Author: Toshiya

Make up and brushes from Japan

Update from Tokyo, and and a new Makie brush from Chikuhodo

Hi Everyone,

Yes, Tokyo Governor had a press conference last night.

It will be a lockdown if the situation gets worse.  Now we are encouraged to stay home, especially on weekends, but it is still an ‘encouraged’ stage.

EU and North American countries are locked down, and I believe many business owners are in trouble.

Next several months, it will be hard for many people.
My clients are 100% outside Japan, so I will be trouble too.

I will be try best!

———

Chikuhodo has released a new makie brush.

It is Ume 梅 which is  Plum, grey squirrel with a makie handle, and 19000 yen.

I talked to Chikuhodo, and was told that

MK-UM brush head is the same as the one of MK-MO that was discontinued.

Please take a look.

https://fudejapan.com/product-category/brush/brand/chikuhodo/makiemk/

MK-UM is a new version of MIK-MO,  with a Ume (plum ) design,

Please let me know if interested or you can buy it on the web page.

(MK-MO has been discontinued, but I keep it there for your inf0rmation)

ーーーーーーー

Takashimaya in the Tokyo area will stop its operation in Tokyo.

Hakuhodo Shibuya will be closed, too.

Other department stores might follow.

It is only this weekend. I expect fewer Sakura watchers this week.

The decision making process in Japan is general slow. This could be either good or bad, depending on a situation.

I receive feedback from my blogs, and one is that my web page is not good yet.

I totally agree, and I will try improving it)

Sorry for your inconvenience.

Thank you!

Toshiya

How did you find Fude Japan ?

Hi Everyone,

Sakura is blooming, and still lots of people are walking around in Tokyo.

That is the current in Japan.

I have recently received an order of Chicca eyeshadows and I checked their website.

I found Chicca had closed all shops.　They sell products only on its own site, Amazon and @cosme.

(I met some Chicca employees who are now working for Kanebo, Lunasol and Sensai…)

All brands are Kanebo.)

You can still order Chicca but the number of products might be limited.

It seems that the Olympic games postponed till next year as expected.

Personally, it is better for audience and also for competitors though I know some of competitors lose an once-a-life opportunity to participate in the games. The one year delay changes player’s surroundings, especially in the medal-rich countries like USA and Russia.

As for Japan, I see some trends.

They don’t do Judo well, but have been improving the track competition. e.g. 100m.

Maybe you don’t know how good  Japanese run 100m these days, LOL.

———————

I wonder how you find me ?

I have around 12,000 followers to Instagram so maybe instagram is the SNS where people find me.

And google search. Very rarely, twitter. I do Pinterest as well.

I was reading an article about SNS.

Each SNS requires you to enter a password and makes it troublesome for people to enter a SNS.

I keep my passwords in the spreadsheet, as I have so many of them and I cannot catch up with remembering all.

The article says,

As it is troublesome to enter a SNS, people tend to use the same SNS over and over. Do you agree?

So it is important to post a picture or blog to several SNS even it is the same content.

I post a picture to Instagram first which will be automatically shared in other sites, e.g. facebook, twitter and Pinterest, etc.

I don’t know how effective it is but I try anyway and this type of article encourages me. Please forgive me if you see my posts over and over!

I guess a success rate is very low for most people.

People who can try over and over may be called ‘talented.’  Or ‘talented’ people are willing to try and make many mistakes.

In baseball, the batting average is considered good if it is over .300.

In real world, it goes down to .100, I reckon. And it is important to learn from the .900 mistakes and to improve a batting average to hit at scoring opportunities. Hit a homerun when it counts.

Maybe it is more mental than how smart people are.

I guess my batting average is smaller than .100, but someday, I may hit a homerun. And I look forward to it!

Thank you for reading!

Toshiya

2020 Summer makeup

Hi Everyone,

Today it is raining, but sakura gets good  to see day by day and  I saw many people going to sakura watching (or Hanami) despite the coronavirus situation yesterday.

I think soon the Olympic Games will be decided to be postponed, which will cause some moves in Japan. Maybe a lockdown 0f some cities.

At the moment, Japanese seem to be optimistic …

Today, I introduce 2020 summer collection.

Makeup sold at department stores.

Celvoke  new eyeshadows will be on sale from April 24.

18, EX12, EX13 (3840 yen each)
ADDICTION – Isetan sold these eyeshadows early in March. The other shops began selling on April 4.

2400 yen

 

Amplitude liquid eyes will be sold from May 27.

4560 yen each

4,5,6

ASSHIRO Eye palette

April 30 : SHIRO is very popular in China, I heard.

8400 yen

RMK Splash color eyes

April 17

3600 yen

 

 

Decorte

Eye glow gem

April 16

3240 yen

 

 

Paul and Joe Eye color

May 1

3600 yen

Guerlain Apr 1

 

Three lip palette. 7800 yen

April 29.

