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The DIY eyelift hits Japan: The £3.50 sticky tape that fashion-conscious teenagers use to give them Western-style ‘double eyelids’
– Reported, October 28, 2014
The aim of blepharoplasty is to create an upper eyelid with a crease (the ‘double eyelid’) from an eyelid that is naturally without a crease.
Fashion fans in Japan have now become hooked on a bizarre craze to give themselves these ‘double eyelids’ with an instant DIY facelift.
One magazine, Scawaii Beauty, describes how cutting a semi-circular strip from a plaster and sticking it on the top of the eyelid will give a perfect Western-style crease.
‘It is the godly effect we all want,’ says the magazine.
The craze started in South Korea and has spread quickly through Japan, where teenagers think the ideal face would have big, Western-style round eyes and small Asian features.
The tape is even sold on Amazon, where is it described as a ‘medical grade tape designed to lift the eyelids and sagging skin around the eyes. The result is your eyes look bigger and clearer’.
But the obsession has been criticised by traditionalists who say it is robbing the nation of its identity.
‘How can you call yourself Japanese when you seem to be obsessed with making yourself look like something else?’, writes one.
Reika Kosaka, 23, who tried the tape, defended the trick, saying: ‘We wear make-up, put on fake eyelashes and fingernails, add hair extensions and wear bras that make our breasts look bigger, so why not a bit of alteration of the eyelid, especially if it’s only temporary for a night out on the town?’.