The heart of man plans his way, but the Lord establishes his steps
Other than the numerous facial care and makeup products, there are many other hair and body products to buy in Japan’s Drugstores. With so many choices, it’s useful to research the popular items people are getting. It will help you to refine your to-buy list. …
There’s a vast collection of beauty products, including makeup products, in Japan’s drugstores. With so many choices, and me being a noob, I needed to research and find the gems that everyone’s grabbing. I also armed myself with local prices to compare when in Japan, just …
Updated on 15 July 2018
There’s a vast collection of beauty products in Japan’s Drugstores, be it for body, hair or face. With so many choices, and me being a noob to Japanese beauty products, I needed to research and find the gems that everyone’s grabbing. I also armed myself with local prices to compare when in Japan, just in case it’s cheaper locally. You never know!
Read on to get an idea of what you can get at the drugstores in Japan. Also, find out if the beauty products I’ve bought are really good and as raved about. Before you read on, you might want to know that www.cosme.net is Japan’s largest and highly influential beauty community site. The website has many reviews and holds a grand ranking annually. And if beauty products are ranked #1 on Cosme, the products will usually state it on their packaging to show how recommended they are.
*Prices stated in this post are the prices (including tax) at the time I bought from the respective drugstore in Japan. The prices might have changed since then, or vary from drugstore to drugstore.
Related Posts:
We didn’t bring a facial cleanser when we were travelling around Japan, and hence bought Biore Facial Foam (¥398, S$5) to use. Hubby and I LOVE IT. It smells good and cleanses well. And it’s suitable during the winter when we were there, and in the humidity of Singapore. But to my chagrin, it contains parabens. :( If you are still interested, they have four tubes for different types of skin:
I also bought the highly recommended Kanebo’s Suisai Beauty Clear Powder (32 pack) for ¥1556 (S$19.50). The cleansing powder (with paraben) is individually packed in a hexagon capsule that’s easy to pack for travel. My hubby and I used one capsule each, gave a few capsules away and sold the rest. We didn’t like it. We find the powder too drying for our face (it felt almost like detergent powder). Probably it’s more suitable for those with oily skin, but for our combination skin, our faces became too taut after the wash.
I haven’t used SANA Namerakahonpo Moist Cleansing Wash (most right in the above picture). FYI, it’s a huge tube for ¥595 (S$7.50). Hope I’ll like this paraben-free cleanser!
I want to introduce you to another cleanser, but you can’t buy it in the drugstore but only at Japan’s 7-Eleven. I wanted to mention this here for your benefit. :) It’s the Sekkisui White Washing Cream by Kose. This product is different from the one you usually see at cosmetic counters, in advertisements and Singapore retail outlets. Those are from Kose as well, but they belong to the Sekkisei product range. Since I am unwilling to spend so much on Sekkisei products, I jumped at it when I saw Kose has a more affordable range, Sekkisui. I bought this 80g tube for ¥500 (S$6.30). Haven’t used it yet. For more information on Sekkisei products: www.sekkisui.com/eng
I didn’t buy Senka Perfect Whip Facial Cleansing Foam during my Japan trip, but during my Taiwan babymoon trip after that. Watsons was running a super good promotion for it. It is paraben-free, and so I bought, tried and loved it! I even bought another version of it (Senka Speedy Perfect Whip Mousse Cleanser (Airy Touch)) in my subsequent Japan trip! This product is actually produced by Shiseido for the budget-conscious.
Natural Aqua Gel Cure is a skin exfoliation product that’s said to sell a bottle every 12 seconds in Japan. This oil and paraben-free product is suitable for the face and body. This is one of my most expensive buys in Japan’s drugstores. I bought it for ¥2,500 (S$31.38) and it’s about S$40 on Qoo10. But once in a while, Qoo10 has a timesale and you can get it at about S$30.
So is this worth buying?
I don’t have the habit of exfoliating my face. I occasionally use Olay Professional Pro-X with its facial cleansing brush. It was a gift, so I tried it, but the whole cleaning process was a bit troublesome for me. But Natural Aqua Gel Cure was easy–wash and dry my face, and then apply the gel.
However, when I first applied it, I thought I was cheated by the raving reviews. The gel turned into liquid, and I felt like I was merely rubbing my face with water! Hmm, did I not pump enough or what? But I remember a blogger saying to press on and keep massaging in a circular motion. And soon, within 30 secs to 1 min, the liquid turned into white flakes, or are these flakes my dead skin? Anyhow, we just need to rinse off and moisturise the skin after that.
A while after I rinsed off, this was when I felt this product was a MUST BUY. My face feels so smooth, and I couldn’t resist caressing it! Hur hur. Best of all, the exfoliating process was so gentle on the skin that I felt the product was not doing its work, but it did!
Shuada Shizuku Pack Gel is another one of my expensive buys in Japan’s drugstores, at ¥1,900 (S$23.90). Highly rated on Cosme, this is a moisturising mask gel that turns to water when you apply it to your face. This is claimed to be an all-in-one product: toner, moisturiser, essence, treatment, and mask. After cleansing your face, slather the light gel on before bed or on long-haul flights. To be used once or twice a week.
