The Unsung Heroes series highlights some of my ALL-TIME favorite permanent collection products from all sorts of brands.
Dang, I had my heart set on being crabby about these Shiseido Facial Cotton pads, because girl, they’re $10, and you only get 165 of them, which is craziness to me because you could roll up to Target right now and get a massive pack of 300 up & up brand cotton pads for $5.
But ugh, these Shiseido ones are so good!
I didn’t expect to be bougie about cotton pads, but I’m there, man. The Shiseido ones are the softest, most velvety facial pads I’ve ever used, and once you’ve felt their caress (it was unmistakable when they touched my delicate water lines), other cotton pads will feel like rough metal scouring pads. NO JOKE. Even Q-tips.
OK, that was a joke…but you know hear I mean’. The Shiseido Facial Cotton pads feel SOFT. Q-tips used to feel like tabby tum fur to me before I got spoiled by these.
I mostly use them to remove eye makeup, but you can use them like any other cotton ball or cotton pad. They’ll apply toners or liquid essences after cleansing, remove face makeup, and they’ll soften the edges of your blush, eyeshadow or your bronzer perfectly well.
I guess you could also use them to remove nail polish, but I won’t be using them for that. My fingers and toes just wouldn’t appreciate how soft (or pricey) they are.
The pads aren’t just incredulously soft. They’re also amazingly absorbent, so a single pad goes pretty far. Most of the time when I use cheaper, thinner, less absorbent cotton pads, I need at least two to remove my eye makeup, and then another two to take off my face makeup and finish up, like by finding a clean corner on one of them to do some toning.
I can do all of that with one of these, and you could probably even cut them into halves or fourths to stretch them out even further.
LOVE THESE! You can find them at Shiseido counters and Sephora. Next time they have their VIB sale, I’m gonna load up and get a few packs.
Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,
Karen
Well, that was strange. I somehow lost my comment. I immediately thought the same thing about cutting them in half (at least, if not more). Then the price is a bit more reasonable and you get to keep the sweet softness. 🙂 I just use oil and fingers to remove my eye makeup but I never line my waterlines so it’s easy peasy.
PS I ordered the Cocofloss from Sephora yesterday. Needed some other things anyway. Well, maybe not “needed”. HAHA!
I hope all is well with you and poor Connor. Fingers crossed that it’s just the sniffles and she’ll be back to herself very soon. 🙂
I love these! And surprisingly they’re not even super expensive! We do have a nice dupe for these here in Canada from a local Shoppers Drug Mart brand called QUO, and I’ve used those when in a pinch and I don’t want to fork over the money for the Shiseido ones. But I will pay homage to the original and buy those when I can! ?
LOL somehow I skipped your first paragraph! I don’t find find them to be expensive for what they’re worth I guess. They’re $11 here, and while I can get a Walmart pack of 300 for like $5, for only approx $5 more you get these super soft and gentle pads that are so nice to the skin, and will still last me more than a few months. It doesn’t break the bank 🙂
Hi, Karen! MUJI cut cotton is nearly identical – made in Japan, available in bleached or unbleached, for less than half the price of the Shiseido.
I think I’ll give the 40 sheet pack of these a try. That one is $5. Secretly hoping I don’t fall in love with them too.
I’ve been using them for a little over a year, and they’re literally the best with Pixi Glow Tonic. I love the experience.
I just recently tried them for the first time about a year ago and have never looked back. The difference you feel is insane! I agree 100% with every thing you said above and I’ll continue buying them as well. I don’t use them for nail polish either. Mainly, just removing the eye makeup and applying toner.
Have to admit, I pay the price for those too! Just got my Cocofloss today. Life is so much better with little luxuries. Thanks for the great tips!
Have you tried the Utowa unbleached cotton pads? 🙂 Apparently, they are BETTER than the Shiseido ones (though don’t quote me on that. I have only ever tried the Shiseido ones which are a step above drugstore cotton pads).
I love these cotton pads, too. I reserve them for removing my eye makeup, they’re too expensive to use to remove nail polish. Usually, I stock up on them during the Sephora sale, then they’re not quite as expensive. And luckily, they don’t go bad like some serums when you stock up.
Best ever!
Even my husband steals them and he asks how much everything costs, like how much $ in face cream is on my finger tip or can I have more. This and my Thayers Rose Witch Hazel are my two staples.
I bought some cotton pads at the Face Shop and gave them to my children immediately the edges on all other cotton feel like sand paper now.
They’re also available at Ulta now. When I decide to cash out my points, you can bet there’ll be at least 5 packs of these.
I love Shiseido cottons. However, Daiso Stores have a duplicate of the Shiseido cottons and they are only a $1.50. They are very good!
I’ve been buying them for about a year too, and yeah, they’re really good! BUT I just went to Daiso and they had cotton pads that looked very similar for just $1.50. I bought a different kind that were $1.50 as well (pads that are kind of pressed on the edges, because I don’t like when the different layers come apart), but I’ll try the soft pads next time. They basically looked the same as the Shiseido.
I saw someone post about these a while back and gave them a try as well. Love them! The price tag, not so much. It’s been mentioned in previous comments, but the Muji cut cotton (there’s at least 3 types of pads that they carry, look out for this one in particular) and the Daiso ones are my favorites. Muji has about the same size surface area as the Shiseido, but not as soft. Daiso is the smallest of the 3, but it doesn’t shed at the edges. Plus you can’t beat 180 pieces for $1.50!
Karen, I love em, too. Cut them in half with a sharp scissor and half is still plenty big enough for me!
I buy a whole shelf when I’m at Diaso of cotton pads and cotton buds. Same thing and you can’t beat the price.
Mahalo Karen for doing a bit on these little honeys, I can’t live without them! I lurve them to da max!!! Seriously right now I’ve got two whole packages unopened in my bathroom closet, one unopened one in my makeup-backup drawer and two partial packs in my overnight bag for when I do my overnight pet-sitting (my awesome blossom business for going on 17 years now, thank you). I know I have a large make-up bag filled with extras that came from a few opened bags that ripped, but as of today it’s MIA….hmmm, wonder if Princess Fuzzbutt’s been hoarding them…?….Yeah, I discovered them many moons ago (more than four years…), and they’re the only ones I use. I bought a hella load of them last year because I had this irrational fear they would stop making them, or God forbid just stop shipping them to Hawaii (NOOOOO!!!!)
I love these also! I got mine at Ulta which is great as I avoid Sephora if I can. I’m super cheap I guess but I love the Shisedo eye makeup remover too it’s not too oily and melts my mascara. I squirt alittle in my cupped hand and Dip my fingers in rubbing it directly on my mascara then use the citton to rub off.
They don’t shred like the cheap ones. I also use the walmart variety on my nails.
Unsung hero for sure!