Shops that Don't Miss Any Fashion Trends（2/2）
What kind of thing really sells in Japan? We checked out two shops that know completely. Our second destination: the @cosme Store. Just like the previous store, it’s located in Shinjuku Station, so it’s easy to visit both in one trip!
The @cosme Store: your one-stop shop for internet word-of-mouth hits
The @cosme Store is the storefront for Japan's biggest cosmetics and beauty web portal, @cosme. We visited the flagship store in Shinjuku Station, one of their five stores in Tokyo, where we found over 10,000 popular word-of-mouth items from their web site! We asked about what to look for, and what's been hot lately.
Words like "注目" (chuumoku), "チェック" (chekku), and "人気" (ninki) on the signs mean that it's a popular item.
When you see stickers with numbers on them like this, they show @cosme's or women's magazines' rankings. In other words, it's a great way to tell what the big sellers are!
Skin care basics: big packages at low prices.
Each tube of Kikumasamune Skin Care Lotion (left) contains a whole bottle of sake's worth of amino acids, making it great at retaining moisture. Naturie Skin Conditioner (right) features Job's tear extract for moisturizing and skin lightening. Both are ¥700 for 500mL, an outstanding value.
The Face Mask LuLuLun line is a favorite of many, and an exceptional value at 30-40 masks for about ¥1,600. There's no need to limit yourself to eau de toilette -- adding a face mask to pamper yourself has been very popular in Japan of late.
The biggest hit of late has been makeup to soften the namidabukuro, the area under the eyes. The store stocks a wide variety of colors, similar to eye shadow. Among the most popular: the Love Drops Namidabukuro Urumi Liner line of makeup pencils (¥1,296 each), featuring pearl and lamé. They can be used to make your eyes look big and dewy. Just look for "涙袋" (namidabukuro) on the packages.
The popularity of under-eye makeup knows no bounds, as seen here! On the left are the PuRu Puru Eye Sheet Masks (¥1,026 for 60). On the right are Mejutsu Real Tank (¥1,296 for 60), thin stickers to be applied to the upper part of the under-eye area to add volume.
A variety of eyelash lotions, in the style of mascara, are already available in this specialty corner. Recently, more natural eyelashes have been in fashion, and likewise so have products that care for your eyelashes and eyebrows. Look for packages that mention "睫毛," "まつ毛," or "まつげ" (matsuge). If you also see "眉毛," "まゆ毛," or "まゆげ" (mayuge) on the package, it'll take care of both your eyelashes and eyebrows. Prices start around ¥1,000.
The Shin Bihada Ichizoku line (¥463 each) feature original characters in the style of girls' manga, and make a great souvenir from Japan.
Shiseido's first product some 120 years ago, Eudermine (¥549), still has many fans even today as an excellent wipe-on eau de toilette.
•All prices shown include 8% consumption tax.
•Items shown here were being sold at the time of our visit. Items may vary by date and location.
1: The makeup is designed to make skin appear lighter 2: Does not contain any UV-absorbing ingredients.
@cosme Store Lumine Est Shinjuku
Lumine Est Shinjuku B2, 3-38-1 Shinjuku, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo
Telephone: (03) 5269-1111 (Lumine Est main line)
Hours: 11:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. weekdays, 10:30 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. weekends and holidays.
http://cosmestore.net
http://www.lumine.ne.jp/est/index.html
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