i have visited japan several times and each time i got overwhelmed by the products offer there, and even though the internet has given me several information, but still, it's not enough. so i decided to put up a guide of my own about products that i've seen as bestselling and i've tried, along with my recommendation. usually i head to drugstore to get my beauty products because i believe you don't have to spend a ton of money to get good result. i believe there's hidden gem among drugstore products. i've put up skincare edition separated in part 1 (
here) and part 2(
here). so today i will talk about makeup.
as i've mentioned before, all of these products are drugstore. but if you're curious about high end japan brands, i will mention several brands that's worth checking up.
- shu uemura: their foundation is one of the best selling products as well as their eyebrow product, but i think the eyebrow pencil comes in regular pencil that needs sharpening, so if that's not your preference, there's plenty of other eyebrow pencil over there. they also have best selling lipstick. oh and not forgetting their famous eyelash curler. but for the curler, you can get them in several drugstore.
- addiction: if you're interested, you can read about some of their products in @kaepratiwi's blog (which you can head on
here). but some of their best selling products are their liquid blush. it's quite unique as it's packaged to look like nail polish (along with the brush to apply it), so you have to be careful. they also have best selling lipstick as well.
- three: they have makeup and skincare products as well, but i can't say anything about it. they make their products plant based and it's paraben free, no animal testing and no artificial coloring and fragrance. i'd suggest you head on to kaepratiwi's blog as she has tried several of their products, but i can't remember her suggesting anything from this brand.
- lunasol kanebo: another long standing high end brand. i've seen their foundation and eyeshadow palette being advertised in a magazine, but there's something about japanese eyeshadow powder formula that i don't like, so perhaps you should try it first before buying it. most of them are shimmery and not pigmented compared to western brand, so put that in mind when you try them.
- shiseido: another famous brand from japan that has skincare, makeup even hair care range in their lines. some of the best selling products are their base products, the blush whipped and several lipstick. and the shu's competitor which is the eyelash curler. just like shu's, the curler can be found in several drugstore.
- laduree: yes.. it's just like the macaron store's name. you can see from the packaging that it's very cute and collectible. most of the color scheme is super dreamy, cotton candy like. personally, i don't like the color scheme, but if you like cute and dreamy packaging, then you should check it out.
i think that's all that i can remember for now, so now let's head on to the drugstore brands. for this post, i think i'll try to talk about each brand instead of talking in certain order.
cezanne (website)
this is one of the cheapest drugstore brands in japan. you can easily find this brand everywhere. but there are several best selling products from this brand. they also have some skincare products that i've already discussed in other post. they have all products from face products, eyes, lips and even nail, but only some that stand out.
-makeup base (the one in pink tube): it works as pore blurring base and make your makeup last longer as it will keep sebum at bay. it's tinted pink beige color that will brighten your skin and has added SPF 28PA++. it's also fragrance free. personally, i don't use makeup base daily, so i never use this. but if you're interested how this products compared to other base from mid-range brand, you can watch it in tina tanaka haris's youtube channel.
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| makeup base |
- powder foundation: they do have liquid foundation, but the one that i saw as bestselling is their powder foundation. let me tell you that they sell the powder foundation and the case separately. so put that in mind. they have 3 types of powder foundation, the EX premium, EX plus and uv foundation II. once again, i never tried them mainly because the shade range is super terrible, even the lightest shade is still darker to me, so if you have medium skintone, you might have better luck there.
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| powder foundation |
- powder: they have loose and compact powder, but people in japan seems to prefer compact powder more. so i decided to grab the uv silk face powder as it seems to be the competitor of famous canmake marshmallow powder. it has added SPF 48 PA +++ and there are only 2 shades. i pick the light one and even that is still dark to me, so i use it sparingly before giving it to my sister that has darker skin than me. you can read my review
here.
- blush on: their natural cheek N blush range is something worth trying. it's a powder blush that comes in clear plastic compact with cheap brush. it has pearl finish and matte finish. i have tried the pearl finish, both in shade 01 and 05. read my review
here. they do have other blushes, as well as highlight and contouring, but since this is japanese brand, i don't think the contouring and highlighting will be the same as western brand, so i decided to skip all of those. it's also not popular there, so i don't think it's worth trying.
