Bringing you yesterday's news from Japan and Asia, today.
beauty (Page 7)
Nails, nails, nails. Some people flip out when they chip a nail, while others could care less about the state of their fingertips. Whether you’re a salon regular or a chronic nail biter, the Japanese internet has a few tricks to share about how to achieve healthy and beautiful nails. The absolute best part is that you don’t need to go out and buy anything fancy–in fact, you can probably just waltz into your kitchen and find everything you need!
Beauty ideals can be strange things. In Japan, the concept of hattoushin, a perfect 1:8 head-to-body ratio and the idealisation of kogao, or small face, reign supreme.
This obsession with creating a slim face has brought about some weird and wacky contraptions. If you don’t have time to stick to a routine that includes face rollers, cheek-lifting masks and facial exercises, there’s now a quick fix at hand: a lens that slips over your phone camera to give you that kogao look.
Makeup is big business in Japan, where there’s almost a cultural obsession with the stuff. But the demand for makeup and beauty products also means, through the magic of capitalism, that it also tends to be a lot more expensive out here than in, say, the US. I’ve personally never purchased or used makeup, outside of, obviously, those Halloween Rocky Horror Picture Show events, so I couldn’t tell you exactly how much the average woman in Japan spends on makeup, but it’s gotta be somewhere in the ballpark of, hmm, approximately their entire paycheck every month.
Luckily, there appears to be a “lounge” in Tokyo’s Shinjuku neighborhood that is sympathetic to the thorough wallet-denting women must endure in the pursuit of beauty, offering all-you-can-apply Chanel makeup at just 300 yen (US$2.50) an hour. A service with “all-you-can-(verb)” in the description? You bet we went to check it out!
We’ve seen a lot about poop in the news recently. From poo curry to toilet museums to pooping on an airplane, you might think you’ve seen it all. But now we bring word of something you probably never expected: turd-infused facial soap.
Wait! We promise this isn’t as crazy as it sounds. In fact, the poop soap is based on a centuries-old beauty technique used in Japan. What’s exactly in it and why would anyone in their right mind want to use it? We’ll give you the straight poop after the jump!
Unusual poses have been big among young Chinese women over social networks recently. Late last month there was the “touch your belly button with one hand wrapped behind your back” fad. Anyone who could achieve this feat was said to have “good style”. Around the same time there was also the “put as many coins into that little divot in your collar bone” trend.
Now it appears a classic yoga pose is making the rounds. It’s called the Pashchima Namaskarasana or Reverse Prayer Pose. However, on China’s microblogging site Weibo, it’s done with the added challenge of raising your hands as high as they can go; the higher your hands can get the more beautiful you are purported to be.
What, you thought “beauty” was a measure of how others judged your outward appearance and to a lesser extent your personality? No, silly, it’s all about how well you can bend your arms behind your back…
Japan is a land with many strange and oddly-shaped everyday items that can be a little hard to identify for Western visitors. But what happens when a travelling Japanese tourist takes along one of these curiosities in their luggage when they embark upon a little trip to Canada?
Well, according to one Twitter user’s ordeal, they might end up getting hauled out of the line at airport security into a side room to “explain” the nature of what Canadian officials took to be… a martial arts weapon?
Fans of the hit anime Attack on Titan may also know it by its original Japanese title, Shingeki no Kyojin, which literally translates to “Advancing Giants.”
Giants aren’t the only thing advancing upon us, though, because now there’s an unusual advertising campaign announcing the arrival of Shingeki no Bijin, or Advancing Beauties, and the war we’re fighting is the war on body hair.
Gachapon, the capsule toys sold by vending machines in Japan, are always released in a series, usually with five or six different versions that are dispensed at random. But while that element of chance adds a moment of excitement, sometimes it’s a little hard to imagine anyone really needs a half-dozen different styles of miniature folding chair, sausage/isopod hybrid, or crow chowing down on some delicious garbage.
Every now and again, though, we can easily see how someone would keep coming back for each and every model in the lineup, such as with these compact Sailor Moon compacts.
A while back, we took a look at a replica of Sailor Moon’s Transformation Brooch which held cosmetic powder formulated to give you the look of anime-like perfectly unblemished skin. Die-hard fans, however, know that the brooch breaks shortly after the end of the anime’s first major story arc.
Early in Sailor Moon R the brooch is upgraded to the Crystal Star Compact, and if you’re looking to keep pace with Sailor Moon herself, now you can order a faithful recreation of her second transformation item that’s also filled with facial powder.
One of the first things you notice when you come to Japan is how great everybody looks. The guys all know how to wear a suit, and the ladies dress conservatively and stylishly. In fact, it’s a well-known phenomenon that many foreigners who arrive in Japan for a prolonged stay will, within a few weeks, start smartening themselves up as a direct result of the example set by fashion and beauty-conscious Japanese.
But a shocking and kind of sad survey has revealed that in terms of being happy with their looks, the people of Japan are actually ranked bottom in the world…
Just as with full-fledged geisha, it’s customary for maiko, as geisha apprentices are known, to wear a layer of white face powder, called oshiroi. But those who’ve seen one of Japan’s traditional entertainers close up often marvel at their smooth, healthy skin, remarking that they would be just as beautiful with all of those cosmetic coverings washed away.
But in much the same way that their polished speech and refined mannerisms are the result of years of training, maiko also have a careful routine they follow to keep their skin looking as delicate and pleasing to the eye as it does.
Today, we’ve got news about a newly unveiled anime-themed “Bath Time Collection.” And while things can usually get pervy in a hurry when you combine the words “anime” and “bath,” we’re not talking about an inflatable waifu cushion to take in the tub or a waterproof anime boy toy poster to hang in your shower.
That’s because this is Sailor Moon we’re talking about, and Japan’s most successful magical girl is keeping things as classy as she always does with this new line of scrunchies, hair bands, and hair clips.
“On that day, the writers of RocketNews24 received a grim reminder. We lived in the shadows of the Titans and had to become the Titans themselves to live in these cages we called the Internet.”
Free Attack on Titan face packs?! Of course we had to try it! We even made some customizations in an attempt to give Satosshi a run for his money, but alas, it seems that none of us have attained his level of Rocket-ness as of yet. Check out our titanic beauty experience after the break!
There will be a special collaboration insert included in the June edition of the Kodansha-produced beauty magazine, VOCE (pronounced Vo-che), on sale April 23rd. Each magazine will come with one Attack on Titan face pack by the makers of the kabuki face pack, Isshindo Hompo, and feature Attack on Beauty!!
Online retailer Felissimo has a soft spot for cats, so much so that it’s got a whole Cat Division subsection with feline-inspired products. In the past, we’ve taken a look at the company’s pullovers and lingerie that let you dress like a kitty, but Felissimo’s new hand cream promises to make you smell like cat, too.
Sometimes, Japanese guys can seem illogically hung up on numerical parameters when deciding whether or not they find a woman physically attractive. Be it a maximum age or minimum bust measurement, sometimes the amount of technical data being tossed around almost makes it seem more like they’re talking about machinery than women.
But does it really make sense to get so hung up on numbers when dealing with something as subjective as beauty? We’ve seen before that age isn’t anything but a number, so what about weight? A recent survey set out to find out how Japanese men would answer that question.
Nail art is something that’s increasingly popular among Japan’s ladies due to the fact that it’s an easy way to express your individual style. As well as DIY-ing it at home with 100 yen store nail polishes and nail stickers, you can also get reasonably affordable yet super-durable gel manicures in a salon which are set by UV light and last for at least a month. Nail art trends tend to come and go depending on the season and whatever’s in style, but occasionally there’s a “boom” for a certain kind of design, with more and more people jumping on the bandwagon. First came anime nail art, and now it’s the turn of traditional Japanese performance art, Kabuki!
We’re all used to seeing those before-and-after photos of plain jane (or even, let’s be honest, um, “conventionally unattractive”) Asian girls transforming themselves into gorgeous swans through the use of cosmetics. But did you ever stop to think about those girls’ lives? What kind of bullying and social pressure drove them to devote themselves so entirely to relying on the contents of their makeup bags?
Today we’d like to introduce you to a young lady whose “before” face has made her the victim of a barrage of cruel tweets. But is she bothered? Not one bit!
It’s no secret that ladies in Asia have become the masters of makeup in recent years, with shocking before-and-after transformations popping up online pretty much on the reg. In Japan in particular, makeup trends tend to follow a very different format to those in the west, with plenty of tips and tricks designed to highlight features we wouldn’t even consider, such as the angle of an eyelid crease, or the puffiness of eyebags. There’s even makeup that’s designed to make you look a bit ill.
This new makeup palette seems at first glance to be nothing more than a cute product themed around a fairytale character. In actuality, it’s the perfect tool for creating one of the past year’s most unusual trends, “undereye blush”.
While respect for the elderly and admiration of the experienced are both parts of Japanese culture, when it comes to ideals of fashion and human beauty, the country definitely puts a premium on youth. It’s not at all unusual for the careers of female models, actresses, and entertainers to have their career reach its zenith in their late teens or very early twenties, then disappear from the public eye altogether.
