I'm Chinese and I have tried it once or twice myself. It doesn't look real to me, so I don't see the point now. But being a person that sometimes has one double eyelid and one single, it seemed like a good idea then. And even then, I would have never considered surgery.

I agree with Blushun here, it is no worse than bleaching creams, breast implants etc. Eyelid tape/glue is considered the equivalent of putting on any other bit of makeup, like mascara. And it comes off!

The Asian beauty ideal includes is being fair-skinned and having large, double-eyelided eyes. Just seeing the types of models that get work says a lot - Hong Kong prefers Eurasian models (like Maggie Q), Japan prefers caucasian. I think there is also a lot more pressure to conform.

Getting a bit side-tracked here but I have lived in Australia all my life. I wear the equivalent of a US size 6 and yet every time I go to Hong Kong, I feel fat. In fact, I often have difficulty buying skirts and pants because the I don't fit in the "one size fits all" size of the trendy youth market (ie the cheaper street wear).

So, I don't think eyelid tape is really a great invention, but I don't necessarily think it's all that bad either just like I don't think bleaching creams are necessarily bad. I just don't use either myself.

I do have dead-straight hair though and I have seriously considered a perm though. Especially after a trip to Japan. So yes you do want what you don't have.