Shu Uemura vs Shiseido vs Missha EYELASH CURLERS

EDIT: Some people are landing on this post because you want to know where to get Shu Uemura replacement pads and when to change them
From what I know, you have to buy a new eyelash curler O_O Shu doesn’t sell replacement pads from what I know.
When to replace them? Generally if your lashes aren’t curling, the rubber is cracked and it starts to pinch a lot, it’s time to change the pad. If you don’t use too much force and clamp the eyelash curler like you’re trying to crack open crab legs, you should be fine. I’ve used my curlers for a very long time and I’ve never changed the pad. If you are curious to know how hard you should be clamping, it should be rather gently, like how you’d squeeze a fruit or vegetable to see if it’s firm or not.

This isn’t really a review in the sense that I’m going to curl my lashes and show you guys the results. That really depends on how you guys curl your lashes. I’ve seen people (and I used to do it myself) curl crimp their eyelashes 90 degrees and I think most people would actually tilt the eyelash curler up. Nowadays I don’t even tilt the eyelash curler and just gently press doing down the lashes and it works - I haven’t managed to pinch myself either using that technique, so that’s that.

I’m writing this post so you can know what you are paying for. Not what results you are going to get, but what you are essentially getting for your money. So yes, this will be a lot about the design and possible results or effects – it’d be unfair for me to just tell you my verdict right now, because everyone curls differently, and everyone has different shaped eyes!

Why would anyone need 3 eyelash curlers?

Good question. I’ll answer it by saying it depends on the person’s needs. Nobody, and I really mean NOBODY should go out and buy another eyelash curler because “they feel like it/ want to try someone else out” if their current eyelash curler is working.

I started out with the Missha eyelash curler because it was my first ever eyelash curler. At the time I had this romance with the store when it first opened and thought that everything there was so cheap and awesome. HMPH! In the stock photo I can see a replacement rubber! I never got that D:

Only $5.90 at your nearest Missha stockist

I then wanted a Shu Uemura eyelash curler because people went on about how good it was – no kinks, long lasting curl, no pinching. At the time, a certain somebody happened to go overseas and asked what I wanted. Being as modest as possible, I asked for a Shu Uemura eyelash curler. Contrary to common belief, the curler isn’t that expensive. They’re just ripping you off here in Australia. And for the record, you can get it in gold, but I don’t think there was much of a price difference from what I remember from the website. You’ll have to check it out yourself. There’s nothing special about the gold one – it’s just a different colour.

Did you know it only costs something like Y1320 INC TAX? That’s about $13- $17 AUD depending on the exchange rate. Or if you can’t be stuffed going to Japan, you get get it from the Shu counter at David Jones for $39AUD. Massive markup or what?

Because of personal grrr-ness against that particular someone who bought me the Shu curler, I literally plummeted into a state of mass consumerism impulsive shop-a-holic. I happened to be at the Shiseido Annual Sale, and I saw these little beauties on sale. Most people tend to compare the Shiseiso and Shu curlers, and plus the price was so attractive, I couldn’t resist. Methinks I should have bought more!

Shiseido The Makeup curler – 10 BUCKEROOS at Shiseido sale! They sell these at AKA for $25AUD (different packaging, but still Shiseido nonetheless)  and it probably could be up to $30ish at your Shiseido counter

So all 3 eyelash curlers come with a replacement rubber pad – NOT! The Missha one didn’t anyway D:

Ugh I hate photograph filled posts, but here’s my picture overload.

Literally, on the left is what you get from Japan at Shu Uemura. Not the mess, but the box – which includes a replacement pad and the curler, then it wrapped into a shiny awesome package thingy with a cute bow on it, which is then placed into a Shu Uemura shopping bag. The Missha one (middle) comes with nothing (only the really basic packaging as you saw the in the stock photo), and the Shiseido comes in the rather pleasant metallic purple box, with a replacement pad.

Oh, and my blog is on my computer screen in the background (YES I AM SECRETLY PUTTING IN UNDERLYING TECHNIQUES FOR MARKETING ;D)

I think from this image you can tell the replacement pads for the Shu are much thicker and longer and pre tensioned.

