The Most-Feared Beauty Tool

What's so scary about an eyelash curler? A lot, say many girls I've worked with. You may have a foreign object coming at your eye, but I say this makes everything ok. To me, this is a miracle beauty tool and I can't live without it. Even if I don't have time for mascara, I'll still be sure to curl my lashes with my eyelash curler (my eyelash curler of choice happens to be the cult-favorite shu uemura).

Recently I was doing makeup for one of my best friends before a night out on the town. LRS wanted her eyes to be simple and subtle so a simple golden brown palette was definitely in order. When I finished there, I moved on to the lashes. At first, she was nervous (she always gets nervous when I even pull out the eyelash curler). But once I prepped her lashes for mascara with the eyelash curler, we were good to go. I put on her mascara and her lashes were looking great. The final step was to curl the lashes again for extra length.

Tip: Let your lashes dry for a few minutes before you use your eyelash curler again so that your lashes don't stick to the eyelash curler and you don't need to yank it from your eyes.

As I went to curl her lashes, I pinched her a little and her reaction was to jump back because she got very nervous. As soon as I felt her move I let my grip go. I didn't want to hurt her. In the end, all was well. A few lashes were lost, but it was all good. This just goes to show you that you always need to talk to your client and understand them, their needs, and even their fears. Next time, I'll definitely have LRS use the eyelash curler on herself!

See below for some of my Twitter followers and what they had to say about eyelash curlers (I think those scared of it were too intimidated to answer.. only kidding)! And don't forget to follow me on Twitter!!

@CoverFX: I love my eyelash curler b/c my lashes do not have a natural curl and are short!

@ChicRen: LOVE them! With 2 minutes (60 seconds each eye) I'm able to go from "blah" to "cute"...

@amyaubrey: Dont really have feelings either way but we've been together a while and aside from an occasional pinch to my lid it's always been good 2 me

@GinaLaGuardia: I actually used to NOT mind eyelash curlers. I'd even heat it up with the hairdryer first. No wonder I have extensions now. LOL.

@CaitPLUSlin: Survey says: I cannot live without them. Literally. I have about 3 or 4 of them because I never want to be without one.

-A

False Lash Impressions

JW complemented me on my eyes the other night. I hadn't seen her since my birthday weekend when I first tried out my fake eyelashes. I was completely sold on Sephora's brand of fakeys, especially since I kept getting so many complements. JW loved them and she gave me some of her recommendations on the lashes.

The other night she asked S if I was wearing the fake lashes and S told her that I was not. JW later told me that she had been fooled by my eyes that looked so full and lengthy. My secret? Primer, three good mascaras, and shu uemura.

Now, three mascaras seems completely ludicrous. Who has that kind of time? But after a while you just kind of become used to using them and it seriously lasts all day long. Here's my process (and don't be discouraged by the length because it really doesn't take that long!!):

1. Use your eyelash curler (shu uemura = love) to prep your lashes.
2. Prime your lashes with a white base, like Prescriptives Lash Builder.
3. I like to start my mascaras with a thinner, professional type brush, like Clinique's High Definition lashes.
4. A thicker brush is next. I use Sephora's Lash Plumper.
5. Use the shu uemura again.
6. Finish it off with a thin brush, like Cover Girl Lash Exact or Maybelline Define-A-Lash.

Yes, I have had many trials and tribulations with mascara, but through trial and error I have found the best options that work for me. And with my very own lashes I can give off the false impression that they are too good to be true. But they're all mine!

-A

Photo: shuuemura-usa.com

shu uemura IS Fantastic

I feel like I need to counter, or add to, our very first post. At that time, I was still using my Revlon curler because it was something I had been stuck on for years and I thought, why change a good thing? Well, after much speculation and talking to some of my girls, I realized I needed to get myself the shu uemura stat.

AMB and SEV were adamant about the fantastic job this curler could do. They told me that they didn't even need to use mascara at times because their lashes would just look so so full after using the shu uemura. In our first post we led you to believe that there was really no difference between shu uemura and MAC, giving MAC a slight edge because of a price that was five dollars cheaper. But now I really believe in the power of shu uemura.

Although I felt strange using it at first, as it is very different than the Revlon, I quickly became accustomed to the shu uemura. I have yet to see the grand effects that AMB and SEV have told me about because I still feel the need to put on primer plus three different mascaras. However, I think that my lashes look longer and fuller. And I think with time I may be able to wean myself down to just one mascara!

One thing is for sure, I'll definitely use my shu uemura every single day. Heck, I may even need to get the travel size and throw it in my bag!

-A

Photo: shuuemura-usa.com

shu uemura or M.A.C.?

What's in an eyelash curler? And why do we use them? How can you choose just the right one? shu uemura and MAC both make eyelash curlers, so which do we pick? They look exactly the same at first glance, but is there any difference?

We don't think so. You can see that they are both the same exact color, the same exact weight, and they move in the same way. The only difference we can see is price-wise. MAC makes their eyelash curler for $14, sold at all department stores that carry MAC, as well as MAC retail stores and MACcosmetics.com. The shu uemura eyelash curler is $19, sold at Sephora and other major department stores. We can't say we believe all the hype over the shu uemura eyelash curler, as it seems as if they are exactly the same, with different labels. 

As for usage, both work very well and create a full set of eyelashes. But it's also important to use the right kind of mascara, while you're at it. Check out our future blog posts and see which mascaras are the best, according to MLA. You may be surprised at the full lashes you'll get for your next big night out on the town!

Photo: shu uemura (left) and MAC (right)