Hey hey, this post will be all about highlighters. Back in Manila, I never really appreciated highlighters because the tropical weather simply gave me the sheen I needed (or, sometimes even don’t) through my natural oils. However, after moving here in Japan, and experiencing five to six-month winters, my skin tends to be dry so using highlighters became one of the easiest ways for me to fake healthy and glowing skin. As such, I got hooked, started my love affair with highlighters, and have always been on the lookout for good highlighting products ever since! Read on if you are travelling to Japan and are wondering if you can find good highlighters in Japanese drugstores, or if you simply want to know more about Japanese illuminating options that won’t break the bank. As an added bonus, I've also thrown in a video about my current highlighter collection, you can watch it below. :)
Brand 1: EXCEL Cosmetics The NOEVIR Group boasts of quality brands and well-known products such as NOV, SANA (famous for their isoflavones soy line), and MAIKOHAN. Launched in 1987, Excel TOKYO RICH CASUAL is their color cosmetic brand that caters to women in their early 20s to 30s. The brand aims to create products that come with high functionality yet are very simple to use. Products come in gold packaging which look elegant and classy, perfectly matching the personality of their target market. Excel’s bestseller - the Powder & Pencil Eyebrow EX has been ranked #1 on @cosme for three years in a row (2014-2016). Aside from their eyebrow products, Excel is also known for their base products. Some of which are the highlighters I am going to be talking about today. 1. GLOW LUMINIZER UV - 1,944 JPY The GLOW LUMINIZER has a mix of pink, gold, white and blues pearls that not only help even out the color of your skin but give you a natural glow as well. The product contains argan oil, rosehip oil and shea butter that helps keep skin moisturized and luminous-looking. It also has SPF 28 PA+++, which keeps your face protected from the UV rays. It comes in two shades - GL 01 Pink Glow, intended to get rid of dullness and brighten skin, and GL 02 Beige Glow, meant to correct uneven skin discolorations as well as provide natural sheen. According to the website, there are three ways through which this product can be used: 1. Before makeup, as a base/primer - apply on bare face for an overall dewy look, or only on specific areas of your face you want to glow. 2. After makeup, as highlight - Layer over foundation on points where you want to highlight 3. Mixed with foundation - Apply a small amount into your foundation and mix well. Go for this method if you want a subtle sheen all over your face. I have this product and am pretty happy with it. I like the fact that it does not disrupt my foundation (or cause it to become cakey) when I apply it on top. Moreover, sometimes, when I prefer intense luminosity, I skip the setting powder and it just gives me the most beautiful “out-there” glow. However, when I do set it with powder, I love that the glow is still visible. And because of that, I am quite sure it’ll also work well under my base. This also wears for a pretty long period of time (5-6 hours) and does not feel heavy on the skin. I have yet to try the third method, but based on the reviews I found, majority of them love mixing this with their foundation because it gives them the kind of glow that is noticeable yet super natural-looking. This is a good dupe for the Cover FX Custom Enhancer Drops. 2. SHINY POWDER | 1800 YEN - HOURGLASS POWDER Infused with an essence liquid component, the Excel Shiny Powder is a finishing powder that has a liquid-like, buttery texture and contains slight shimmer and pearl particles. It can be dusted all over the face for dimension and luminosity, and it is also buildable that it can be layered on specific points of the face as a subtle highlighter. From this description, it makes me wonder of these can be good dupes for either the Hourglass Ambient Lighting Powders or MAC Mineralize Skin Finish Powders. This product comes in three shades: 1. Silver Pink: the bestseller! Go for this if you are all for a cute and feminine look. 2. Gold Beige: this one has a champagne undertone and provides an impressively golden and sexy glow. 3. Lucent White: the cool tones of this highlighter makes it perfect for fairer girls or if you simply want an ice queen look.
Brand 2: CANMAKE Canmake is a very popular Japanese brand among teens not only for their cute, girly and "princess-y" packaging, but also for having quality products at affordable prices. Price points range from JPY 300 - JPY 1200, which is really inexpensive relative to other Japanese brands. Their most coveted product is the Cream Cheek blush, which has won several recognition around the world and is the go-to product of girls who want a natural flush on-the-go. Canmake has three kinds of highlighters -- all of which I’ll be briefly touching on in this post. 1. GLOW TWIN COLOR Sparkles like a shower of stardust! This product contains high-luminosity pearl particles and doubles as an eyeshadow base and highlighter. As an eyeshadow base, this helps correct irregularities and make eyelids look brighter, thereby, preparing it for the colors that will be dusted on top. Eyeshadows colors will also appear more vibrant when applied on top of this product. As a highlighter, it instantly adds brightness and sparkle to your cheekbones. This will also look great on the inner corner of your eyes, under your brows and the under-eye area. This product has two variation with each pan having two colors - one as a base and another one to highlight with. 2. GLOW FLEUR Startling translucence & staying power! A magical luster that melts into your skin, for enhanced translucence in an instant. The Glow Fleur range is developed as an extension of Canmake’s well-known Mat Fleur blush line. The product has an intricate flower design of different colors - each one has color correcting properties when used separately. However, to use as a highlighter, swipe brush across all colors in a circular motion to get the product and deposit on your cheeks in the same manner. This claims to have the texture as well as the staying power of a cream blush. 3. HIGHLIGHTER Keep a healthy glow and bright transparency all day! This product is super simple and utterly straightforward. No frills - this is named simply based on how it is supposed to function - Highlighter. Each pan comes with an easy carry, 100% horsehair brush and allows you to complete your finished makeup as well as add depth and dimension to your face with just one swift stroke. Its micropowder particles are super fine that it smoothly blends in with your makeup. I have to admit, the options are quite limited and Japanese makeup brands still have a lot of room to improve in the highlighter space (in terms of both product and shade range). I guess there are only a few brands that carry highlightersbecause Japanese women do not see the need for it. They opt to achieve naturally glowing skin by investing in quality skin care and really taking good care of their skin. Nevertheless, I think that these, especially the ones from Excel, are really great products to get, if you’re in Japan. As promised, know more about the highlighters I own from this video:
Thanks for stopping by!
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