More Yaqis, first impressions and reviews to follow.

[mawashi]

1st review of the Yaqi Rainbow

It's a really unique brush with a fun pattern that looks really pretty.

The bands of different colours are just captivating, it isn't easy to get make cos you'll have to pour different coloured resins, let them set before pouring the next layer to achieve this effect. Its as exciting as this cocktail which I remembered was a real pita to make lol.

I don't believe in lather porn so you're not going to see a whipped cream head on the brush, I prefer watery and really slick lather which doesn't make for good viewing lol.

Anyhoo, on to the actual review lol.

I wet the Rainbow brush throughly, flicked some water out and loaded it for 10s with TFS almond. Splashed some water on my face and face lathered.

This brush lathers great, has really nice smooth tips and medium backbone but this thing splays huge lol. Not a hint of skirtch, I got a face full of lather very easily, with some 1/2 decent accuracy despite the huge knot.

Proceeded to get a really nice BBS with a NSC / Nacet combo in 1 1/2 passes.

The rainbow passed with flying colours and deserves a solid 9/10.

This is a big meaty handle and knot, plus it has a lip just after the first top bump so, you're unlikely to get lather dripping down your hands.
Overall it feels and looks great, even though its a little large for me but it's a wonderful brush that lovers of bigger brushes will adore.

Btw, you might get some brown dye run off on the first few lathers but it'll go away in no time.

Happy shaves,

Mawashi

 

[mawashi]

Great collection!! Thanks for the comparison!!

Thanks my friend, one review done, 7 more to go lol.

 

[mawashi]

Aqua High Mountain Silvertip and Black Onyx Silvertip 1st Review.

Gf has gone for her usual Sunday massage session so I've been left to my own devices for a few hours... Hehehehe!

Today's lineup the Black Acrylic Metal Base 21mm Silvertip (which I'm calling it the Black Onyx Silvertip) and the Aqua High Mountain Silvertip.

After the usual 1 min soak and 2 flicks, I did a 15s load with Arko.

I face lathered once with each brush and at no time did either brush feel floppy, they both felt wonderful.

The 21mm Black Onyx Silvertip has really nice soft tips that are soooo comfortable. Despite being only 21mm it splays 71mm wide, that's huge. Most of the hefty 128g weight is in the metal base so it's very head light and is very easy to maneuver while face lathering.
This is its first lather and it still has a bit of skirtch. I expect this will go away in a few more shaves but on its first lather it has performed great and I'll give it a solid 8.5/10 as its still slightly skirtchy and a tad overweight lol.
Just 1 hair fell out during the lathering.

Next the much anticipate Aqua High Mountain Silvertip. Only 3 handle shapes have really gotten my attention, the Heavy Metal Stubby, the Purple Haze Mew and this Silvertip.

The Aqua HMS handle feels and looks fantastic!
The hairs are of a darker shade which was unusual as I was expecting it to be even lighter than my other Silvertips. I was also expecting it to have even softer, more silky tips than my other Silvertips, it doesn't... ???

It's a tad more mushy than the 21mm Onyx but the knot doesn't flop over even if I press it against my face which, is great, I love some backbone.
However, it's even more skirtchy then the 2 band which really surprised me.
A total of just 5 hairs came loose.

Lathering is easy and she makes clouds of really thick, slick lather in no time, the splay is huge at 76mm wide, eats soap n hogs lather like a little furry thief lol.

What I believe the High Mountain brush is, is what some will call the Manchurian Silvertip Badger (the term Manchurian is marketing BS to me but that's for another day lol).
This is the highest quality Yaqi Silvertip you can get, its not as heavily treated/bleached which explains the darker colouring and skirtch.
If you are looking for a purist brush that you can break in gradually, is gorgeous and has very little prior treatment, this is IT!

10/10 for price, quality, looks, performance and the best badger Silvertip hairs.

Happy shaves,

Mawashi

 

[Olegausany]

Aqua High Mountain Silvertip and Black Onyx Silvertip 1st Review.

Gf has gone for her usual Sunday massage session so I've been left to my own devices for a few hours... Hehehehe!
View attachment 996962

Today's lineup the Black Acrylic Metal Base 21mm Silvertip (which I'm calling it the Black Onyx Silvertip) and the Aqua High Mountain Silvertip.
View attachment 996963 View attachment 996994

After the usual 1 min soak and 2 flicks, I did a 15s load with Arko.

