Japan is a candy land for those who love pressed powder compacts. They are not only affordable but come in cute cases, especially by brands like Coffret D’Or, Maquillage, Aube, Esprique and the like.

These brands, although drugstore, are usually 3-4000JPY (USD36-49) for a pressed powder compact and very often the case is sold separately so you might even be set back 5-6000JPY (USD61-73). They are worth it though but luckily for those who don’t want to spend too much, there are more affordable compacts to be found.

Also, before you read on, I’m using the words “pressed powder” very loosely and define it as any powder compact. I’m aware that some brands have a pressed powder compact and also a powder foundation compact. The only difference I see in the two types of powder is that the powder foundation probably has higher coverage. But I quite like using powder foundation compacts as a finishing powder, especially with a big fluffy brush, so the end result is not too matte or chalky.

Anyway, onto the two Japanese drugstore pressed powder compacts which I think are excellent that are below 2,000JPY.

Kate Mineral Powder Foundation SPF15PA++ is a dream come true for those with sensitive skin. There are no parabens or fragrance and it is non-comedogenic. It also has olive oil, jojoba oil, and almond oil in its ingredients list.

This compact is 1,500JPY and the case is 400JPY which comes in just under 2,000JPY at 1,900JPY (USD23). I actually like the packaging and the simple white design with black words doesn’t look too bad at all. There is a mirror and the sponge is actually placed on top of the powder but I never use the sponge so I tossed that out. Those who prefer using the sponge may find this to be problematic as you don’t want a used sponge to be directly on top of the powder.

My skintone suits Ochre-C which is slightly more yellow than I’d like it to be but I just tend to pair this with foundations or BB creams that are a bit too light for me to balance things out. I really love the finish as it’s on the natural side and the skin looks slightly dewy within an house or two.

The one downside to this compact is that I do need to blot about three to four hours later. For other powders, I tend to blot at the six or seven hour mark so for me this powder doesn’t provide good oil control. This would probably work very well for those with drier complexions.

I still think this is a good pressed powder because it’s got a lot of plus points considering the price tag and you would usually have to pay more for non-comedogenic, paraben-free etc. type of products.

Coincidentally, the other drugstore pressed compact that I love is Rimmel’s Pure Natural Powder Foundation SPF25PA++, which has almost the same promises made by Kate’s version, except that it isn’t paraben-free. Still, both are made with mineral foundation and the finish silky and natural.

The Rimmel compact is better as it is more matte and controls oil better so I don’t really need to blot very often when I use this pressed powder.

My shade is OC-2 and it suits me to a tee. It costs 1,400JPY for the pressed powder and 500JPY for the case which makes it the same price as the Kate one.

The only downside to Rimmel’s compact is the case itself. It always tends to open up to reveal the sponge layer (which I do not use) so I have to use my fingernail to flip down the pressed powder layer which is on top. But if you prefer to use the sponge, this could be a good thing actually. I’m not a fan of the colour and design and I’m not proud to take this out with me.

However, I find these to be superior to Revlon’s ColorStay Pressed Powder which is more chalky and not as finely milled so you need to be more careful to avoid using a heavy hand.

Do you like any drugstore pressed powder compacts? Do you think the design of the compact is important?

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Thanks for your comments on my previous installment of my Japanese Drugstore Hunt 2000JPY & Below series. I am really enjoying writing these posts as they are making me look twice at drugstore items.

Today’s post is on lipsticks, and while there are many great Japanese drugstore lippies, there aren’t so many excellent cheap ones. Maquillage, Coffret D’Or, and Esprique make gorgeous lipsticks but they are priced more like 2,600JPY (USD33) and above although they are technically drugstore brands.

After poking around the drugstore and watching like mad, I found two brands that make good lipsticks — Lavshuca Dramatic Memory Rouge(1,575JPY; USD20.50) and Kate Rouge High Glamour (1,400JPY; USD18.30).

I found them to be of medium pigmentation, moisturizing, and they last up to three to four hours if I don’t eat. I still have some lipstick on after having a drink so I think these perform pretty well for the price. I find them to be extremely similar in terms of texture and they do not make my lips peel. Lavshuca’s range has only 12 shades to choose from while Kate’s has 15 shades in their collection. Both have wearable colours but that means there aren’t exciting imaginative hues.

Lavshuca’s RD-1 shade (left) looks like a true pink in the tube but glides on less bright on the lips, while Kate’s BE-33 (right) is a truly lovely everyday peachy shade.

My only real complaint is the packaging. Admittedly, they are both products I would highly recommend and would re-purchase again myself but I don’t feel proud taking these out of my purse. They are actually slimmer than your average Western brand lipstick which has a heftier feel to it. While the smaller circumference actually fits the width of my lips perfectly, the lighter flimsier feel makes the lipsticks look cheaper and the packaging design could be more trendy.

To me, putting on an expensive beautiful lipstick before going out makes me feel like a million dollars, but that’s just asking too much out of a cheap lipstick, I reckon, and that’s why Tom Ford lipsticks exist.

What is your favourite Japanese drugstore lipstick?

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For the Japanese mascara-obsessed, you’ll be glad to know that today’s post is about two mascara primers that are from respectable drugstore brands and they both enhance the performance of mascara in one way or another. I think everyone has a few must-have pre-requisites for their mascara and mine are: smudge-proof, lengthening, not clumpy, and easy to wash off.

Unfortunately, I have an insatiable hunger for eyeshadows, blushes, and foundations, so I tend to skimp on my other eye-related beauty products. I was glad to find Majolica Majorca’s Lash Expander mascara which is an excellent black mascara that is very affordable (plus it’s a cult fave amongst Asian cosmetics fans out there) and it also has an amazing mascara primer, called the Lash Bone Black Fiber In (the name doesn’t make sense!), that will not budge under any circumstances (the true test are unbearable humid Tokyo summers). However, the Lash Expander on its own is hard to remove, let alone combined with the primer.

Thanks to K from Cosmeddicted, I tried her recommendation of Kate’s Mascara Base.

How do both of these compare? I’ll break it down right here:

♥ Texture:
- MM is thicker and oilier which tends to clump if you brush your lashes with it more than twice.
- Kate is more liquidy like a thick serum and doesn’t clump.

♥ Effect:
- MM actually helps to lengthen your lashes even more, so if you use this with the Lash Expander, you can get pretty amped up lashes easily. But if you put on too much, there will be that “spidery” effect though I would save this for a big night out.
- Kate has no visible lengthening effect at all.

♥ Smudge-proofness:
- Both performed excellently with the MM Lash Expander, but unfortunately, the Kate one didn’t prevent smudging for my Lancome L’Extreme mascara but granted it was quite old and should be tossed out. However, the MM one was perfect with the Lancome mascara so maybe MM is quite a life-saver if you are using a mascara that is still okay to use but nearing the end of its efficacy. I also tried the Kate primer with the Dolly Wink Long Masacara and I was pleased with zero smudging at the end of the day.

♥ Ease of removal:
- MM is very hard to remove with any mascara. I usually need two cotton pads soaked with dual-phase remover for each eye. I try not to tug on my eye area so what I do is I press the soaked cotton pad onto my eye for up to 20 seconds and then I wipe it downwards to get the mascara off and then I repeat with a second cotton pad. I tried not to wipe and used more remover but it was impossible.
- Kate is much easier to remove but I still need a dual-phase remover to get everything off. I have to wipe my eyes much less, too, and need just one cotton pad instead of two.

♥ Cost:
- Both are 1260JPY and thus very affordable.

♥ Repurchase potential:
- For the MM I won’t repurchase simply based on the fact that it’s so hard to remove. Even though it provides a great lengthening effect, I think other mascaras can do the job just fine without such a base. For Kate, I would recommend it and would re-purchase it but I would keep in mind that this is only for waterproof mascara which I always opt for anyway. I know that I didn’t test this on non-waterproof mascara but just based on the assumption that it didn’t work with my smudgy Lancome waterproof mascara, it would not really work on non-waterproof mascara. But please feel free to tell me otherwise!

Do you have other mascara primers to recommend? Or if you don’t use primer, tell us about your fave mascara!