TOKYO BEAUTY FAVORITES

My favorite beauty scores from Tokyo starring Shiseido and SK-II. From left to right: the Shiseido Benefiance W-Resist eye cream is a very well priced anti-aging product. I saw a difference overnight--it's rich but not too heavy for younger eyes, and completely erased any dry skin lines in my undereye area. The Shiseido White Lucent Brightening Cleansing Foam is perfect when you want an immediate glow--I love it before a night out when I want to remove a day's makeup, but only need a gentle cleanse without any particular treatment. The Shiseido lash curler is one for the hall of fame--super lightweight bestowing the perfect exaggerated curl. I found these for about $10 USD in Tokyo and available in all of the drugstores...stock up if you ever have the opportunity!

The SK-II selection was particularly exciting--I discovered several stores in Japan that offer the brand at 30% off AND tax free with a foreign passport. Within the country the products are also available online with domestic shipping for an even deeper discount, but these websites are in Japanese only. The story behind SK-II and it's cult following is based around it's main ingredient, Pitera. The anti-aging benefits of the ingredient were discovered in a sake brewery. The elderly brewers were found to have aged skin everywhere, except for markedly youthful hands where they had contact with components unique to the sake fermentation process. The magical ingredient was extracted, improved, standardized and bottled and alas a luxury skincare brand was born. Pitera is exclusive to SK-II and is packing with vitamins, minerals and amino acids. 

SK-II Facial Treatment Essence is the product that introduced the whole "essence" craze to the States, if not to the entire skincare world. This is the first essence I have used myself--a few drops sprinkled on the palms, rubbed together and pressed onto the face following your toner, but before anything else. It helps the face absorb any serums or creams following application. I can't say I've seen a huge difference immediately that I can contribute solely to the product (it's also ideally meant for thinner/drier skin types than my own), but if Japanese and Korean women swear by it, I'm sticking it out. I'll keep you guys posted. The SK-II Facial Treatment Clear Lotion and cotton pads are a great anti-acne toner: both gentle and effective. The cotton pads feel super luxe and are absolutely the best I've tried, but I think they are only available as part of SK-II skincare sets. Perhaps the best for last: the SK-II Facial Treatment Mask. This is the one you've seen Chrissy Teigen wear on the plane (I do this too, don't hate). The price may seem absurd for a disposable cotton mask but the quality is so sturdy that it feels like something you could wash and reuse instead of throwing away. Cleanse your face then apply the mask and revel in the fun of looking straight out of Silence of the Lambs for 20 minutes. Then remove the mask, wipe off some of the excess serum but be sure enough is absorbed to really reap the benefits, and enjoy an immediate, significant glow.

I also wanted to include a photo of my favorite drugstore finds in Tokyo, which you can see below. Much of the descriptions are in Japanese, but top row to bottom row (minus the Nexcare) I tried a moisturizing mask, vitamin C mask, brightening mask, collagen mask and what seems to be a multitasking everyday sort of mask--my Japanese friend says she uses it for five minutes every morning before she does her makeup. I also stocked up on these Nexcare Acne Absorbing Patches (my best friend/fellow fanatic and I call them "pimple stickers"), which are available in the States via Amazon. Stick them on any blemish with a whitehead and it sucks up anything in there overnight, without drying your skin out at all--they are amazing.