I bought this to see if it could be a replacement for my Laneige water sleeping mask. But no, I still prefer Laneige’s gel texture on my face and its fragrance.
p.s. It comes in a teardrop plastic packaging, which I have removed before taking the photo.
Nivea Creme is a product I’m familiar with since childhood. I’ve seen it around. My impression of it was that it’s an affordable and common brand. But alas! It was actually recommended online to buy in Japan’s drugstores. A quick Google and I discovered that Nivea Creme is actually similar to a product of La Mer, a high-end brand.
Needless to say, I bought it! But hubby and I didn’t like the texture. The cream feels sticky and thick. And then our faces felt thick and heavy after application. Think I’d better stick with gel/liquid moisturiser. But if you want to try, you can easily buy it in Singapore at S$5.50 in Watsons. It’s even cheaper to buy in Singapore because I got mine in Japan for ¥498 (S$6.25).
More on moisturisers in my next post: lip balms and horse oil products.
My mother requested SK-II facial treatment essence, and I got it at a promotional price of ¥15,400 (S$193) in a Japanese drugstore. I actually saw a cheaper bottle at Don Quijote, but the shop’s section carrying SK-II products looks very messy, dusty and dingy. So, not sure how long they kept their stocks. So in the end, I got this set that’s in a Sakura edition box to match the upcoming spring season. At least I know the stock is new. In this promotional set, there’s a complimentary jar of product and a stack of cotton pads. I didn’t get one for myself because I used it once and had a breakout.
Clear Turn’s Vitamin C Essence Mask (KOSE Cosmeport) is a whitening quasi-drug in Japan. This pack of 3-layered Japanese sheets comes in a box. The opening is only sealed by a flimsy sticker cover, so after a while, it doesn’t stick well. But it didn’t matter much to me because I put the whole box in the fridge to prevent them from drying out, and also for the mask sheet to be cold when I use it.
It is fragrance-free, colourant-free, mineral oil-free, and alcohol-free. However, it’s with parabens. So even though the result of the mask is not bad, it’s not good enough for me to want to buy it again and put parabens on my face.
The blue box I got for ¥795 (S$10) is their whitening care. They have other colours for respective purposes: for brightening (purple), moisturising the skin (yellow), re-plumping skin care (pink), vitalising care (orange), and whitening and anti-ageing skin care (grey). For more information, https://kosecosmeport.co.jp/clearturn/en/
Photo Credit: beauty.triplerin.com/review-lululun-sheet-mask-pink
LuLuLun is very popular in Japan and one of the best sellers for facial masks. It has 3 types of regular masks, differentiated by the colour of their packaging: balance moisture (pink), high moisture (blue/purple), and brightening (white). LuLuLun also has an anti-ageing range, the Precious series, marketed to those aged above 40. There’s the word ‘Precious’ and a patterned design on the packaging.
I wanted to use facial mask sheets while travelling in Japan’s dry winter, and so bought the high moisture mask (blue/purple) to try. To play safe, I got their 7-day pack with 7 sheets to be used in consecutive days. The 7 sheets come bundled in a ziplock bag. It’s more environmentally friendly than if individually packed, but I have to make sure I zip the bag completely and tightly to avoid spillage or premature drying. Troublesome for the lazy me. Moreover, I didn’t like the product. My face didn’t feel especially moisturised. The horse oil did a better job.
But I thought maybe my face was just overly dried in the winter weather, so I gave it a second chance and bought the Balance Moisture, the pink big box of 31 sheets, to use in Singapore. The packaging was worse than Clear True (above), because other than the opening seal, the whole box is flimsy. I, too, had to put this in the fridge to prevent it from drying out. The cover just doesn’t stick well after numerous times of opening and closing. As for the product, I felt there was not enough essence on the sheet mask to make my combination face feel moisturised. Taiwan’s “My Beauty Diary” masks fare better than this.
A last note about LuLuLun. Other than having parabens as its ingredient, the sheet size was so small that it could only fit my face and not my hubby’s.
What other beauty products in Japan’s Drugstore would you recommend? :) Let me know in the comment box below. For more tips for your Japan trip, bookmark this page: Overview Itinerary – Hokkaido and Tokyo (Winter/Spring 2016).
Looking for more tips on travel, home, and baby? Subscribe to my mailing list and follow me on Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube! If you like what you read here, keep it going with small support. :)
Disclaimer: JoogoStyle and Christina accept no liability (whether in tort or contract or otherwise) for any loss or damage arising from any use, misuse, inaccuracy or omission of the information or other contents published on this website.
You can find many types of over-the-counter (“OTC”) medicines in Japan’s drugstores. I’m surprised by the variety, and quite a few of them have highly raved reviews online. However, with everything written in Japanese, you wouldn’t know what medicine to buy unless you did prior …
You should never skip a visit to the drugstores in Japan. It’s where you can find a vast collection of Japanese beauty products at a “bargain”– your cosmetics, facial care, body care, etc. Not only that, you can also find effective over-the-counter (“OTC”) medicine, household products, …
On our way back to Shinjuku from Doraemon Museum, we passed by Shimokitazawa, commonly known as Shimokita. It’s only a few stops away from Shinjuku station. Located at the western part of Tokyo, Shimokita is a small hipster town that’s popular among the young crowd. It’s comparably smaller and lesser known than Shibuya. Nonetheless, it’s an attractive place with its laid back and indie atmosphere. Relatively cheaper too!
