The Shiseido eyelash curler is the edge-free classic that curls without pinching. Here it is with seven other curlers, from a heated one to Hermès, plus the mascaras and finisher that hold the curl all day.
Shiseido Eyelash Curler, Hermès, Tweezerman and Dior: Finding the Curve That Fits Your Eyes
Shiseido started in 1872, when Arinobu Fukuhara, a former chief pharmacist of the Japanese Navy, opened Japan's first Western-style pharmacy in Ginza. The company moved into cosmetics in 1897 with Eudermine, a skin lotion in a ruby-red bottle that is still sold today, and it has kept that pharmacist's attention to small, precise things. The Shiseido eyelash curler is a good example. It has an edge-free design that stops the frame from pinching the lid, and the curve suits a wide range of eye shapes, which is why it is the one I tell friends to buy first. Hermès introduced beauty in 2020 as the house's sixteenth métier, or craft, with objects designed by Pierre Hardy, and its curler arrived in 2023 with Le Regard, the eye-makeup collection. Tweezerman, started by Dal LaMagna with a single splinter tweezer, makes two curlers by eye shape, ProCurl for round and prominent eyes and ProMaster for almond and deep-set ones. If the Shiseido curve does not reach your inner corners, that pair is where to look.
Wider, heated and backstage
The second row solves specific problems. Sarelly started in Mexico City in 2022, and its extra wide curler has a flatter curve for lashes that grow straight down, part of the Cow Lashes line named for the phrase Mexican grandmothers use for long, straight lashes. Sephora's own curler is the basic one that does the job. Grande's heated lash curler warms up to lift lashes gently, and it is useful for lashes that drop by lunchtime. Dior's Backstage curler gives a lifted curl in one squeeze. If you want heat without a new tool, warm a regular curler with a hair dryer for two seconds, and test it on your wrist first.
Holding the curl, and the skip
A curl is only as good as the mascara you put on after it. Diorshow Overcurl nourishes while it curls, Benefit's Roller Lash was inspired by hair rollers, and Lancôme's Curl Goddess borrows from hair styling technology too. Benefit started as a San Francisco makeup shop run by the twins Jean and Jane Ford, who picked makeup over a casserole cafe with a coin toss. The Ordinary's finisher is a clear gel that locks in lift, and it works over or instead of mascara. What I would skip is curling after mascara. The lashes stick to the pads and can break, so always curl first, then coat. Any curling mascara will hold better on clean, dry lashes.
How to curl properly
Open the curler at the base of your lashes, squeeze gently for five seconds, then move halfway up and squeeze again. That second press gives a lifted curve instead of a sharp bend. Replace the rubber pad every few months, when it starts to show a groove. Clean the curler with a little micellar water once a week.