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| natural cheek N blush |
- eye products: i think their eyebrow pencils are decent as well as their eyeliners, but there are other eyebrow and eyeliners from other brands that's better. as for their eye shadow, or perhaps all japanese eyeshadow, most of them are shimmery or glittery and not pigmented enough. so if you've been used to western eyeshadows, then you should skip eyeshadows unless you like the swatches or try it yourself before buying it.
canmake (website)
just like cezanne, canmake is really cheap and easily found almost at all drugstores. they have some good items as well.
- makeup base: they have good sunscreen (mermaid skin gel uv) and two marshmallow finish base. the O is for oil block and the M version is for moisture/dry skin. the finish base has added SPF 28.
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| mermaid skin gel uv |
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| the oil block base |
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| the moisture base |
- their best selling item is this marshmallow finish powder. it's a compact powder that has high coverage, pore blurring effect and also hold your sebum. it comes in 4 shades (mine is the matte ochre) and you can buy the refill. although it has added oil in its ingredients, i think if you have dry skin, this will feel too dry for your skin. read my review
here.
- blush on: they do have powder blush, but they're famous for their cream cheek. and the cream cheek fame make them to release cream cheek tint but somehow the cream cheek is still the winner. i've tried cream cheek in 05 and it's hard to get the whole shade range as it's super best selling. anyway, they do offer lots of shade range and the packaging is nice plus it's super cheap, so highly recommending this one. read my thoughts
here.
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| cream cheek |
- lip products: another famous items are their lip products. they have lip tint syrup (more like gloss without its stickiness), stay on balm rouge (more like tinted lip balm), and your lip only gloss (color changing gloss). i personally haven't tried them all because i have plenty lip products in my collection, but i will get the stay balm rouge in my next trip. if you're curious about them, you can see the canmake products being featured in matilda's youtube videos.
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| stay on balm rouge |
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| lip tint syrup |
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| your only lip gloss |
ettusais (website)
looking at the design, ettusais is more youthful, like it's targeted teenage girls or young adult. but i've seen some recommended products from them. they also have some skincare products, the one that i notice is their vit c serum, but i never tried it.
- make up base: they have this cute base that looks like nail polish, even it has brush to apply the product. it comes in pore cover base, oil block base and even the oil block base cool. if you're wondering why the bottle looks so small, it's because it is small. it only comes in 7,5 g. it also has award winning uv block base which comes in SPF 50+ PA++++. again, personally i never try any of them but probably i will get the sunscreen soon.
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| oi block base |
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| oil block base cool |
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| pore block base |
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| sunscreen |
- mascara : another award winning product from ettusais. it has win cosme award in 2017. this mascara only comes in black and it's supposed to add volume and length. it also contains fiber.
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| the mascara |
coffret d'or (website)
this brand is under kanebo cosmetic. it has similar elegant design as kanebo products, which make these products looks a bit luxurious than its fellow drugstore products. hence, the higher price point. it's still considered drugstore since you can find it in several drugstore, but the price is more like mid-range. personally, i never try any of their products just because i decided to try several canmake and cezanne products first.
- lip products: their skin synchro rouge lipstick won 3rd place in 2019 cosme award and their contour lip duo won first place in 2019 cosme award. the lipstick comes in 10 shades that's categorized as blue based or yellow based color. it's a moisturizing lipstick that will make your lips plumper. while the contour lip duo has two sided, one is the pencil liner and the other is gloss. it comes in 6 colors.
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| skin synchro rouge lipstick |
-blush on: their smile up cheek N also won no.1 award, it's a powder blush that comes in two color that will make your cheeks appear naturally flushed. there are 4 shades to choose from.
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| smile up cheek N |
sofina (website)
this is another mid-range price brand, but this one doesn't seem to have full range of makeup. mostly it has face makeup, from base, foundation, concealer and powder. they also have other range which is sofina dea (which is targeted older market) and aube (this one has blush and eyeshadow palette). they also have several lines of skincare and i think they did okay with their skincare line, but i never try it.
- base makeup: their long keep base uv has won cosme award in 2013. it's intended to keep sebum at bay and makeup hold longer. it has added SPF 20 PA++. they also have other base that's meant for dry skin, but it seems not as popular as the long keep base.
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| the base makeup |
- powder foundation: although they have liquid foundation and creamy foundation, it seems that japanese like powder foundation more. their powder foundation comes in 7 shades and it's meant to be pore blurring and hold makeup in a long time.
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| powder foundation |
- concealer: although it's not their best selling, but it's the first brand that i found make concealer for under eye and the other one separately for spot covering. however, the under eye concealer only has one shade and the spot cover concealer only comes in two shades. again, asian brands are not the best when it comes to shade option.
kate (website)
this is another band that's famous for its face makeup. especially their foundation.
