I can only confirm everything Eleni said. I own many, many Rae Morris brushes, including the old Ultimate Cheekbone, and this new version is simply not as good as the old one. The quality of the bristles has gone way down (from squirrel to sokoho), and the prices went way up. Why? I don't get it. I'm sorry, but you honestly cannot see or feel all those extra steps in production of brush heads compared to the older line, and I literally own hundreds of Kumano brushes and know what I'm talking about. Yes, new handles are beautiful and an improvement from the old line, but it's the head of the brush that counts the most. I just wish Rae would go back to the quality of old line (for heads) and keep the new handles. That would be the best combination and would justify significant price increase.

This brush has indeed a great shape for contouring and it works well, but I needed some time to get used to it. Once you know how to use the brush, the short handle feels really nice. However, the reason why I gave it three stars is that it is not as soft as I expected, and secondly because I find it overpriced. It is made of Sokoho hair, whereas the same brush of the previous generation of Rae Morris brushes was made of grey squirrel hair, which is 2 steps softer ( grey squirrel softness > saikoho goat softness > sokoho goat softness). This is the reason why I find it overpriced. I do understand the Japanese craftsmanship, and I greatly appreciate it, and the works efficiently indeed, but since the hairs are not as soft, not as high quality as before, I would have wanted the price tag to drop. Had it been a grey squirrel (therefore very very soft) I would have given it 5 stars.