Dior May 1

 

Dolce and Gabbana May 1

 

Lunasol　Gel Oil lip 3840 yen

May 15

Shiseido Shimmer Gel Gloss 4200 yen

8, 9, 10

May 1

Laduree Glittering Eye Color  3000 yen

April 24

Thank you and I will keep you posted,

Toshiya

From Sabine

#repost @sabina_beautyisunique・・・Прилетели мои вкусняшки из Японии от @fudejapan ️Уж не знаю, чего я больше ждала, Meltykiss, кисти или новую палетку Shu Uemura Chromatics Sakura Nudes По крайней мере сладости пошли первыми в ход🏿 А кисти в этот раз базовые от Hakuhodo. Как и в прошлый раз сделаю раскрытый пост. Выбирала в этот раз специально для использования кремовых текстур. Загляните в сториз, там я показываю палетку поближе.

 

https://beautyisunique.de/ru/chikuhodo-takumi-series/https://beautyisunique.de/ru/hakuhodo-brushes-basic-i/

Japanese work style will change soon – maybe

(the picture is suqqu summer, please let me know if your interested)

Hi Everyone,

I regularly talk to Dior.

Two weeks ago, my contact said that fewer people were shopping these.days.

Few days ago, she told me that the shop was very crowded. Consumers came back.

As far as I am concerned, I still go to department stores on a regular basis, and it seems that there are many visitors there.

Isetan had many Chinese before but these days I mostly see Japanese. Still crowded.

Though many people are worried, they go shopping.

This is the current situation in Japan.

I visited the Pokemon Center and Nintendo at the new Parco. First time, but yes looks busy.

I don’t know how long it takes this situation to be over. Japanese seem to be relaxed. Mass media is busy with making people worry as always, as they can get more viewers and readers.

I cannot tell what will happen in the future, but one big factor is the Olympic Games.

I think it will be postponed, till later this year or 2 years.

Once it is decided, more moves will be seen in Japan.

————

There is another thing I can see. Many companies encourage workers to work at home or avoid the rush hour.

This may be big.

Japanese are evaluated by their faith or loyalty to a company not by individual performances. They don’t say so, of course but still is.

There are so many changes introduced to workplaces, but how faithful is still important. If your performances can sh0w numbers e.g. sales, it is different, but many performances are evaluated by their superiors, and this vague ‘faithfulness’ is counted.

Now this coronavirus.

Remote work  is encouraged and their performance will be evaluated by their output or what they produce. That will be a performance based evaluation.

The coronavirus might be a trigger for many people to change their workstyle.

Thank you for reading!

Toshiya

How I send brushes overseas

Hi Everyone,

I was informed that  JP Post cannot send a parcel to China from Japan, due to the decrease of fights between Japan and China. Now I cannot send products to China, excluding Hong Kong and Macau.

It seems that we can still send EMS to most countries.

The other days, I found that we cannot send EMS to Kazakhstan.

In this newsletter, I want to talk about how I send brushes and makeup to your country, and some issues I encountered.

I use EMS　(Express Mail Service ) mainly. Very rarely I use registered mail.

The big difference is the amount of insurance covered by each method.

Registered mail insures 6000 yen at max, regardless of an amount put to the label.

EMS insures an amount written in the label and it is free coverage up to 20,000 yen.

If your purchase is 15000 yen and written on the label, it is fully insured by EMS for free premium, but registered mail insures only 6000 yen. If more than 20,000 yen,  with an additional charge, e.g. 50 yen to the next threshold, basically all is covered when lost or damaged.

It has been good for several years except for some delays.

I have recently had several issues and want to write about them.

I had three parcels that were not delivered last month. It was very rare to have three cases at the same time.

Holland, France and Brazil.

Those parcels were  not delivered.

When not delivered, an investigation request is submitted to the JP Post by me.

I usually bring it to a big Post. The closest one is Shibuya.

Usually, actions are taken directly the investigation is submitted.

The parcel in Brazil was delivered to a client very quickly, but there have been longer processes for French and Dutch cases.

Eventually, I was informed that the French one was lost, and that the Dutch one was returned to Japan.

It was not the end of the story for the French case.

I was requested to send a letter to seek for the insurance – 6000 yen for registered mail, but later, the box arrived at my place!

There was a report that it was lost but it actually was returned.

For several years, I have been sending parcels overseas, so far no loss of a parcel. And this time ended with no loss.

I felt sorry to my clients that wait so long…

I wish all to be good, but these types of troubles or exceptions give me good knowledge.

So I can grow.

Maybe I can be an EMS consultant LOL)

 

Thank you for your time,

Toshiya

 

Coronavirus situation in Japan, feedback on synthetic hair brush

Hi Everyone,

The coronavirus is spreading.

In Japan, schools have been closed for the last 3 weeks.

There are very few events whether big or small, professional baseball was postponed till April, Sumo is now played in front of no audience.

