During my time in Japan, I have dabbled in its beauty care culture. I found how common it is for men in Japan to get surgery, use make up and talk about face and body care products.

I appreciate the differences in culture of the U.S. and Japan when it comes to self-care. And, as a western man, this openness helped me tackle some of the personal issues I have and diminish some of my awkwardness about exploring beauty products available here.

One of the challenges is trying to translate labels on the products, but for the most part using Google Translate is useful. So far, I have found many products I like and others that have not worked out. Trying different products is part of the adventure of being stationed overseas.

Here are just a few places I’ve shopped and some of the products I’ve liked.

My skin type is a combination: I am oily in most parts of my face and a little dry in others. What will work for you might vary, so this list could look a little different for you.

Nameraka Honpo Cleansing Milk NC

I picked up this great soy-milk based cleanser at my local Don Quijote. It is great for makeup and oil removal and is inexpensive. It doesn’t have a strong scent and is easy for a quick wash or pre-cleanse.

This product is also available in other stores like @Cosme and even Amazon.

SKII Gentle Foam Cleanser, Face Toner, Airy Cream

You’ll find this luxury store skincare brand in most department stores and shopping centers around Japan. I buy mine at the local AEON Mall. This brand is the most expensive on my list, but it is worth it. At first, I was skeptical, starting with the questionable face-testing mirror the counter staff uses to determine the products they recommend for your skin type. Also, considering the amount of skincare products available on the market, SKII’s high prices are also questionable. But, after using the free sample of their Toner and Airy face cream, I was hooked. Of all the products I’ve tried, I like SKII Gentle Foam Cleanser, an incredibly smooth, exfoliating face wash; SKII Airy Cream, which leaves a moisturized-but-not-oily feeling; and the SKII Face Toner that is like a vacuum to the face and absorbs quickly into the skin.

I use the toner and cream every day because of how long it can last, and switch from my other face cleanser to this brand every other day to save some yen.

Decorte – Liposome advance repair serum

Recently while working in Tokyo, I took a small day trip to @Cosme and browsed through their inventory hoping to find a replacement cream that is more affordable than SKII. I came across this purple box at the Decorte kiosk and decided to give it a shot. After one week, my face remained very moisturized, and I was very impressed with this product. Although it wasn’t the same quality as my usual products, this lightweight serum was almost half the price and still did wonders. A win in my books to swap around and save a little yen occasionally.

Estee Lauder eye cream- Revitalizing supreme + Day and Night creams

Since I’m active duty, I work long hours and often have sleepless nights, and my eyes show it. It’s one of my big concerns because I look and feel like death. Luckily, my wife recommended this product to me and I was incredibly grateful I could grab this at the base Exchange.

This eye cream helps lift the bags and dark circles in my eyes. They have a day and night version; the day cream has SPF to protect the delicate skin around your eyes from sun damage while still moisturizing it. The night cream is the same but without SPF. I prefer to use this brand over my favorite SKII brand because it’s less expensive and works great. This has helped lift some of the darkness in my eyes, making me look more awake and less disgruntled. A bonus is the smallest bottle lasts a long time.

Kanebo – Mud-based cleanser

My wife and I visited the @COSME Meijijingumae shop during a visit to Tokyo’s Harajuku. You can easily spend a few hours browsing the thousands of beauty products stocked in this multi-story shop. While we were there, they had the Kanebo mud-based exfoliating cleanser on sale, so I took a chance.

At first, I was happy about how smooth my skin felt, but I did over scrub a bit and caused some skin damage. It is a strong cleaner, not so much of a chemical based but hard on the surface, so I recommend being careful when using it since you can over-exfoliate and irritate your skin.

Sirasu bar face cleanser

I found this at a shop in Kagoshima Prefecture when I was on my honeymoon, but it is available online. Originally, I wanted a usable souvenir and didn’t think much of it when I got it. I did like that Sirasu was incredibly cheap compared to some other face-cleansing brands. It’s very gentle and removes oil from the skin. The company states it’s mixed with volcanic ash from Sakurajima, but it doesn’t really have that volcanic smell (rotten-egg-like scent). It’s advertised as a deep cleaner online, but for my skin it’s a great pre-wash before I use another brand.

Online: https://www.nippon-ec.com/Onsirasu-soap-bar_eng/

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