Shu Uemura: Ultimate Expression Mascara

Image: own

For Christmas 2012, I received a gift voucher from my kind grandparents to use in House of Fraser. I've never shopped there until just a few days ago. I met up with an old friend from college, and we ventured in there together after eating some frozen yoghurt from Snog. I came out with this mascara from Shu Uemura. I'll be honest, while things were working nicely with the Eyeko lengthening mascara, I found it was actually making my eyelashes a bit 'spidery'. In addition to resembling Shellob, I saw that some of my eyelashes were falling out as a result of being extremely dry. My tolerance to contact lenses grew worse, too. So yes, the novelty of the cute packaging wore off, unfortunately. I decided to go for the best mascara I could buy with my voucher, and see where my journey to finding the perfect mascara would take me!

Mascara is one of the few cosmetics I wear everyday. I'm quite happy to go out with just a sweep of dandelion powder, rosy lips Vaseline and a flick of mascara. It's important to invest in a good quality one, for this reason.

Eyelashes!

This is what the mascara looks like on. It's very natural-looking, but the increase in length is clearly visible. The mascara makes my eyes look fresh and healthy, which is exactly what I was hoping for. I'd recommend this for those who wish to have a very smart appearance, but feel that they can't wear too much make-up. It's almost as if the mascara creates a small line, that resembles a thin dash of eyeliner - as you can see in the photograph. The mascara creates a soft effect on the eye, and I'm a big fan of the romantic spring look.The best thing about this is the weightless feel of it. It felt like I wasn't wearing any mascara at all. As the hours passed, it continued to feel this way. There's nothing worse than rubbing your eyes after a long day at work, or after a lecture.

I am also very impressed by how easy it is to remove the product from your eyes. I'm more of a 'wipe' person than a 'lotion' one, and so it is important for me not to tug at my skin too much - which can be a nightmare if I've got a stubborn formula. However, I have found this method to be fine. Of course, always use a night cream after using wipes! They dry out your skin like crazy, even if they are renowned for their moisturising properties.

I love the simple black design of the mascara. It's very 'expensive' looking, and it's actually quite heavy to hold! Obviously, when you're applying it to your eyes, with the wand, it isn't heavy - but the actual holder itself is a weighty one. I'm not really sure why that is, though!

I would say it is very good value for money. Buying a good mascara is like buying a good shampoo, if you wear it everyday you can justify it. Also, after having to (annoyingly) switch mascaras again, it's very important that your eyes stay healthy. However, you can cut back on things i.e. lipstick or concealer because the high street versions are just as good, in my opinion.

Ultimate Expression Mascara retails at £20.00 and can be bought at House of Fraser stores nationwide!