Shu Uemura- are they really the best eyelash curlers?

Hope you all had a lovely Christmas and got spoiled rotten with lots of presents, food and booze :P Apologies for my lack of recent posts, but working at The Body Shop over Christmas just goes crazy with people (mostly men!) flocking in with no idea what to  buy for Christmas presents.

I, however, gave my parents an exact list of what I wanted! This list included my new favourite beauty tool - Shu Uemura Eyelash curlers.

About a month ago, I was putting my makeup on in the morning. As per, I finished by curling my eyelashes, but my Cosmopolitan eyelash curlers snapped in my hand. I was ever so slightly heartbroken, as I have tried endless different ones and those are the only ones that seem to work well. So I immediately went into town to replace them (Uni lectures could wait, this was urgent!).

But when I came home, ready to curl, it struck me that they had changed them. Noooooooo, I hate when that happens! And needless to say, the new ones weren't half as good.

So in making out my Christmas list, I knew a decent set of curlers had to go on it. And I knew my set of choice had to be from the Japanese brand, Shu Uemura.

The reason being, Shu Uemura have created the cult beauty item that has become every makeup artists not-so-secret weapon. With their eyelash curlers specially designed for Asian eyes, they can get into the smallest corners of the lashes, therefore perfectly captured all my lashes without pinching. 

One curled.... definitely a difference!

Definately worth the hype. So many people don't bother with it, but eyelash curling is one of those things I wont leave the house without doing. As they make your lashes look longer, your eyes instantly look bigger and brighter... which can never be a bad thing! What I particularly liked about the Shu Uemura ones is that they curl the lashes without giving that fake 'crimped' look.

left : one eye fully curled, middle: one eye fully curled, other eye curled just at lash line, right: two eyes curled, yay!

Although you're meant to curl them before you apply your mascara (to avoid damaging your lashes), I always do it the other way around. I find it just holds the curl so much better, and I've never had my lashes snap yet.... touch wood! The best way to do it is to firstly apply pressure right at the lid (the middle picture above), then slide the curlers every so slightly up the lashes to create a soft flick (the right hand side pic). Another tip (although be careful with this one!) is to heat the curlers first using your hairdryer, test the temperature on the back of your hand, then proceed to curl - just helps maintain it that wee bit longer.

And I always recommend lots and lots of mascara! My favourite one is Chanel's Inimitable Intense, however being a student, I do have to downgrade occasionally!! For everyday wear, I like the Body Shop's Divide and Multiply, combined with Maybelline's One by One Volume Mascara. Admittedly, I'm a bit of a mascara slut - I chop and change and like to try new ones out! I recently bought this battery powered Bourjous one, thinking it looked quite interesting:

But I'm really not a fan!! The rotating brush is okay, but probably just a gimmick - I can easily coat my lashes to the same extent by simply moving my arm slightly! But the reason I really don't like it is the mascara does not come off - and it's not even meant to be waterproof! This is maybe good if I'm feeling emotional, but literally having to scrub my eyes at the end of each evening is no fun.

for luscious lashes

So my recipe for the longest lashes : fill your lash-line with a black eyeliner (I like Lancome's - above), apply lashings of mascara (Chanel or Body Shop, depending on when payday is!), and finish with a couple of presses of your Shu Uemura curlers. 

(My only gripe about the curlers is that, according to Shu Uemura, you should replace the pad every three months. As they only provide one replacement in the box, and don't sell the replacement pads separately, this means you have to buy a new set every 6 months. At £20 a pair, it's a pretty high price to pay! Yet, from what I've heard, people have had the same pair of curlers for years, so replacing them that often isn't necessary. Just a money-ploy from the company!)

Messy dressing table!