I fell in love with Shu Uemura products when I won P20,000 worth of them from Mega Magazine's email promo around 3 years ago. I had always wanted to try them out but Philippine retail prices were just way overboard -- a big bottle of their fabled Cleansing Oil cost P5,500 back then when it cost about P3,500 in Japan. The mega-popular Shu eyelash curler retailed for over a thousand pesos when it was just P500 in Japan. Again, that was back in 2006.Luckily for me, my prize package included a big pump bottle of the Cleansing Oil in Fresh, the eyelash curler, as well as a bunch of other goodies.
Since then I've been addicted to Shu Uemura products, and it has become a habit to horde them whenever I go to the US or Japan where they cost a lot less than they do here in Manila.
Last year I bought the Phyto-Black Lift anti-aging line from Nordstrom in Los Angeles, but during the sweltering Philippine summer it's just too heavy for my skin. I paid Daimaru's Shu counter in Osaka a visit a couple of weeks ago and asked for lighter skincare products that'd give me some anti-aging and moisturizing benefits. The Shu guy suggested the White Recovery Ex line, explaining (in Japanese I might add) that it would protect plus brighten my skin and lend some anti-aging benefits. He said it's perfect for our tropical climate. I wasn't hard to convince since I'm a Shu junkie. He even threw in some free masks and stuff.
I'm glad I listened to the guy. I can't believe how effective these products are and wow, they work so fast! After about 3 days of using them my face felt so much smoother and looked so much brighter. The emulsion which I use for moisturizing is also very light and pleasant-smelling. The mask is the only part of the regimen I haven't been able to try because it's not a daily thing. Overall I'm one very, very satisfied customer. A little goes a long way so I estimate my White Recovery stuff will last at least a year, so even if they are on the pricey side they're definitely worth it.
I've been a Shu user for a few years now. I think I can say that they deliver what they promise. In my last 2-3 feature assignments for Spot.ph I was actually mistaken for a student doing her project in their establishment... but that's another story... :p