I face lathered once with each brush and at no time did either brush feel floppy, they both felt wonderful.

The 21mm Black Onyx Silvertip has really nice soft tips that are soooo comfortable. Despite being only 21mm it splays 71mm wide, that's huge. Most of the hefty 128g weight is in the metal base so it's very head light and is very easy to maneuver while face lathering.
This is its first lather and it still has a bit of skirtch. I expect this will go away in a few more shaves but on its first lather it has performed great and I'll give it a solid 8.5/10 as its still slightly skirtchy and a tad overweight lol.
Just 1 hair fell out during the lathering.

Next the much anticipate Aqua High Mountain Silvertip. Only 3 handle shapes have really gotten my attention, the Heavy Metal Stubby, the Purple Haze Mew and this Silvertip.

The Aqua HMS handle feels and looks fantastic!
The hairs are of a darker shade which was unusual as I was expecting it to be even lighter than my other Silvertips. I was also expecting it to have even softer, more silky tips than my other Silvertips, it doesn't... ???

It's a tad more mushy than the 21mm Onyx but the knot doesn't flop over even if I press it against my face which, is great, I love some backbone.
However, it's even more skirtchy then the 2 band which really surprised me.
A total of just 5 hairs came loose.

Lathering is easy and she makes clouds of really thick, slick lather in no time, the splay is huge at 76mm wide, eats soap n hogs lather like a little furry thief lol.

What I believe the High Mountain brush is, is what some will call the Manchurian Silvertip Badger (the term Manchurian is marketing BS to me but that's for another day lol).
This is the highest quality Yaqi Silvertip you can get, its not as heavily treated/bleached which explains the darker colouring and skirtch.
If you are looking for a purist brush that you can break in gradually, is gorgeous and has very little prior treatment, this is IT!

10/10 for price, quality, looks, performance and the best badger Silvertip hairs.

Happy shaves,

Mawashi

Great review hopefully my will be shipped Monday so I can find out if it's worth to be part of my collection. But 3 brushes with different synthetic knots are expected Tuesday so I will have more to compare to

 

[mawashi]

Great review hopefully my will be shipped Monday so I can find out if it's worth to be part of my collection. But 3 brushes with different synthetic knots are expected Tuesday so I will have more to compare to

Thx Olegausany,

Btw, what's your current collection ?

 

[Olegausany]

Thx Olegausany,

Btw, what's your current collection ?

Right now I have Stirling badger, don't remember which specific one, Stirling 2 band synthetic and Razorock Big Bruce

 

[mawashi]

Right now I have Stirling badger, don't remember which specific one, Stirling 2 band synthetic and Razorock Big Bruce

That's cool. If I'm not mistaken the RRBB is also made by Yaqi. My Bruce was hijacked by my gf which, thankfully gave me opportunity to get more lol.

I really like the Bruce however, after my first purchase of Yaqi brushes it found it a tad... ordinary looking

Fingers crossed you enjoy them as much as I like mine

Happy shaves,

Mawashi

 

[Olegausany]

That's cool. If I'm not mistaken the RRBB is also made by Yaqi. My Bruce was hijacked by my gf which, thankfully gave me opportunity to get more lol.

I really like the Bruce however, after my first purchase of Yaqi brushes it found it a tad... ordinary looking
View attachment 997016

Fingers crossed you enjoy them as much as I like mine

Happy shaves,

Mawashi

Completely agree about to simple Big Bruce look this is why 6 more brushes are on its way to me

 

[mawashi]

Completely agree about to simple Big Bruce look this is why 6 more brushes are on its way to me

Oops lol.

 

[TioFabi]

Since I prefer denser brushes, the mew is just too soft for me. Just for comparison, the RR Bruce and the black marble timber wolf are almost identical in feel, the rainbow / brown Ferrari have smoother, less skirtchy tips and very similar backbone.

Thanks, i prefer soft brushes, so the mew brown knot sounds perfect for me, now comes the problematic part, do i get the purple haze or the barber pole one? hahaha tough decisions

 

[Olegausany]

Thanks, i prefer soft brushes, so the mew brown knot sounds perfect for me, now comes the problematic part, do i get the purple haze or the barber pole one? hahaha tough decisions

View attachment 997361
View attachment 997360

Purple haze is so beautiful unless you too old fashioned and want a barber pole

 

[Wtd1911]

Liking that purple.

