10 Best Japanese Makeup Products & Their Reviews For 2021
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US, Korean, or Japanese makeup, what’s the difference?
What do people prefer nowadays?
Nonetheless, this diversity in people, cultures, flora, and fauna makes the Earth beautiful, exciting, and somewhat magical!
Ever thought about celebrating the planet’s diversity with makeup?
If you are a makeup artist, increase brand awareness, and add some wow factor to your workplace by celebrating makeup styles from different cultures around the world.
Additionally, if you are looking for fresh inspiration in your look, think culture.
Contents
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Last update on 2025-01-28 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API
10 Best Japanese Makeup Products Reviewed
Let’s start from the East by checking out the top 10 Japanese makeup products to bring out the coveted, smooth, young, and fun look that we see among them.
1. EXCEL Powder & Pencil Eyebrow PD05 Gray-Brown
When looking for a good eyebrow makeup pen, it would be wise to go for a multifunctional, has a slanted tip, a wide shade range, and a maximum of 1 Ounce.
The EXCEL Powder and Pencil eyebrows have eight different shades of color, among the broadest range.
This makes it suitable for all skin tones and hair colors; no one is left out!
The product contains a thin, oval pen point that is slightly slanted.
A thin point enhances your accuracy during application – thus giving you the ability to pull off complex brow shapes.
(such as the arched brows) – while the slanted, oval part of the pen enables you to adjust the strokes’ thickness.
EXCEL eyebrow pencil features a powder pad and brush that cloud the strokes, after the brows are shaped, to create a natural look.
It weighs only 0.014 Ounces to make it portable and light to work with.
Pros & Benefits:
- A 3 in 1 tool that saves on costs
- A wide range of colors accommodates all skin tones and hair colors
- Lightweight
Check Price and Reviews on Amazon
2.
One of the secrets to Japanese beauty is to draw attention to the eyes.
Neatly curled eyelashes show attention to detail, sophistication and are just plain cute!
The Shu Uemura Eyelash curler 1 is a renowned Japanese curler that has taken the world by storm.
Due to its widespread use, designers have taken into consideration the different shapes and sizes of the eye by making the curler slightly wider: it is among the few curlers from Japan.
Secondly, the Shu Uemura has a less-pronounced forward bend (as opposed to a straight-up 90-degree angle) that increases stability while curling your lashes.
This also enhances comfort, thus making it easy to use for first-timers.
The curlers contain a silicone, soft pad that prevents you from yanking out your lashes (which take time to grow back!) while curling them.
The soft pad also reduces the risk of tugging your eyelids and maximizes grip on a large number of lashes to generate a smooth, durable curl.
The Shu Uemura eyelash Curler 1 comes with a free refill of the soft pads (soft pads wear out as you use them, roughly 4 to 5 months, thus needing replacement).
As a bonus, when you buy it from Amazon.com, you will get another set of Shiseido Eyelash curler soft rubber pads (2 pads per set).
Pros & Benefits:
- Perfect eyelash curl with zero damage to the eyes
- The size of the curler accommodates a wide range of eye sizes and shapes
- The design allows for comfortable use, even by Newbies
- The curler comes with a refill set of silicone, soft pads, and another set of Shiseido rubber pads
3. CANMAKE Perfect Stylist Eyes
This is an acclaimed Japanese eyeshadow brand.
It comes in 7 color palettes, and each palette contains a base, two style coats, liner, and topping jewel.
This saves you money and a cluttered dresser full of brands that you can hardly remember how they got there, a small trick to declutter your wardrobe, wink!
A full combination of colors also allows you to get more creative, using the same product.
CANMAKE Perfect Stylist eyeshadow is a fine powder with a soft feel and completely lightweight.
Furthermore, the powder is highly pigmented; hence you only need to apply a layer, or two, to realize the desired effect.
It contains Squalane, a hydrogenated form of natural oil produced by olives, rice brans, and even human skin cells, moisturizing the skin.
Therefore don’t expect to see a cakey look on your eyelids with this product, but a cute, hydrated, natural-looking finish.
Pros & Benefits:
- Comes with a double-sided tip and brush
- Contains a hydrating agent (Squalane)
- Highly pigmented but achieves a natural look
- Eyeliner included in the product
Check Price and Reviews on Amazon
4. DUP Mascara Perfect Extension
This Mascara brand comes with an extended, straight brush with tightly packed bristles.
This means that the brush is compatible with all eye shapes and sizes and can incorporate all lashes in one spin.
What’s more, a long brush collects more formula in one dip, than a short one, hence reducing the time that a brush comes into contact with your eyelids.
A straight brush allows you to separate all lashes like a hair comb, achieving a fair amount of volume on your lashes.
The DUP Mascara solution is viscous, thus enhancing its ability to make and sustain a curl.
Additionally, the high viscosity makes it smudge-free and waterproof.
You can easily take it off with an oil-based make-up remover.
Pros & Benefits:
- A nifty brush
- Available in 4 different types
- Can maintain a curl for an entire day
- Smudge-free
Check Price and Reviews on Amazon
5. CANMAKE Cream Cheek Sweet Apricot
This is a soft, orange-yellow cream that is applied to the cheek, as a blush.
Yes, the cream does come in a variety of colors, 9 to be exact
If you want to go all out J-beauty, you can bring out the Igari (somewhat drunk but innocent) look.
Which is currently in vogue all over Japan – by applying the blush between the cheekbones and your nose bridge, the area just below your eyes.
The cream is soft to the touch, but it instantly dries when applied to the cheeks.
This ensures that it sets quickly and doesn’t smudge.
Due to a wide variety of colors, it is compatible with all types of foundations.
