Japan Skincare & Beauty Haul

For as long as I can remember, Japan has been at the very top of my travel bucket list. I am fascinated by everything about Japan- the food, the culture, the scenery, the hustle and bustle, the fashion, and of course, the makeup and skincare. And so, when I finally got to visit Japan this past month, you best believe I spent a good chunk of time going into every makeup store and drugstore that I stumbled upon. It was truly a dream come true. I have to admit I was a little too responsible with my spending while I was there and didn’t buy every single piece of makeup and skincare that I would have liked to. The result? A very tame and carefully curated Japanese beauty haul that has made its way on to this blog post. Keep reading to see what products I picked up and a very brief review of each one! It’s crazy how clueless I become about makeup and skincare when I can only read a tiny bit of English on each package!

1. Muji Pressed Powder & Cheek Color

Muji was not a store I was unfamiliar with before my trip to Japan, but what I was unfamiliar with was their makeup line. The few Muji stores that we do have in Canada (correct me if I’m wrong) are significantly smaller and are lacking the makeup line that their OG Japanese counterparts have and I was instantly intrigued. I first picked up this Muji Pressed Powder in the shade 02 Pearl Natural thinking it was a gorgeous swirled highlighter. I was wrong. You would think the English text on the packaging that clearly stated it was a pressed powder would have alerted me that it was in fact not a highlighter, but it sadly did not. However, it was a blessing in disguise because this powder is actually really pretty. It’s a very sheer powder that, when all of the swirled colours are combined, creates a pearly translucent pink. It’s a perfect powder all over the face if you’re looking for a light shimmery glow or can be used as a very subtle highlighter on the high points of your face. I especially love that this powder contains SPF 33. I feel like powders containing SPF are extremely rare in Canada but the more sun protection, the better!

I didn’t stop there with my Muji makeup try-out. I also picked up the Cheek Colour in 01 Apricot. It’s a tiny little palette with three shades. The biggest of the three shades is a warm coral, followed by a pearly pink highlighter and a warm bronze shade. This palette slightly confuses me as a I feel like it is designed so you can have a blush colour, a highlighter shade, and a bronzer shade all in one convenient palette, however the whole thing is the size of my palm. I do not have the slightest clue as to how I would be able to use a brush and apply each shade individually. But, with that being said, I absolutely love swirling together all three shades to create the perfect shimmery warm-toned coral blush for my cheeks.

2. Uzu by Flowfushi Eye Opening Liner

Along with many other things in Japan, I wish I picked up every shade of this eyeliner. I am quite confident that this is the best liquid eyeliner ever and it is going to be a very sad day when I run out of it. This is the Uzu Eye Opening Liner in the Green Black shade from the 7 Shades of Black collection. It took me a full two weeks to decide which shade of this eyeliner I wanted to buy because every colour was gorgeous (just look at all the shade choices here!). Luckily, almost every cosmetics store in Japan carried this brand, so I had all the chances in the world to swatch them and make my decision. I landed on this gorgeous Green Black shade because it was dark enough to look like your typical black liquid liner but every so often, the emerald colour shines in the sun and helps toi compliment my green eyes. It’s not just the shade that makes this eyeliner so special. The formulation and tip of the eyeliner also play a huge part in that. It contains a waterproof Japan technology called WP Film that ensures the eyeliner will never smudge or run and lasts all day. And the eyeliner tip is actually a brush created by traditional craftsmen from the Kumano region of Japan, who hand blend custom-made fibers to achieve the best for firmness, flexibility and softness! It makes applying the eyeliner and achieving the perfect wing super effortless and easy.

3. Leemember OO!LONG Eyeshadow Palette

This eyeshadow palette was a tricky one to find. I first stumbled across a tester of it at one makeup store and it wasn’t until after I fell in love with it, that I noticed it was out of stock. It then took me almost until the last day of my trip to finally find a store that had it in stock. This Leemember OO!LONG palette in shade #02 Taro Milk Oolong Tea is the perfect eyeshadow palette. It contains six neutral, cool-toned shades. Five are mattes with a creamy beige, a mid-toned mauve, a dusty lavender, a deep taupe and a rich chocolate brown. Each of the mattes are incredibly creamy, pigmented and blend together effortlessly. I would have swatched each shade for you, but Winter in Edmonton hit my hands hard this season and there is no way any powder swatches are going to sit nicely on my skin! Anyways, to spice up the palette just a little bit, a gorgeous silver and taupe glitter shade is also included. This is quite possibly the perfect eyeshadow topper. I tap just a little bit of this shade right onto the middle of my lid and bam! The eyeshadow look is immediately transformed. I love it.

4. VT Cica Mask & Cica Night Lip Mask

I’m honestly shocked I didn’t pick up more skincare while I was in Japan. I was definitely tempted, but I guess my willpower and self control was stronger than usual while I was on the other side of the world. I surprisingly only ended up buying two little skincare items. I am currently making a mental note to myself to go a bit crazy when I’m there next time and just treat myself more. But, nonetheless, I picked up both this Cica mask and Cica Night Lip Mask from VT Cosmetics- two items which I am very excited about. I haven’t actually tried the mask yet as I am saving it for a moment when I am really missing Japan, but it is a lightweight sheet mask that contains Centella Asiatica Extract that provides deep moisturization and repairing, as well as quenches the thirst of dehydrated skin types. I love a good sheet mask and this one seemed to be extremely popular in Japan. From the same brand, I also picked up the Cica Night Lip Mask. I am obsessed with lip balms and lip masks so I couldn’t resist trying out this one. It contains an ingredient called Cicaliao to soothe lips while keeping them nourished and moisturized. It’s thick gel texture is similar to a Laneige lip mask but I find it stays even better on the lips while I sleep instead of just absorbing in and disappearing. And there’s no sticky residue left behind! I’m a big, big fan.

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Well, there you have it! Those are all of the skincare and beauty products that I bought while I was in Japan. You are probably feeling the same sense of sadness that I am right now considering we aren’t in Japan (unless you are in Japan, which in that case, you probably shouldn’t be reading this blog post because I’m certainly no expert of Asian beauty products). I am already counting down the days and looking forward to the point in time when I can be back in Japan. Hopefully it’s only a matter of time.