Since 2010, though, the Bimajo Contest beauty pageant has been challenging the idea that if you’re old enough to have graduated from college you’re just about too old to be considered beautiful. Each year assembles a field of attractive women in their late 30s and 40s, and this week the pageant crowned its newest winner.
Mr. Sato accosts award-winning actor Hideaki Ito【Interview】
Cyberpunk anime meets traditional culture in Ghost in the Shell gold leaf Japanese changing screens
7-Eleven Japan’s ramen-cooking robot whipped us up a bowl of noodles【Taste test】
Hello Kitty Choco Egg figures are an adorable trip through three periods of Japanese pop culture【Pics】
Japan’s otoshidama tradition of giving kids money at New Year’s gets a social welfare upgrade
Starbucks Japan releases new Stanley bottles and exclusive drinkware at Reserve Roastery Tokyo
Lacquerware supplier to emperor of Japan and Pokémon team up for new tableware
Where’s my Christmas cake?! Seasonal celebrations threatened by nationwide butter shortage
“World’s most beautiful Starbucks” gets a makeover in Japan, but is it still beautiful?
Dragon Quest Burgers and Slime drinks are coming to McDonald’s Japan【Video】
7-Eleven Japan starts new temporary luggage storage service in over 300 branches
Disillusionment at Tsukiji’s tourist-target prices led us to a great ramen restaurant in Tokyo
Japan may add Japanese language proficiency, lifestyle classes to permanent foreign resident requirements
Starbucks Japan releases new zodiac chilled cup drink for 2026Lacquerware supplier to emperor of Japan and Pokémon team up for new tableware
Starbucks teams up with 166-year-old Kyoto doll maker for Year of the Horse decorations【Photos】
Starbucks on a Shinkansen bullet train platform: 6 tips for using the automated store in Japan
Is this the most relaxing Starbucks in Japan?
Large amount of supposed human organs left in Osaka marketplace
Tokyo’s Tsukiji sushi neighborhood asks tour groups to stay away for the rest of the month
Japan’s human washing machines will go on sale to general public, demos to be held in Tokyo
Japanese train company is letting fans buy its actual ticket gates for their homes7-Eleven Japan starts new temporary luggage storage service in over 300 branchesDisillusionment at Tsukiji’s tourist-target prices led us to a great ramen restaurant in TokyoStarbucks teams up with 166-year-old Kyoto doll maker for Year of the Horse decorations【Photos】
Tokyo considering law requiring more trash cans following litter increase in heavily touristed areaTokyo’s Tsukiji sushi neighborhood asks tour groups to stay away for the rest of the month
Nintendo’s Kirby now delivering orders at Kura Sushi restaurants, but not in Japan
Tokyo event lets you travel back in time, for free, to celebrate 100 years since Showa era start
Sanrio theme park in Japan announces plans to expand into a Sanrio resort
Survey asks foreign tourists what bothered them in Japan, more than half gave same answerJapan’s human washing machines will go on sale to general public, demos to be held in Tokyo
Japan’s deadliest food claims more victims, but why do people keep eating it for New Year’s?
We deeply regret going into this tunnel on our walk in the mountains of Japan
Studio Ghibli releases Kodama forest spirits from Princess Mononoke to light up your home
Major Japanese hotel chain says reservations via overseas booking sites may not be valid
Put sesame oil in your coffee? Japanese maker says it’s the best way to start your day【Taste test】
The top 10 annoying foreign tourist behaviors on trains, as chosen by Japanese people【Survey】
No more using real katana for tourism activities, Japan’s National Police Agency says
Starbucks Japan reveals new sakura drinkware collection, inspired by evening cherry blossoms
Starbucks Japan releases new Stanley bottles and exclusive drinkware at Reserve Roastery Tokyo
Lacquerware supplier to emperor of Japan and Pokémon team up for new tableware
Where’s my Christmas cake?! Seasonal celebrations threatened by nationwide butter shortage
“World’s most beautiful Starbucks” gets a makeover in Japan, but is it still beautiful?
Dragon Quest Burgers and Slime drinks are coming to McDonald’s Japan【Video】
The etiquette rules for visiting Shinto shrines in Japan
Shimane has a secret hot spring town that feels like stepping into an old Japanese film
Starbucks Japan releases new zodiac chilled cup drink for 2026
“Hey, Japanese taxi driver, take us to the best chanpon noodles in Nagasaki!”
Princesses, fruits, and blacksmiths: Study reveals the 30 most unusual family names in Japan
More Than a Capsule Stay: Why Solo Travelers Choose “global cabin Yokohama Chinatown”
Japanese minimalist retailer Muji launches new set of disaster preparedness kits