Best of J-beauty Skincare 2021 ~ Ash2theb

Hey Subbies,

I hope everyone had a Happy Holiday and Christmas. I was thinking about making an update to the Best of J-beauty post I did over two years ago. And it has hit me on the head to really tackle it once again since I was watching a couple of Japanese magazines like Vivi, Biteki, and JJ (they even have Japanese voice-over actors doing skincare skits) on Youtube since I was surprised they were covering the best of Cosme 2021 aka J-beauty and there are no direct subs for us, international peasants, lol. But one skincare youtube I finally got around to watching her best of beauty said "J beauty should be the next big thing" and me being like "That is the 21st time hearing that and won't be the last." Personally, I think it has been a lot easier to get J-beauty now because the explosion of K-beauty has allowed more brands from the Asian region to catch a ride-along in the e-commerce rat race.

My main issues with J-Beauty are the use of alcohol /fragrance in Japanese skincare, the interesting popularity of the western luxury brand, and the lack of tutorials/demonstrations on how to use products. But the other issue is with Japan is the "beauty" export politics, shipping cost, and the high cost of goods in general. I remember looking at Japanese goods and being like I'm better off saving for a luxury brand when I was getting into Japanese subcultures back then. I think K-beauty as many brands that there has a lot growing still believe it or not. There are brands for almost every skin condition and the international market wants active ingredients like vitamin a and extracts (which used to be pushed to mature skin but Skinfood, Neogen, I'm from, Sulwhasoo, Beauty of Joseon, Cosrx, etc. has you covered). I just finish an exfoliator spray from a lesser know k-beauty brand called Ladykin. And I just found out I can buy The Pure Lotus another K-brand I have tried and has lotus extract on Peach and Lily.

Anyways let's get on with the Best of J-Skincare...

Cleanser