Best Japanese Makeup Brands

Shiseido

The Shiseido makeup brand is a Japanese cosmetics brand that focuses on skin care above all else, and all of their foundations and powders will be carefully formulated to protect and even restore your skin. Most of their foundations and powders have zinc oxide and titanium oxide for maximum sun protection, which is perfect for often-delicate Japanese skin tones.

The lipstick and foundations at Shiseido are far superior to most other Japanese makeup products, but you might want to look elsewhere for Japanese eye makeup.

Lavshuca

Lavshuca is a Japanese makeup brand that is especially well-known for its variety of eye shadow palettes in a cute, heart shaped design and distinctive packaging. One of the advantages of using a Japanese makeup brand’s eye shadow combinations is that the colors will be already specifically selected to look good on Asian eyes, so you won’t need to mix and match from various other eye shadows as much. The international store ships out of Hong Kong, and they have recently been out of stock of their eye shadow collections, but this is one brand that is definitely worth the wait.

RMK

This Japanese brand is well-regarded in Japan for its silky-smooth makeup bases and skin primers. RMK’s  golden-undertoned base is very light and will smooth over effortlessly Japanese skin and provide a flawless foundation upon which to add powder, eye, and lip color. The bases are intentionally a little drying, which is perfect for oily to combination skin tones, but too much for already dry complexions.

RMK’s other offerings, in general, leave something to be desired, so I would stick to the bases. The eye liner pencils, eye shadows, and brow shaders in general are a little cakey and don’t blend well, but there are some great, bold colors available if you’re willing to work with the makeup a little bit.

Fasio

Fasio makeup has some pretty amazing monochromatic eye shadow palettes, if you want a fool-proof way to shade your eyes attractively. There are subtle pearlescent features in their eye shadows, which will keep the eyes looking open and bright, and blend very smoothly on the eye lid. Overall, the color is vivid, bright, and rich, and one of the best Japanese eye makeup brands you can find anywhere.

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Asian Eye Makeup Tips : 5 Tips to Make Your Eyes Look Big and Beautiful

Many Asian women worry that their eyes are too small, but using shadows, highlights, and colors, it’s surprisingly easy to draw attention up to your eyes, no matter their shape or size.

Here are 5 Asian eye makeup tips to help you look your best.

1. Eliminate Undereye Puffiness and Darkness

Skin tone and facial features vary a lot even within people from the same ethnic group, but many Asian women struggle with under-eye dark circles, puffiness, or both. Both these features create shadows, and shadows make your eyes look smaller and less noticeable. Using one, matte color will visibly ease the puffiness, because it looks like the skin is all the same level, and it will “open up” your eye area visually.

Use special under-eye concealer to counteract the darkness, and dab it in! Regular foundation won’t absorb right and will probably be too dark, and rubbing the concealer in instead of dabbing won’t build up enough color to cancel out the shadows.

2. Don’t Overdo Your Eye Makeup

No matter the size of your eye itself, unless you’re biracial or really lucky, you’re just not going to have the eyelid space that other girls have, so makeup tips for other ethnicities will look disastrous on your eyes. If you want to use a non-neutral makeup color, choose one, not several, and use it sparingly. Every other eye makeup you put on your lids should be based on a soft, flattering, taupe-based color.

3. Take Advantage of Eyeliner

Asian women are masters (or mistresses?) of wielding eyeliner, especially tricky liquid eyeliner, like pros, probably because the normal eye makeup tips don’t work very well on Asian eyes. Black, winged eyeliner that stretches slightly beyond the outer edges of your eyes can visually expand and open your eye area. With liquid liner, use several smooth strokes to run along your actual upper eyelash line to darken the base of your eyelashes. If you’re using powder or pencil eye liner, rub back and forth to really work the color into your lash line.

I almost always advise using it on the bottom lash line, however – too much darkness on eyes that are already smaller than average just create a giant, closed-looking shadowy area. Another reason is that the traditional Asian beauty ideal, particularly East Asian like Japanese, Chinese, and Korean, is in simplicity and smooth flawless features. And if you find that look appealing, adding bottom eyeliner will just clutter up your face and take the attention away from your natural beauty.

4. Use Subtle Jewel Tones on Your Eyelids

For almost all occasions, swiping a soft, blended layer of a jewel toned color eyeshadow (choose from emerald, ruby, rich purple, and navy blue) will add the finish eyeshadow touch to make your eyes pop. Frosty colors, though I know they are popular with some Asian girls, like light blue and hot pink, have become associated with little girls wearing play makeup and teenyboppers, while jewel tones will make you look timeless.

