By admin 
Welcome back to my brand-new series of interviews with fans and friends as they pick their Top Tools from my ever-growing brush collection. From experts to enthusiasts, each interview will showcase how a person incorporates their favorite Sonia G. brushes into their daily lives, offering new tips and creative ideas to inspire us all—plus my insights as well.
Takashi Matsuzaki is a Japanese artist, photographer, makeup artist and jewelry designer.
Born in New York and raised in Tokyo, his lifetime fascination with painting and art began at 7 years old when his mother took him to a big exhibition of François Boucher in Tokyo. Later he became interested in fashion and studied fashion design. “It was the early ’90s, the heyday of supermodels. The fashion world was really flashy, and I was greatly influenced by Gaultier, Alaïa, Mugler, Versace, Galliano, etc.,” he says. “It was after I came to New York that I started working in makeup and photography.” He moved to New York in 1996 and regularly travels to his favorite city, Paris.
I connected with Takashi for the first time in 2018 on Instagram. He mentioned that he used my brushes, and I was so honoured! Since then, I spend so much time admiring his work and everything he creates. It goes beyond the visual—the way he talks, the words he uses, it all feels so familiar and completely resonates with me. He is an inspiration and I sincerely hope we can meet in person in the near future.
I thought of Takashi for these mini-interviews because I wondered which brushes he loves or reaches for the most. He picked his top five along with a photo of his beautiful work that he associates with each brush.
I knew he used my brushes, but I had no idea he had so many of them until he sent me these pictures of his collection!
Takashi Matsuzaki, New York, USA
NY-based Photographer & Makeup Artist
All photos: Hair, Makeup, Styling, and Photo: Takashi Matsuzaki
Takashi’s Top Brushes
As a big fan of Sonia’s brushes, I am very honored to receive such an exciting project! I’ve picked out some brushes that are indispensable to me. I use them over and over again—so much that I own several of the same brushes.
Builder One
This is definitely my favorite eyeshadow brush. Since I started using it, I have become a big fan of Sonia’s brushes. The best thing about Builder One is that it allows you to apply pigment exactly where you need it, such as making blacks darker! It’s a must-have when you want to add a strong color to your eyes. You can apply the vivid color of the eyeshadow directly to your eyes, resulting in a striking finish.
Sonia’s comments: This brush is not in production today, it was part of the Fundamentals that launched in 2017. It was prototyped for the very first time almost 10 years ago. The idea was to design a tool that could work with precision to boost the opacity of some stubborn shadows or formulas. I came across some black eye shadows that lacked pigmentation, others were difficult to build without severe fallout or having product unevenly placed. That was the inspiration behind this design, and I am really happy that Takashi loves it and uses it so much for his work. It is discontinued today, but we have been receiving a lot of requests to bring it back into the collection—if you are interested too, it would be nice to let us know and click on the “Want it” button on this brush’s page! Thank you!
Since this brush is discontinued, the one builder brush that I think everyone definitely needs, is the Builder M from the Fundamental series. The Builder M is the laydown brush that is going to effortlessly work across formulas. It’s a reliable workhorse that remains super soft on the skin and that I highly recommend to anyone, at any skill level.
Jumbo Base
I’ve used so many foundation brushes, but nothing like this one. It’s made of a blend of synthetic fibers and goat hair and is the perfect size, density, and hardness for applying creams and liquids, creating beautiful skin in no time. I love using this brush in conjunction with Sonia’s soft concealer brush to carefully spread it thinly and create a natural, beautiful base. It’s convenient because you can control the amount of foundation you apply by gliding or tapping. I love using it not only on the face, but also for applying liquid highlights to the shoulders, décolleté, arms, etc.
The Jumbo Base is part of the Fusion series. For the Fusion series, we developed a new mix of synthetic fibers and natural bristles that, while benefiting from each other’s characteristics, remain extremely soft on the skin. The bristles move and flex easily, which allows the brush to easily follow the structure of the face, while still having enough density and strength to blend effectively, but its softness was the top priority—so that anyone with extremely very sensitive skin could use it. The Jumbo Base has been released with the long red black handle and with the short Keyaki wood handle. The version with the Fusion red black handle is currently not in stock but if you wish to get it with the short Keyaki handle, it is currently available.
Sheer Buffer
This two-layered brush is made from a blend of synthetic fibers and goat hair, with the upper layer soaking up the powder and the lower layer blending it into the skin. It gives a truly exquisite finish to cream products, as if they were covered with a veil, so you can’t go wrong with it, and the similarly small Mini Sheer Buffer is an even easier-to-use brush. Since it can apply product thinly, I think it will also be useful for men’s makeup. Of course, it looks great when layering not only cream products but also powder products!
The Sheer Buffer is part of the Fusion series, this series uses a special combination of natural and synthetic bristles primarily designed for the use of creams, but depending on the desired result, they are also great brushes to use with powders. Just like Takashi, I use it with creams or powders and also for the final soft blend or buff. It’s super gentle so it won’t disturb the products underneath. This brush has probably been one of the most difficult brushes to create to this date, but it was so worth the effort. It may look like any other normal stippling brush with its layer of synthetic bristles at the surface, but it has so much more to offer. There are so many products that we don’t enjoy to their full capacity because we just don’t have the right tool for them, but when we do, those products come back in action and bring us so much excitement and new possibilities. The same applies to the Mini Sheer Buffer—it also offers a very buildable and diffused application, but with more precision and control with the placement, covering different needs.
Smudger Two
This is my go-to eyeshadow brush along with Builder One. I really enjoy using this brush for makeup! It’s a versatile brush that can be used for a variety of textures. The flat top is great for lining and other uses, and the flat sides are great for blending colors. It’s just the right hardness, so it’s a very easy-to-use brush. It’s one of the essential brushes when I do my makeup.
The Smudger Two was part of the Fundamentals that launched in 2017, and it’s not in production today. With this Smudger Two, the idea was to design a brush that would be able to add sharp definition but with enough thickness at the surface to have a good grip on any texture and to diffuse it evenly. The Smudger Two is discontinued today, but just like the Builder One, we have been receiving a lot of requests to bring it back in the collection. If you are interested too, it would be nice to let us know and click on the “Want it” button on the brush’s page! Thank you!
Traditions TF1
This large and very soft brush is my favorite in my collection, along with Sonia’s Mini Keyaki Niji. It gives a light and natural finish, and above all, it feels amazing on the skin! Everything is perfect: the size, the softness, the feel, and even the keyaki brush handle! Every time I use it, I feel the love between Sonia and artisans. It’s a truly supreme gem. I’m sure anyone who owns this will totally agree as they read this.
This Traditions Kakishibu TF1 brush was made with very special materials (Japanese Keyaki wood, bespoke brass ferrules, saikoho goat bristles) and it embodies various traditional craftsmanship (Kakishibu dye processes, luxurious woodworking techniques, including the use of tonoko powder for the finishing processes). But it’s also an extremely effective brush.
The TF1 is a big fluffy and airy brush, but it’s also compact and so disciplined. Combining these characteristics in the same brush may seem contradictory, but it makes sense once you have it in your hands. Takashi says that when he uses this TF1 brush, he feels the love between me and the artisans, and we appreciate these words so much. I wish you could see the amount of effort and the time that went into the creation of this brush! We were all so dedicated and passionate, and today when I see the huge amount of work (and cost) that goes into the manufacturing of the TF1, I know that our love for craftsmanship and our shared determination to create something extremely special is what made this brush possible.