- liquid foundation: they have two liquid foundation and i think the powdery skinmaker is more famous than the secret skinmaker zero. the powdery skinmaker is supposed a liquid foundation that gives powdery finish. though both foundations have 6 shades, but both still not enough. it only runs to medium skin tone. still nothing for deeper skin tone.
- powder foundation: they also make a powder foundation with the same "base zero" concept. it also has 6 shades.
another product that i've seen people buying from kate is their eyeliner. they have both liquid and pencil eyeliner, but i'm not quite sure which type is the best one.
maquillage (website)
maquillage is another brand from shiseido company. when i was there, their foundation and lip products are among best selling from maquillage. but this one is also another mid range, so i never try them. but their packaging is really pretty, looks like high end brand.
- powder foundation: again, apparently japanese do love powder foundation. the dramatic powdery uv wins 3 cosme award 3 years in a row, so it must be something. but again, they sell the powder foundation separately from the case, so it's so much expensive to get the whole package. it has 7 shades but there's nothing for deeper skin tone. this one also has added SPF.
- base makeup: dramatic skin sensor base EX - this is a newly-launched product and it's already got cosme award for half year of 2019. it's anti-shine base and has added SPF. they say it will hold your makeup for 12 hours. luckily they sell travel size of this base so you can try it first.
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| dramatic skin sensor base EX |
- bb cream: perfect multi base bb promises 10 hours of good makeup, with pore blurring effect. no more uneven skin tone. unfortunately, it only comes in 2 shades, so good luck with that. though they say that it's a changing skin tone, i doubt it.
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| perfect multi base bb |
- lipstick: dramatic rouge EX launched in late 2018 and it's already win an award from cosme. in june 2019 they add more shade. it's supposed to give full pigmentation in just two swipes, 6 hours finish. it has added argan oil and 4 other oils. for now it has total 10 shades.
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| dramatic rouge EX |
dolly wink (website)
this is the brand that has the model tsubasa as its face. their main selling items are eyes products, false lashes and eyeliners and mascara. all of their products are quite affordable.
- false lashes: they have many type of false lashes, with clear base and black base. many types too. from natural looking to those doll-looking lashes.
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| false lashes |
- eyeliner: they have pencil and liquid liners. their liquid liners have brush tip. all their liners come in black and brown. i've tried their brown liquid eyeliner (read about it
here) and it lasts really long. so if you're looking for affordable and long lasting eyeliner, you should try and buy some japanese liners.
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| liquid liner |
- mascara: they have 3 types, for length, volume and for both and i never try any of them just because there are so many mascaras in japan.
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| mascara |
k-palette
this is another brand that's famous for its eyeliners and eyebrows, but lately they add blush and lip products into their products line.
- eyeliners : i've tried their so called "1 day tattoo" eyeliners, it has brush tip and it's supposed to be waterproof and smudgeproof, but honestly i think dolly wink and dejavu eyeliners are more budge-proof. but it's so popular out there, so perhaps you should try it yourself. they also have pencil eyeliner.
- eyebrow: they have 3 ways eyebrow (pencil, powder and spoolie), 2 ways eyebrow (liquid and powder, no spoolie), and just eyebrow pen (liquid only). they also have eyebrow mascara. i've tried their 3 in 1 and 2 in 1, and i like the 3 in 1 one better as it has spoolie. i wish the 2 in 1 could be liquid and spoolie, then it would be better. read my thoughts about all k-palette products that i've tried
here.
- cheek tint: when i were there last time, they have these cheek tint that's supposed to give long lasting color to cheek. it has 3 shades. i personally haven't tried it yet.
- lip tint: there are two types of the tint, the liquid one (the one with doe foot applicator) and stick type, just like lipstick.
isehan heroine kiss me (website)
i bet when you read the brand name you immediately think about their mascara and eyeliner. and i bet you didn't know that they have some face product as well. i have to tell you that if you bought the mascara, make sure you also bought the mascara remover because it will save your eyelashes. trust me.
- mascara: basically there are two types of their mascara, the long and curl type and the volume and curl type. i've tried the long and curl (read it
here) and i have mixed feeling about it. i think they reformulate or upgrade it and call it "advanced film mascara". the older version has added fiber in it, so if you don't like added fiber-type mascara, you can skip it. make sure to check the bottom right picture to see the brush type.