If you’re into bling, this image tells you a lot. For some reason the Missha one has a VERY deep top part that sits over your eyelid. I think it’s done for a reason, and I’ll write about it later.

So I overlaid the Missha on top of I think the Shu. There is a HUGE gap in between the two eyelash curlers, meaning that the Missha one is VERY CURVED.

Why is this bad? It means the Missha eyelash curler generally is NOT suitable for the average Asian eye. It’s only suitable for people with extremely round eyes. By this I mean people who use eyelid glue or those with naturally round Asian eyes. If you have round Caucasian eyes, it might not work because it can pinch you since the curler itself isn’t very wide. To use this curler, you therefore need round, not wide eyes, and a relatively deeply inset eyes – natural or glued. This is why when I used this thing, it pinched my eye like crazy! Most people who have used my curler commented on how small it was because of its crazy curve – well, I am pretty sure this curler was made for ulzzangs or people trying to achieve the ulzzang look. All curlers work to some degree, it just depends on whether or not it’s comfortable for you!

Oh and as a personal note, this bugger pinches like crazy!

PS: No, it’s not worth $5.90. You could get a cheapass $2.50 eyelash curler and it’d probably work just about the same, but ultimately it’s your choice. I don’t use it at all except when I take it elsewhere so I won’t cry over losing my Shu or Shiseido ^^;

So now that I’ve summed up the Missha eyelash curler, time to move onto the remaining two.

What is the difference between the Shu and the Shiseido?

So many blogs out there compare these two and most people will to choose the Shiseido one. BUT WHY? I find it somewhat rare they actually give a good reason justifying one, so I’m going to attempt to give you guys a reason.

Firstly, the Shu pad is much thicker and longer than the Shiseido one. I think this image will show it quite well – there’s only a slight difference, but if you compare closely enough, the Shu is wider. I’m not really sure why Shu made it so wide – possibly to give the comfort of knowing the metal won’t pierce through the rubber and then slice your eyelash in half? Either way, it doesn’t really bother me, and I don’t really know if it affects anything. Possibly to give a more natural curl since it’s wider, but then again, it depends on how your use your curler.

When I overlay the two over each other, they have a very similar curve. They also are very similar in handle design and the part where the logo is – it is shallow, good for those with single eyelids.

One thing to note is that the Shiseido eyelash curler is lighter than the Shu. This may or may not bother you, but for me it was interesting how light the Shiseido one was – I remember shaking the box to hear if anything was actually inside since it was so light. It’s good because it is quite gentle on the lashes and won’t weigh your hand down, making you want to put more force into curling.

For this image, I aligned the top corners together to figure out how much difference in width there is: the Shiseido one is slightly less wide than the Shu.

This, my dears, is why the Shiseido one is better.

To use the Shu curler, you can have any eye type, but your eye MUST BE WIDE or else the curler will pinch the corners of your eyes. OR – you can use it still if you really want to get the lashes on the very ends, but it WILL hurt – even though the Shu is a holy grail, it won’t get all your lashes in one go, and if you want that, be prepared for it to pinch if you are seeking that look.

The Shiseido however, may miss a few lashes on either end, but it doesn’t hurt, doesn’t pinch, and will suit a larger variety of eye shapes for sure. Also with the weight issue, I’m sure everyone has had this problem before – you know when you are holding a hair straightener, the harder it is to close shut or the heavier it is, the tighter you want to clamp it shut to straighten your hair. It’s the same with eyelash curlers – I use far less strength when it comes to the Shiseido, and I am putting less stress on my eyelashes as a result.

Both Shiseido and Shu curlers seem to give pretty good curls, though possibly the Shu gives a longer lasting curl on natural lashes.

My final verdict is the Shiseido because it’s excellent for its price (10 buckaroos! or $25) and readily available. You don’t have to drag yourself to a David Jones counter (and I think the only one in Sydney is possibly the city branch?), or Japan for that matter. Both deliver very similar results, but for me, the Shu pinches a teeny bit.

Until next blog!

PS: I’ll review MAGICLASH. Hopefully I can get up some images of my eyes, if not, I really don’t wanna bother x_x