5. Mascara and Eyelash Curlers are Your Friends

One of the biggest Western ideals of beauty is having long, curly eyelashes. For Asian women, who are almost always born with short, straight lashes, it can seem like an impossible dream to get enviable lashes. However, if you’re following all my Asian makeup tips, you’ve worked eye liner into your lash line already, which serves to make your eyelashes look both darker and thicker.

Next, you need a volumizing, jet black mascara brand. Good Asian makeup brands are Shiseido and anything from YesStyle. Honestly, Asian eyelashes are usually sparse and short enough that you probably can’t overdo it with mascara, but do use an eyelash comb to separate any clumps after you’ve gone through at least two strokes on each eye with the mascara wand. Wiggle it at the base of your lashes, and slowly pull it upward and out, through your lashes.

Finally, pull out your eyelash curler and prepare to attack your eyelashes. I’ve known some Asian girls who have heated theirs up with a blowdryer first for greater effect, but that’s not truly necessary. Clamp down with the eyelash curler for a good 10-20 seconds, pull away, and clamp again. After a few times on each eye, you will get a noticeably lifted effect.

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Korean Makeup: Korean Eye Makeup Tutorial and Style Guide

Asian women in general are some of the most beautiful and Korean women have a beauty all their own.  It is a regrettable fact that cosmetic surgery is such a trend in Korea as many Koreans try so hard to change their looks to fit a different stereotype.  By using the right makeup application tips, Korean women can stand out and be just as beautiful or even more so than women from other ethnicities.

Following is a specialized Korean Makeup tutorial.  Please not that this Korean makeup tutorial is not the all in all as far as makeup application tips go.  A lot also depends on the person themselves, the shape of their face and their hairstyle.  But these tips are a good place to start:

1. Skin Care:

It is a popular misconception in many Asian countries that to be pale white is more beautiful than other skin colors.  While there is nothing inherently wrong with white skin, trying to make yourself look ‘whiter’ than you really are will not make you look more beautiful but rather pale, washed out, or ill.

The first step is that, no matter how light or dark your skin is, you need to care for it properly.  Use a good facial wash; if you have oily skin or a problem with either pimples or acne, use a good soap or cleanser to minimize this problem.  If your skin is dry, then using a good moisturizer to protect it from the sun is advisable. Healthy, soft skin is beautiful irregardless of color.

2. Foundation:

One common mistake when it comes to foundation for Korean make up styles is to use a pink makeup.  Actually a yellow undertone would be a better choice as this brings out the eyes and cheekbones even more, which looks quite attractive.  You are not trying to hide your features or make your features more Western looking, you want to enhance what you have and show off your own special beauty.

3. Korean Eye Makeup:

Eye make up, be it mascara, eyeliner, or eye shadow, is all very important. Before deciding on what color is right for you, you will need to determine how much area you have above the eyelid.  If it is moderate, then choosing blue or purple is a good idea.  If it is smaller, then choose a more neutral color such as coral.  Bronze and pastel colors are a good choice as they highlight the eyes well.

Make sure to use the right kind of brush too  – one that is 3/5 of the space between upper lash line and brow is recommended, and a crease brush is useful for those with less space on the eyelids.

Black mascara and eyeliner are also very important as they highlight the eyes.  You do not need to slather either product on; using too much is counterproductive and creates what some have called the ‘Cleopatra look’, which may not be the look you are aiming for!

4. Lipstick:

Since Korean women have fair skin, it is advisable to play up the lips and eyes; it gives a dramatic look.  What exact color looks best will also depend on whether the lips are full or smaller. If you have full lips, then use either red, peach, brown or berry and line them with a clear gloss color inside.  No matter what the size of your lips, it is important to use a color shade that closely resembles your lips’ natural color.

5. Finding Korean Makeup:

Since the Korean makeup style can be quite attractive, it is sad that it can be difficult to find Korean makeup brands abroad. It would be more convenient if supermarkets were to stock such brands and perhaps, by checking out various supermarkets, it is possible to come across a place where Korean make up is stocked, however it is a whole lot simpler to look online for Korean make up or Asian make up.  Online retailers not only offer many more products than most commercial supermarkets but also the prices are more affordable as well.  It is also easier to find what you want and compare prices online than it is to visit different shops to try to do the same.

One good place to check out is www.sasa.com.  This site offers many different kinds of makeup, not only Korean make up but others as well. Keep in mind, however, that you do not need to buy Korean make up to put into practice the application tips given above. Using pretty much any brand of make up that is good quality will work as long as you apply it correctly.  if you have sensitive skin you will need to be sure to find a foundation that will not aggravate it or cause pimples.  There are many specialized foundations in all colors for those with skin problems and they do not cost much more than regular foundation.

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