It is made up of oils (such as Squalane), which lock in moisture and occlusive agents that keep the blush on until it is washed off by lukewarm water.
Pros & Benefits:
- A variety of colors to suit a wide selection of skin tones
- Instant drying gel
- Moisturizing properties
- Blends well with all types of foundations
Check Price and Reviews on Amazon
6. Opera Lip Tint Oil Rouge Lipstick
IMJU Co. Ltd in Japan makes this one.
It comes in 8 different colors, showing that its designers had a broad audience in mind while coming up with the product.
Its colors are somewhat transparent to accentuate the natural color of your lips.
Albeit, it does add some gloss.
Opera Lip tint also contains Squalane, which – by now- you know it is an organic ingredient that locks in moisture.
This feature allows the lipstick to also function as a Lip Balm.
The lipstick comes with a light texture that almost melts into your lips to improve durability.
Finally, its light texture guarantees that it is doesn’t appear bulky but instead leaves a semi-matte finish.
Pros & Benefits:
- Light texture
- Fit for everyday use
- Dual functionality – lipstick and balm
Check Price and Reviews on Amazon
7. Koh Gen Do Aqua Foundation, Unscented
Koh Gen Do foundation is a liquid that turns powdery on application.
It comes in 10 different tones/colors, definitely one foundation that knows the significance of its work.
It contains oils that lock in moisture to keep your face hydrated.
A gloss film powder contains minerals that diffuse light, thus illuminating your face to bring out a natural, dewy finish.
Koh Gen Do foundation’s liquid-powder formulation allows for medium to full coverage.
As such, you only need to apply a thin layer to bring out a natural, even skin tone.
One of its ingredients is a humectant – Moist Drop Powder- which absorbs humidity into the skin to treat inner dryness.
Finally, you do not need to apply setting powder with this product because of the four types of powder it contains!
Pros & Benefits:
- Up to 10 different shades to accommodate skin tones from all over the world
- Contains organic moisturizers
- Brings out a natural, semi-matte look
Check Price and Reviews on Amazon
8.
Perhaps you’d like to skip all the makeup layers of a primer, foundation, concealer, and setting powder for something more direct that delivers almost similar results.
You can get this feature with KOSE’s 3 in 1 BB cream.
This cream offers full coverage of dark spots and evens your skin tone on a thin layer of an application.
It contains herbal plant extracts with crucial vitamins such as B3 (which brightens the skin and evens out the complexion), antioxidants, wrinkle prevention agents, and acne spots treatment.
Also offers high sunscreen protection, specifically SPF 40 PA+++
It comes in two shades, though, light beige and medium beige.
Finally, it does not contain mineral oils, thus making it suitable for people with oily skin.
Pros & Benefits:
- Provides full coverage
- High sunblock protection
- Contains antioxidants from organic sources
9. Kao SOFINA Primavista Long Keep Base
This is the single most decorated Japanese Primer brand in the country, including being declared a Hall of Famer by @Cosme (Japan’s elite beauty products ranking).
From its name, you will immediately realize that it is meant to be a long-wearing type of primer.
This means that it can stay on for a full-length day, hence providing an excellent hold on the foundation, concealer, bronzer, and other types of makeup that you may want to add.
It contains Sodium hyaluronate (Hyaluronic acid), which keeps the skin hydrated even when exposed to hot and dry conditions.
It contains some ethanol, which gives it a mattifying effect on oily skin.
This means that it reduces the shine caused by sweat and sebum and keeps your makeup waterproof and smudge-proof.
SOFINA Prima vista primer contains Chamomile flower extract, which eliminates acne scars and fades spots to lighten your skin with a matte finish.
Its texture is not sticky so that it can leave a smooth finish, and it contains SPF 20 PA++ sunscreen to protect you from the harmful UV rays of the sun.
Pros & Benefits:
- It can be used on oily and dry skin
- Smooth finish
- Skin lighten the effect
- Excellent, long hold on other makeup layers
Check Price and Reviews on Amazon
10. CANMAKE Color mixing concealer
Another one from CANMAKE!
It is a powder concealer whose color palette comes in three shades: light beige ( to be used by those with pale, bright complexions).
Natural beige (to be used on average to dark skins) and orange beige (to conceal purple spots caused by poor blood circulation).
As such, this is a product that can accommodate varied skin tones.
Each palette comes with three different shades so that you can create a perfect match for your skin tone.
The concealer comes with a double-sided brush.
One side is tapered so that you can go for the exact spot/blemish that you’d like to cover while the other side is a bit spread to help you blend the concealer into the rest of the makeup for a polished finish.
Compared to other concealers that come with a creamy stick, the brush is a more hygienic option since it does not create a breeding ground for skin bacteria and keeps the concealer free of contamination.
CANMAKE Color mixing concealer palette comes with a mixing pad for you to find the balance that blends into your skin tone.
Pros & Benefits:
- It comes in shades that cover light to dark skin tones
- Brush applicator to enhance blending, accuracy, and hygiene
- Free from tar-based pigments, preservatives, and UV absorbers
- Contains natural skin hydrating and smoothening compounds
Check Price and Reviews on Amazon
Final Thoughts
The Japanese makeup industry is diverse and advanced, favoring natural ingredients over inorganic minerals.
This, as seen above, enhances their products’ safety and adds value to your skin through antioxidants and anti-aging compounds.
Furthermore, you may have noticed that many of the products are designed to keep your skin hydrated and accentuate your natural looks.
Because that is who you are, and you should be encouraged to embrace it, not fake it!
Could this be their secret to the coveted, smooth, young look?
Leave a comment in the section below.