Is Shimokita recommended? I read online that it’s generally good for people who have an afternoon to spare and are not visiting Tokyo for the first time. But we went ahead even though we only had 1-2 hours for this town and were first timers. Why not popped by since we were passing through the area?
Stepping out of the train station, we were a bit confused. Were we at Shimokita already? There wasn’t a definite signboard welcoming us nor a specific direction we should head towards.
Without a clue of where we were going, we walked through narrow pedestrian alleys meandering around the neighbourhood. After a while, we started to feel the weekend buzz. Instead of tall buildings towering over us, the architecture is generally shorter and certain shops designed with distinct character. This area has similarities to Cat Street, although the latter has a more atas (expensive) feel.
It turns out that the train station divides Shimokita into north and south parts. The north is edgy and sophisticated, while the south is lively and crowded. You can walk from the northern part of Shimokita and stroll down into the busier south. Exit from the station’s north exit and turn right into Ekimaedori. Walk on and explore~ :)
To the north, you can find graffiti art on shutters, improvised garages for shopping and coffee houses with art exhibitions. To the south, you can catch a variety of performances and also find live music venues, restaurants, bars, tattoo shops and arcades.
If you love Japanese fashion but the price tag has been putting you off, you’ll find a gem in Shimokita. It has many second hand clothes shops around that you wouldn’t need to dig hard to find your favourite piece. Moreover, if you are a fan of the vinyl, you can find quite a few secondhand record shops here, such as Flash Disc Ranch, and Disc Union Shimokitazawa (more about them in tokyocheapo.com). Otherwise, stumble upon shops offering vintage items such as animation-themed toys.
We encountered this flea market and enjoy its buzz during our Sunday there. A few vendors were selling second hand clothing cheaper than the shops, but the offering is also less fashionable.
After shopping, relax in one of the cozy cafés to rest, read a book or people watch. You can try Frankie Melbourne Espresso, Bear Pond Espresso or Kate Coffee.
Kate Coffee is a restaurant café serving up breakfast and quality coffee, a library with its shelves of books for the bookworms, and a music/art/décor shop with its collection of albums and prints. This kind of combination shops is common in Shimokita, whereby ingenious owners express their eclectic preferences through their shops of mixed genres.
There are many other affordable snacks and small eateries around the area. Or have an Izakaya experience at Shirube and don’t leave without tasting the mackrel (saba fish) roasted at your table. You can also find many bars and live houses too, such as Hishimo which serves beer and international tapas.
If shopping and eating are too mainstream for you, head to one of their relatively cheap karaoke places and sing your hearts out. Or head to the Marche Building to check out Village Vanguard, a bookstore stocked not only with heaps of books but also filled to the brim with quirky stuff such as weird sunglasses, wigs, lava lamps and character T-shirts.
As mentioned, there are many arcades, gaming centers and shops filled with claw cranes machines in the southern part of Shimokita. Other stuff you can do is to have cartoon caricature drawn. As you exit the train station’s north exit and turn right into Ekimaedori, turn right again at the end of the road into Sakurazaka alley, you’ll find the cartoon caricature shop.
In addition, Shimokita has a wonderful underground music and arts scene, so it’s no surprise to catch street performances and amateur troupes’ performances in small theaters such as the Honda Gekijō and Suzunari.
Shimokita has many festivals throughout the year. Firstly, around the end of January or beginning of February, there’s the Tengu-matsuri Festival. You’ll witness a parade of people dressed as the mythical Tengu with its long nose and red face.
Then it will be the Shimokitazawa Theater Festival, a month-long event held every February. Various plays will be performed at eight small theaters. Come every July, Shimokitazawa Music Festival allows you to enjoy live music in live houses and alleys throughout the town. And in early September, there will be the Mikoshi-matsuri Festival (portable shrine festival).
With so many things happening in Shimokita, you’ll not feel bored! Too bad we didn’t have the whole afternoon to stroll through the streets and explore the shops in details. >.<
Do you have other recommendations of what to buy and eat in Shimokitazawa? Tell us below or on our Facebook Page or Instagram. Moreover, bookmark this page > Overview Itinerary: Hokkaido and Tokyo (Winter/Spring 2016).
After all the shopping and eating in Shinjuku (“What to Do at Shinjuku Tokyo, Japan?“,“What to Eat in Shinjuku Tokyo? (Part 1)” and “(Part 2)“), I needed to find some respite in the nature. So glad there’s a huge garden, Shinjuku Gyoen National Garden, walkable from …
Other than Ginza, Shibuya and Harajuku (Nature or Shopping), Shinjuku is the other famous district of Tokyo. So, what to do at Shinjuku? Tonnes! Firstly, we stayed in Shinjuku We were contemplating where to base ourselves in Tokyo — Shibuya or Shinjuku? Many advice pointed us to stay in Shinjuku because …