the slimness sometimes give way, at all? I have one really slim eye liner brush and I find it quite tiring to hold it for long as it is so slim that I have to hold tightly to prevent it from slipping. LOL!
anyway, could u do a review on other brushes from Wayne Goss, too?
Yep, will get around to the other Wayne Goss brushes once I’ve made up my mind about them :) I had a bit of a learning curve with some of them. As for the slimness, you actually work very quickly so it’s not like you’re holding it for hours at a time hehe… just a few seconds at most.
Most welcome :) There are just a few brushes for now and since Wayne Goss himself is particular about brushes, it only makes sense that he gets good ones made :) Holding it is fine. It’s quite short and the slim handle doesn’t bug me. That said, I do have quite small hands, but it still isn’t a problem :)
I have a Smashbox brush like this. It’s not available any more though, and I think it came in a special set from the home shopping network here to be honest. But I LOVE it and use it all the time. I’m not a fan of heavy eyeliners, so I tightline most of the time. I agree it makes a big diff!
Ah don’t you hate it when a good brush disappears? I’m not a fan of heavy liners too! *high5* I find it ages me so tightlining is the way to go :D
Yes! I like to tightline my upper eyelashes with an eyeshadow. But the brush I’m using is from Sigma E15 Flat Definer. It works like wonder but there’s an only downside of it, which is the bristles are a bit too wide in size. I can tightline my eyes instantly with few dabbing motion but I find it quite hard to elongate at the outer corner of my eyes.
Thanks for sharing an alternative! I’m not too familiar with Sigma brushes but I can imagine a flat eyeliner brush can also do the job :)
I usually use pencil liners to tightline. Wayne Goss brushes are more expensive than some Hakuhodo ones, but it doesn’t stop me from being tempted. Sunny just tempted me with hers yesterday and now yours. And I was JUST looking at his brushes a couple of days ago (since I missed the launch). It must be a sign. LOL!
The price is “ouch!”, but I’m tempted by the WG brushes too.
I have a couple of Hakuhodo brushes but I think I got the wrong ones cos they aren’t wowing me LOL Sigh… Still, doesn’t stop me wanting others :P I’m sure it’s a sign that you need a Wayne Goss brush in your life haha. I picked mine up during the pre launch so I guess I got lucky ;)
Hey Paris, I just wrote about his brush 1 yesterday (and oh my God that thing is GOOD. I hope yours will turn up soon)! Thanks for the review! I don’t really just tightline, but now I feel like trying it out! I’m not sure how well powder will stay put though. Maybe I want to make sure it’ll last before I run out and grab this ;)
I found my Brush #1!!! :D I read your review and I have to say I”m dying to give it a go now. Just gave it a wash and will play with it and see what I make of it. I saw you prefer it over Shiseido! Now that’s saying something coz I love the Shiseido ones :D I find that powder stays on me longer than pencil for tightlining but then it could also just be me. My eyes just work better with powder :)
Hi Paris, great review! I just subscribed to wayne goss on youtube last month, his best vid has to be that kim kardashian contouring tutorial, then Strawberrynet had Nars Laguna on special the next day and i got it on impulse haha.
Aaaanyway, i was just wondering how u remove ur tightline at the end of the day. Ive tried it before and i ended up with very irritated red eyes, so ive not done it evr since. Can u advise what u use and how u do it?
Thanks!
Hi Felix, thanks and I’m glad you found it useful. I watch his videos sporadically but I love his sense of humour which is a little more lacking in other videos I see so it’s nice to have something different. As for removing the tightline, I just use regular eye makeup remover on a cotton pad or cotton bud and just clean it off. It doesn’t irritate my eyes at all but then I don’t use gel liner, only powder shadow so it removes very easily. Don’t scrub at your eyes – you don’t want premature lines ;) Good luck!
I’ve been curious about the Wayne Goss brushes!
Hope this helped assuage some of your curiousity! ;)
Interested in this but shipping is so ex! Also can’t seem to find any other interested products from Love Make Up.. Guess have to find other replacement brands…
Yep, the shipping is a right killer >.< If you have friends in the UK or Europe, it's cheaper. I don't know if they'll have free shipping at any time though but if they do then that's the time to swoop in!
I don’t have any of his brushes, but my friend has them all and she always raves about it.
I think he really captured the imagination of people who aren’t already familiar with Japanese brand natural hair brushes. Still, I won’t deny that they’re pretty good and high quality too.
This brush looks similar to Hakuhodo G521 (USD20). In fact, I find that several of WG brushes look similar to the Hakuhodo ones I have.
I bought G521 for tightlining but I find it easier and faster to just line my upper waterline with an eye pencil so I hardly use G521. But I’d have to say the finish isn’t as perfect as tightlining.
Thanks for the info Hannah :) I’m not as familiar with Hakuhodo brushes as there are so many! But it’s good to know of alternatives. I’ve read that as his brushes are by Artisan & Artist and as Hakuhodo reportedly makes brushes for A&A there is definitely some similarity in the Hakuhodo and Wayne Goss brushes. It’s nice knowing that though. Hakuhodo makes great quality brushes so I know at least, that the quality of the WG brushes are excellent :)
Would love to try few of Wayne Goss brushes but the shipping is just too much! will wait until availability of these beauties become easier ;)
Am hoping there’s another site that’ll pick it up too! Seriously, the shipping is just far too high :(
Ok, i need this one. I’ve been waiting for this review for a while. Yay! And can you do a comparison of No.1 and the Shiseido’s? I’m thinking for the longest time too whether I need No.2 too.
I’ll do that Lisa :) I have No.2 but I’ll say that I had a learning curve so I’m still only just warming up to it. Sunny has a review of No. 1 vs the Shiseido brush if you’d like to take a look here.
Eyeliner brushes are my weakness these days, and since I’ve started learning how to tightline, I’ve been really loving the effect! This WG brush is pretty pricey but I won’t mind paying for it if it’s such an amazing eyeliner/tightliner brush. :D
Me too! Ever since I went back to tightlining, I find myself loving the effect so much better than with regular eyeliner. The WG brush is pretty awesome. If I ever lost this, I’d definitely buy a replacement!
Hi Paris, will you review the other brushes as well?
Hi Seline, yes I will but over time. I’m still feeling my way around the other brushes :)
What about Laura Mercier? I think there is a brush used with the cake eyeliner that may be the same…
I checked that out Firn and it’s got slightly longer bristles but the same concept :) I had some eyeliner brushes that looked similar but I found that longer bristles tend to have more “give” so while I get my tightline done, it doesn’t get it done as quickly nor as intensely :)