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| the long and curl mascara |
- eyeliner: they also have gel eyeliner and liquid eyeliner and many swear by it, but i haven't tried it yet. the eyeliner is also supposed to be smudgeproof and waterproof.
- remover: i've tried their remover and i always stock up when i can get one. it helps me removing any makeup easily. and it comes in a tube so it's super travel friendly. read my thoughts
here.
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| the mascara remover |
dejavu (website)
dejavu comes up as a new brand that focus solely on mascaras when it's first launch. and they do have lots of different type of mascaras. later they add eyeliners and eyebrow products to their product line.
- mascara: i bought three of them, and i've tried the lash knockout (read it
here) and i loveeee it. it's not super volumizing but it's good at separating lashes while also lengthening. and it's easier to remove compared to kiss me heroine one. the fiberwig is a lengthening mascara that's supposed to give false lash effect. the other one that i didn't get is the keep style one. this is supposed to lift and curl your lashes. you can see the type of the mascara written in english. and they make them different colors too. the only one that has the same pink color is the fiberwig and tiny sniper. but tiny sniper is more like liquid eyeliner bottle.
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| lash knockout mascara |
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| fiberwig and tiny sniper |
- eyeliner: they have both pencil and liquid eyeliner. the lasting fine pencil eyeliner has 3 shades and has 1 mm tip. while the creamy eyeliner has 4 shades and has 0,65 mm tip. the liquid eyeliner has two shades and brush tip while the other liquid liner has felt tip and only come in one shade. the only way to differentiate which one is black or brown is by the label on the packaging. nothing on the eyeliner itself so if you bought two shades from the same line, it might confuse you. i've tried the black liquid eyeliner with the brush tip (read it
here) and i love it better than the kiss me heroine one.
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| the liquid eyeliner with brush tip |
excel (website)
another brand that i almost forget to mention is excel. silly me because i bought their eyebrow product and now i'm almost forgetting it. excel has various range of products, from face makeup, eyes, cheeks, lips and even nail products. but i only heard about their eyebrow products and eyeshadow. i know... i've said that japanese eyeshadow lacks pigmentation but this one got cosme awards, so probably if you want to try japanese eyeshadows, you might want to start from here.
- face makeup: i never heard about their face products, but their newly launched skin tint serum foundation has already won award from cosme. it's a serum-infused foundation that can also be used as base makeup or foundation. unfortunately, all 4 shades are nowhere near more than medium skin tone. their silent cover concealer is a three pans concealer palette that won 3rd place in cosme 2018 award. again, they only have one shade, so it might not cater all skin tone.
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| skin tint serum |
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| silent cover concealer |
- eye makeup: they have two eyeshadows palette that both win cosme award. the real close shadow is newer launch. while the skinny rich is quite a while. both are 4 pans palette. but the color scheme is quite different. skinny rich cater muted color, colors that you can wear daily... browns, beige, pink. but real close shadow is more colorful. bit reds, mauve, and greens. oh and not forgetting their eyebrow pencil. it's a 3 in 1 thing, pencil, powder and spoolie. read about it
here.
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| real close shadow |
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| skinny rich shadow |
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| eyebrow pencil |
- lip product: they have lipstick and lip gloss but the one that won an award is their lip care oil. for me it looks like ysl lip oil.
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| lip oil |
mote flowfushi/ uzu by flowfushi (website)
this brand doesn't have lots of products line. in fact, it's first called mote by flowfushi and offers liquid eyeliner. it's very popular. but suddenly the end of last year, they change the name to uzu by flowfushi. and they only release eyeliners so far. the previous packaging is easily recognized by foil-like pouch with big M at front. it's has different color for different eyeliner color. and it has shades like burgundy which is unusual for japanese eyeliner. it has brush tip. although it's slightly more expensive than usual eyeliner, but it's highly recommended. i haven't tried it myself, but @kaepratiwi that i've mentioned, used it and liked it, so it must be good.
and i think that's it from me. i bet there are still other makeup products out there. it's japan.. they have so much to offer. if you're visiting japan, make sure you bring empty suitcase and lots of money. make sure you check every store because not every store has the same inventory. i will visit japan the end of september, so i will try to update if i found anything interesting. and if you have suggestion, please let me know so i can check it out.
- base makeup: dramatic skin sensor base EX - this is a newly-launched product and it's already got cosme award for half year of 2019. it's anti-shine base and has added SPF. they say it will hold your makeup for 12 hours. luckily they sell travel size of this base so you can try it first.
