What this site is
J-Beauty Picks publishes buying guides for Japanese skincare and sun care, aimed at readers in Vietnam, Thailand, Indonesia, Taiwan and the Philippines.
We started it because the available English-language coverage of J-beauty is written almost entirely for readers in cold, dry climates. Advice built around Tokyo winters and heated indoor air does not transfer cleanly to a city where the humidity sits above 70% for most of the year, and the mismatch is the reason a lot of people conclude that Japanese skincare "does not work for them" when in fact they have simply bought the wrong texture.
The second gap is counterfeiting. Imported Japanese cosmetics are a persistent target for counterfeit operations across Southeast Asia. A guide that recommends a product without also explaining how to verify what you have bought is not much use here.
Who runs it
J-Beauty Picks is operated by Meme LLC, a company registered in Japan. Being based in Japan is the main thing we bring: we can read Japanese product labelling and manufacturer documentation directly, we can see which products are current in the domestic market, and we can tell the difference between a Japan-domestic version and an export version of the same product.
Editorial enquiries: contact us.
How we choose what to recommend
- Climate first. Every recommendation is assessed for a hot, humid environment, not a general one. A product that is excellent in Japan and wrong for Jakarta gets described that way.
- Availability. We prioritise products that can actually be bought through authorised channels in the region. A recommendation you cannot act on is not a recommendation.
- Manufacturer documentation over marketing copy. Where we describe how a product is formulated, we work from the manufacturer's own published material, in Japanese where that is the primary source.
- We say when something is not worth it. Several of our guides recommend skipping steps and products that are widely promoted. That is the point of the site.
What we will not do
- No medical claims. Cosmetics are cosmetic care. We do not claim any product treats or cures a skin condition, and we recommend seeing a dermatologist when that is the right answer.
- No ingestibles. We do not cover supplements, collagen drinks, or oral beauty products of any kind.
- No grey-market sellers. We link only to authorised channels in the market concerned. We do not link to parallel imports or unregistered products.
- No paid reviews. We do not accept payment in exchange for a positive assessment, and we do not let commercial relationships determine our conclusions.
How we make money
Through affiliate commissions. Some links on this site are affiliate links, and if you buy through one we may receive a commission from the retailer at no extra cost to you. This is disclosed on every page that contains such links, and it does not influence what we recommend. The full explanation is on our affiliate disclosure page.
Corrections
If we get something wrong, we want to know, and we will fix it and note the change. Write to us via the contact page.