TOKYO BEAUTY BOOKBeauty Shopping in Tokyo- Matsumoto Kiyoshi (Roppongi)

No doubt about it, one of the best places to shop for Japanese beauty products is at the drugstore. Visiting any Japanese drugstore can definitely be a little overwhelming. Tokyo drugstores are absolutely crammed with thousands of products (sometimes from floor to ceiling), and the aisles are tight. Promotional videos and audio blare throughout the stores, and most products have little to no english on their labels. That said, it’s definitely a Tokyo experience not to be missed if you love beauty products, and in particular if you are interested in Japanese skincare and makeup.

So, to make things a little easier for you, Tokyo Beauty Book we will to give you all the information you need to hit the best drugstores in Tokyo, and find all the best Japanese beauty products to buy.

Our first stop is at Matsumoto Kiyoshi in the popular tourist and expat area Roppongi.

Matsumoto Kiyoshi in Roppongi is a 24-hr drugstore, located right at the famous Roppongi crossing intersection. This store has an excellent range of Japanese skincare and cosmetic products set out over two levels. Just as you walk in off the street, there are promotional make-up and skincare areas. The products in these displays change regularly to feature the latest product launches, the most popular Japanese beauty products, as well as anything relevant to the season. If you are visiting Tokyo and just want to quickly pick up a few Japanese beauty products, you only need to visit this area at the front of the store and you can find lots of goodies. Matsumoto Kiyoshi also make tax-free shopping very easy, as you can see advertised on the posters at the front of store.

On my last visit there was a great promotional front display area (pictures below) with a fantastic range of both new and tried and tested Japanese beauty products.

Some of the products that are worth trying are :

The latest Visee quad-eyeshadow story for Autumn
Kate’s new CC lip colour range
Hada Labo hyaluronic acid milk
Shiseido Perfect Whip cleansing foam
Cure Natural Aqua Gel (product review here)
FANCL rice powder wash
Bifesta eyemake-up remover
Lululun sheet face masks
K-Palette eyeliners

On the opposite side is a display featuring different types of lip balms and hand creams.

Once you get further inside the store there is huge range of haircare, vitamins, laundry products, dental hygiene et al. All of the usual products that you would expect to find at the drug store. But if are just interested in finding Japanese beauty product head straight upstairs.

On the way upstairs you will see impressive floor to ceiling displays of products- face masks of every description, lip blam, lip essence, as well as bigger ranges of some of the more popular skincare brands like: