Best selling cosmetics in drugstores

Matsumoto Kiyoshi is a famous and popular Japanese drugstore as I presented in a previous post.
It is often featured on travel information websites as one of the best places to go shopping for Japanese beauty products. Indeed they sell all kind of cosmetics from low to mid range prices and they have stores everywhere in Tokyo.

The bestsellers in Matsumoto Kiyoshi are also sold in other countries such as China, Thailand and Singapore.

Although it changes everyday, according to Matsumoto Kiyoshi online store, the top selling cosmetic products are as follow:

Sana Nameraka Honpo, Cleansing Face Wash

This is a facial wash that can be also used as a makeup cleanser.

Like all the other products of this brand, it is based on fermented soy milk containing soy isoflavone, that is said to have moisturizing and bounciness properties. Besides, it also includes soybean extract and vegetal collagen adding up in moisturizing effect. It is free of fragrance, colorants and mineral oil.

I like this face wash which forms a very pleasant rich milky lather and is gentle to the skin (without any irritation). After the wash, the face feels refreshed, a little tense but not dry, and smooth.

official price 150g, ¥700

Kikumasamune, Skincare Lotion High Moist

Kikumasamune is a famous Japanese sake brewery and they have a skincare line based on sake. Japanese sake has been known to be efficient for skincare for a long time, as it contains amino acids and minerals bringing hydration to skin; some Geishas used to apply the remaining sake from clients on their faces.

The lotion is made of Japanese sake and has been enriched with additional moisturizing amino acids such as glutamic acids, arginine and leucine as well as ceramide. It is colorants and mineral oil free. It has a mildly acidic pH, just as same as the skin, which is to me a very important point when it comes to gentleness to skin.

It comes in a very economical bottle of 500mL with a pump and is attractively priced: ¥740! With this price, we can generously use it not only on the face but for the whole body and for face pack as well! It does smell of sake but only when we apply it. The texture is a little thick but soon after the application it is well absorbed and the skin is well hydrated, freshened and soft.

Not only this lotion but the other products from the same brand, such as the lighter lotion, emulsion and cleansing are also the bestsellers in Matsumoto Kiyoshi!

500ml, ¥740

Kikumasamune Skincare Lotion High Moist on Rakuten Global

Hadalabo Gokujyun Hyaluronic refill pack

This is the refill version of the very popular skin lotion made from the company’s own hyaluronic acid formula combining 3 different types of hyaluronic acids. Hyaluronic acid is known to lock the moisture allowing the skin to be hydrated even with time. The lotion has a mildly acidic pH and is fragrance, colorants, oil, and alcohol free.

The texture is clear but a little thick and it takes time to penetrate. However after the application, the skin is moisturized and plumpy. It leaves like a very thin coating film on the skin, that gives you a glow. I like the moisturizing effect and I think it’s good value for money.

170ml, ¥720

Gokujyun Hyaluronic 170ml on Rakuten Global

Like I said in my post 6 places to buy cosmetics in Tokyo, I like to alternate products from different ranges from different places. However the drugstores offer a wide range of cosmetics for a reasonable price and we can buy there the whole range of products necessary for the skincare routine if we like. We can always upgrade by ourselves the basic products with some complimentary products such as the foaming net to create the perfect lather to go with the face wash, or the compressed sheet masks to use with the big bottle of lotion.

I hope you will have the opportunity to try these basic popular cosmetics if you haven’t yet. Let me know if you like them!