Must-have items for a Japanese beauty?!
"Beauty appliances" are gaining popularity!
These last few years, “beauty appliances” like facial massagers and multi-function hairdryers have created a boom in the Japanese beauty industry. In this issue we are focusing on hot selling items that are enjoying great popularity. Women who want to be more beautiful should check them out, but so should businessmen who strive for cleanliness.
Teenagers and men are regular users too! What's the secret of this popularity?
"At the dresser you can actually try out the products. Our staff is all women, so people should feel comfortable asking us questions", says Ms. Nagumo. English- and Chinese-speaking staff are also available, so foreign tourists can try these products out without any problems either. We also offer duty free, which is great for tourists! Adapter plugs needed to use these products overseas are also available inside the department.
In addition, BIC Camera Yurakucho is located only a few seconds away on foot from JR Yurakucho Station. It is located in a convenient location with easy access from the Yurakucho , Hibiya and Ginza Subway Stations as well, so a visit makes a perfect fit for tight travel plans.
In this issue we covered the electronic retail store "BIC Camera Yurakucho Store". In September of 2009 this branch of the retail giant opened "BIC Beauty", a department specializing in beauty appliances. Ayano Nagumo, who manages the department, told us about the reason beauty appliances are so popular and showed us some hot selling products.
"I think that the biggest reason beauty appliances are so popular is that there is now a wider variety for people to choose from. In recent years domestic manufacturers have launched high quality products one after the other, leading to a wider variety of choices. The price range has also gone down from before, making them easier to purchase. In addition, 2010 marked the advent of what is called "moba-byu" (which is an abbreviation for "mobile beauty"). Products so small that they can be carried around are popping up one after the other and the boom is showing signs of getting even bigger. In recent years, summer heat and winter dryness has been extreme and there are more people who are concerned about their hair and skin, which has also contributed to their popularity."
The growing fan base shows just how large this boom is.
"Our main customers are women in their 20s and 30s, but there are male customers as well. Of course some of these men come to pick out a present for a woman in their life, but there are more than a few businessmen between 20 and 50 years old who buy these products for themselves."
In the store today we saw a female high school student eagerly picking out a hairdryer. Regardless of their age or whether they are men or women, everybody in Japan who cares about their looks and appearance is taking notice of beauty appliances. Is the day getting close when the boom will go global?! Be sure to check out the different categories of the shop's hot selling items and find your favorites!
SHOP hot sellers! Face care items
A steamer is a treasured item from fall to spring, when dryness becomes a problem. This beauty appliance generates a fine mist, delivering moisture deep into the skin. Among these products, what you should most pay attention to is portability! Put lotion into the device to spray ultrafine microparticles. In addition, this device will give you beautiful skin by generating hydrogen. This tiny device is only 12.4 cm in length and weighs only about 63 grams, so many people purchase it to fight dryness on airplanes and other places. GLALENT Platinum Ion Mist (MTG) 18,800 Yen each
SHOP hot sellers! Hair care items
Multi-function hairdryers have enjoyed great popularity since the start of the beauty appliance boom. The current best seller is Sharp's Plasmacluster Hairdryer. Sharp's proprietary Plasmacluster technology generates ions to make hair shiny and supple. It is useful throughout the year! It is great for fighting dryness from fall to spring and to remedying scalp stickiness in the summer, so it is useful year round Plasmacluster Hair Dryer IF-PB1 (Sharp) 19,800 Yen each
SHOP hot sellers! Body care items
EMS (electric muscle stimulation) uses electric current to stimulate the muscles and is recommended for people who are trying to slim down. This product is a rare glove-type EMS. It can be used by grabbing parts of the body you'd like to slim down, so it can easily reach areas like the bust and behind and can even be used on the face. In addition, one of the secrets of this product's success is that it is waterproof and can even be used in the bath! There's no need for any special gels when using in the bath, which keeps the cost of use down. Exa Glove Spa MN-A-28 (Ya-Man) 14,800 Yen each
SHOP hot sellers! Oral care items
It can be said that the Pocket Doltz Ultrasonic Toothbrush is the product that triggered the mobile beauty boom. Despite its super slim body, only 16 cm size and 30g in weight, it vibrates at 16,000 times a minute to eliminate tartar without harming the gums! It's been gaining a great deal of popularity among office workers and business professionals who use it for an after-lunch brush. It's selling so well that there appear to be shortages in stores, so if you see it, get it right away! Pocket Doltz EW-DS12 (Panasonic) 3,980 Yen each
SHOP hot sellers! Hair removal items
We've heard that hair removal items are at the top rank of popularity from spring to summer. The device is known for employing a painless hair removal method that does not pull or shave hair. It works by applying heat to unwanted hair, cutting hair that is already growing as well as stunting hair that has not started to grow yet. Repeated usage is said to make your unwanted hair less and less noticeable. A special feature of this device is that it cuts the tips of the hair in a round fashion so there is no itching after use. no! no! HAIR PLUS STA-135 (Ya-Man) 29,800 Yen each
SHOP hot sellers! Relaxation items
A mobile version of a low frequency electric massager has arrived which has attracted a wide fan base, including active business people of course, but also the elderly and even students preparing for exams! It's easy to use even in the office, and its stylish and compact design is said to be getting a lot of attention. To use it, just wrap the cord around your neck and attach the pads, and then select the massage strength and the course, including kneading, percussion, and pressure courses. It is touted to be useful for stiff necks and improving circulation to the face. Neck Refre EW-NA12 (Panasonic) 6,980 Yen each
BIC Camera Yurakucho Store
1-11-1 Yurakucho, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo Telephone: 03-5221-1111 Hours: 10AM to 10PM *BIC Beauty is located on the 3rd Floor
http://www.biccamera.co.jp/shoplist/yurakucho.html
http://www.biccamera.com/
*The content of this article contains informatiton based on an interview conducted in the middle of January, 2012. The products stocked, prices and services are subject to change.
About Us