Kiss Me Heroine Make Long and Curl Mascara Old and New

Set of the Kiss Me Heroine Make Long and Curl Mascara with mini eye makeup remover

I LOVE Japanese Mascaras. I just find that they build and lengthen my short, straight lashes so well. But most importantly for sparse, stick-straight Asian lashes, they hold the curl and never smudge. The queen of Japanese mascaras has to be the Kiss Me Heroine Make Long and Curl Mascara. In 2009 it actually won Cosme's best Mascara Award, cementing it as one of Japan's bestselling mascaras. And for $8 in Japan (or $14 on Amazon in the US), its hard to find a better mascara for the price.

The Long and Curl has long been my HG mascara ever since I bought my first on on Ebay. It is a waterproof fiber mascara that lengthens my lashes like no other mascara ever has, while subsequently lifting and curling. It doesn't flake, never smudges and gives just enough volume and definition to make my lashes look fluttery and doll-like.

The brush is small enough to catch even the smallest hairs on my outer and inner corners of my eyes and applying to my bottom lashes is very easy. This mascara is also very satin black so you can get a very dramatic look or a very natural look depending on how many coats you use. It does take some building and work to get a very dramatic look, but drying time is quick and the brush naturally separates the lashes so it's not very difficult to get the look you desire.

3rd Formulation of the Kiss Me Heroine Make Long and Curl Mascara

Unfortunately for those who are loyal users of the Long and Curl, Kiss Me Heroine Make has reformulated this mascara once before and has done it again very recently. But do not be too worried as the new formulation performs just as well, if not better than the previous iteration! The new version has a thicker brush and appears to contains more fibers in the formula itself compared to the previous version.

Top: New Version
Bottom: Old version

Top: New Version
Bottom: Old version

I find that the final result looks pretty similar and newer version performs just as well as the old version with no flaking or smudging. If I had to choose I would say that I prefer the new version. I really like it because I like a thicker brush, which I find gives more volume. But both are great mascaras and I will continue to loyally use and stock up on Kiss Me Heroine Make mascaras when I'm in Japan.

Personally I found it interesting that the Kiss Me Heroine Make company would decide to go with a thicker, fluffier brush for their new formulation of the Long and Curl Mascara. Due to the short, sparse nature of Asian lashes, Japanese mascaras are often plastic or silicone and comb-like. Thick, brush-type mascaras are less common because they often will smear mascara on the user's eyelid. Perhaps they feel there is a market for it in Japan. In any case, do not fear. As of January 2015, you can still get the old version in the stores but I suspect it will slowly be replaced by the new version so stock up if you love the old version. But don't despair if you can't find the old one. The new one is great too and provides very similar results!