 

[mawashi]

Thanks, i prefer soft brushes, so the mew brown knot sounds perfect for me, now comes the problematic part, do i get the purple haze or the barber pole one? hahaha tough decisions

View attachment 997361
View attachment 997360

Purple... Drool.
The purple has one of the best handles I've seen so if I had to choose, it'll be purple haze for sure.

Happy shaves,

Mawashi

 

[MrSmith83]

Thanks, i prefer soft brushes, so the mew brown knot sounds perfect for me, now comes the problematic part, do i get the purple haze or the barber pole one? hahaha tough decisions

View attachment 997361
View attachment 997360

Option three: the Mokka espresso version.

 

[carm10]

Black Tuxedo synthetic (cosmetic defect)
This black marble resin brush was going for a song due to a cosmetic issue. I have been looking at it for around 20 mins and can't find where the defect is.
Whatever it is, I appreciate Yaqi's honesty as I'll never be able to tell lol.
The 24mm Tuxedo knot is just another wonderful synthetic and I can't wait to lather with it.

Mawashi

Same for me. I ordered both this Tuxedo knot and the Cashmere knot in the cosmetic defect handles, to compare the two knots at such a cheap price. They arrived a couple days ago and for the life of me I can't find a defect in either one, no place where the pattern is inconsistent or anything like that. Needless to say it's a pleasant surprise!

The best I can come up with is that to my eye one handle does look a little nicer than the other, just in terms of one has more variation of the black/grey/white, like more prominent swirls, whereas the other has more black and the swirls stand out less. So this probably varies a lot across across a huge batch, and I wonder if that's all it is, if they just have a certain standard of how they want them to look, and the ones that are less aesthetically pleasing are discounted. It's lot of integrity on the part of the seller if you ask me, if there's no noticeable defect in any particular brush.

 

[dmshaver]

Thanks for the great review! Lots of good info in there to help all of us. Thank you sir! I also picked up a cashmere defect brush & enjoy it a great deal.

 

[Olegausany]

Same for me. I ordered both this Tuxedo knot and the Cashmere knot in the cosmetic defect handles, to compare the two knots at such a cheap price. They arrived a couple days ago and for the life of me I can't find a defect in either one, no place where the pattern is inconsistent or anything like that. Needless to say it's a pleasant surprise!

The best I can come up with is that to my eye one handle does look a little nicer than the other, just in terms of one has more variation of the black/grey/white, like more prominent swirls, whereas the other has more black and the swirls stand out less. So this probably varies a lot across across a huge batch, and I wonder if that's all it is, if they just have a certain standard of how they want them to look, and the ones that are less aesthetically pleasing are discounted. It's lot of integrity on the part of the seller if you ask me, if there's no noticeable defect in any particular brush.

Good to know that you got brushes with no problem. What is the difference between the knots, which one is softer for you?

 

[carm10]

Good to know that you got brushes with no problem. What is the difference between the knots, which one is softer for you?

I've only used the Tuxedo so far, and only once, so can't really comment yet. The Cashmere is much less springy to the touch, but not sure how that will translate to the face feel.

 

[Olegausany]

I've only used the Tuxedo so far, and only once, so can't really comment yet. The Cashmere is much less springy to the touch, but not sure how that will translate to the face feel.

My Yaqi brushes with Tuxedo and High Mountain badger were shipped yesterday so hopefully will get on Friday. My 2 brushes from TurnNShave are arriving late so when I get home from work I will try using CravingShaving with Duro knot second time. While tips are soft to the touch and the face feel is good this most springy and most backbone i have tried or touched so far. Please let us know what you you think about both knots and how they compare to others especially Muhle

 

[carm10]

My Yaqi brushes with Tuxedo and High Mountain badger were shipped yesterday so hopefully will get on Friday. My 2 brushes from TurnNShave are arriving late so when I get home from work I will try using CravingShaving with Duro knot second time. While tips are soft to the touch and the face feel is good this most springy and most backbone i have tried or touched so far. Please let us know what you you think about both knots and how they compare to others especially Muhle

Will do!