Saturday, January 14, 2012

Shu Uemura Eyelash Curler


For Christmas, my brother got me the Shu Uemura eyelash curler because I'd been wanting it for a very long time. I'd heard much hype about it from television, movies, beauty magazines, etc. and according to the box, it's an "award winning" eyelash curler. So of course I wanted to give it a try and share the results with all of you. I mean, you don't want to be like Andy Sachs in The Devil Wears Prada where she's made fun of for not knowing what a Shu Uemura eyelash curler is, right?


Just for reference, I consider my eyelashes pretty average - not too short, not too long, so keep those things in mind as you read this review. Here are the results:

Uncurled lashes

Curled lashes

Curled lashes with mascara

Uncurled lashes

Curled lashes

Curled lashes with mascara

As you can see from the first and second pictures, the eyelash curler definitely works. However, it is quite tedious to use. I'd never used an eyelash curler before, so I don't know if this is typical of all eyelash curlers. Here are the directions on the back of the box:


So you have to hold the eyelash curler in place for several seconds to achieve the desired look. I squeezed for about 10 seconds each time and repeated maybe 4 times, so it takes at least a good 40 seconds per eye.  I know it doesn't seem like a lot of time, but if you're getting ready for work in the morning and you don't have much time, then this is not a good idea to use because you have to be very careful. I pretty much only use mine when I'm going out at night. Another downside - you have to replace the eyelash curler every 3 months because the silicone pads wear off (that is, if you use it every day). Currently, replacement pads are not available for purchase, so you actually have to buy a brand new curler, which I think is absolutely impractical and a waste of money. The curler costs $19 and comes with one refill pad. I plan on just buying a different brand of refill pads from Sephora (hopefully, they're universal and fit this eyelash curler). Refill pads are about $6, which is a lot cheaper than buying a brand new curler for $19 every 3 months. Another drawback - Shu Uemura is no longer available in the US. You can only purchase from their website so you can't just conveniently stop by your local makeup store and pick one up.

As you can see from the closed eye pictures above, the lashes appear shorter because they're, well, curled. So if you want lengthened and curled lashes, then just apply some mascara as I did above. The mascara I used was Lancome's Hypnose Doll Lashes. This mascara kept the curls intact, but lengthened and thickened them a bit. 

Overall, this eyelash curler does work, but given the price and the fact that replacement pads are not available for purchase, I think there are other eyelash curlers out there that are comparable and conveniently have refill pads available. So in about 6 months when I can no longer use this, I'll probably switch to a different brand or just buy refill pads from another brand.

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