I walked around Shibuya today, and the Shibuya Crossing was still crowded.

But there were few people at Hachi.

Yet life in Japan is not very different from usual

Differences are that people wash their hands REALLY hard ! and wear more masks than usual at this time of pollen allergy spring.

I wash my hands whenever needed, but I come to work at Shibuya every day.  Business as usual.

Department stores are still crowded.

Considering the size of Tokyo and Japan, the spread was not as rapid as expected.

I cannot explain this well, but Japanese are optimistic or unrealistic… I cannot tell.

I received feedback on my blog about the trend of synthetic hair from several people.

They prefer natural hair,and it is one of the biggest reasons why Kumano brushes are bought.

I seldom receive an order for synthetic. The only exception is I5608N.

Even if brushes are made by brush craftsmen in Kumano, as long as it is synthetic hair, they will  not like it. I was told.

I gave this feedback to Kihitsu and he said there were some long selling synthetic brush sets.  It is sold by DHC.

https://www.dhc.co.jp/search/index.jsp#q-%E3%83%A1%E3%83%BC%E3%82%AF%E3%83%96%E3%83%A9%E3%82%B7,cs-,p-1,s-60,c-20,l-matrix,cp-1,g-,co-,in-,ca-,pr-,sc-

Just for your information.

I know natural hairs are popular among fude lovers!

Thank you for reading!

Toshiya

 

Two trends of Kumano fude I see

Hi Everyone,

I was chatting with one of the brush manufacturers from Kumano the other day.

He talked about a buyer for a big department store. How she  perceives the makeup brush market.

The buyer said to him, ‘ many makeups products come with brushes. And most users in Japan are ok with brushes that come with the makeups. So there are less needs for brushes themselves these days’

I am not fully convinced with her opinion, as Hakuhodo seems to be selling well.  Takeda as well.

But, yes brush makers provide more and more brushes to makeup makers – big names.

Here are what happened.

Kihitsu stopped selling at Isetan.

Koyudo is not selling at Tokyu Plaza at Ginza any more.

Shaquda is not selling at Mitsukoshi Ginza any more.

I think it good that brush companies concentrate on what they need to do and stop doing what is not necessary.

That is what I try to do: Treat each client as if she is a friend. In doing so, and having a small operation, I know I cannot expand my business to a mass market.

If I can provide my service to a small market (niche) of each country, it will be good numbers of clients, I hope.

The other trend is that brush companies are moving to synthetic hair gradually.

Goat is still in stock, but kolinsky (powder and cheek) and some squirrel are barely in stock.

I know most of you prefer natural hair, and Kumano brushes are wanted especially for those hairs.

Do you still want Kumano brushes even with synthetic hair?

These two trends seem to be going on now.

Shrinking retail capabilities, and moving to synthetic hair.

Shrinking retails mean more OEM’s ( providing brushes under names of makeup companies, e.g. Chikuhodo does to Kanebo)

Regardless, there are some department brands.

Hakuhodo keeps selling at department stores. Shaquda does as well. But I don’t know who buys most. Maybe foreign people. Not by Japanese.

I buy Hakuhodo which are requested by my clients from overseas. I often see Chinese buyers at Hakuhodo desks.

Maybe more foreigners or foreign buyers buy than Japanese.

If you look at a big picture, there are big markets outside Japan, getting big every year, and the market size in Japan is shrinking. The population of Japanese is decreasing every year.

Is it a good idea to have many shops in Japan like Hakuhodo? And is it good to switch to synthetic hair ?

I personally am looking at the market outside Japan, and I don’t see the market of synthetic hair yet.

I will take a look more close and will write more in the future.

Thank you for reading,

Toshiya

Japanese are wasting time in explaining their names….

Hi Everyone,

Now in Japan, due to the coronavirus, big events are postponed or called off. Some companies  let their employees work at home.

Sports events are also postponed or played with no audience.

I went to Isetan yesterday, and there are much fewer Chinese tourists than usual, but still a lot of people.

I ask people who I work with or at shop about the virus.

It seems to depend on an individual how seriously they take it. I feel Japanese are, in a way, optimistic or, in another way, not realistic.

We are people who have been spoiled by the 75 years of peace. I am one of them.

At Isetan, I visited Shaquda, Decorte, and Lunasol.

Shaquda has new 3D brushes.

Decorte brushes are made by Hakuhodo.

There are eyeshadow pallets limited to Isetan.

========

I have noticed that the Japanese parents name their kids by very difficult Kanji.

I have a hard time reading those names. Some examples are:

蓮」「律」「湊」「樹」「蒼」

凛」「紬」「葵」「澪」

I don’t know how they pronounce….

My last name is Fukuma, 福馬, which means Happy福 Horse馬.

Many people mistake it for Fukushima　福島.

When I was at school, some teachers kept calling me Fukushima, not Fukuma because they are similar kanji.

I was so used to it, and did not ask them to change it.  The same happens now when I go to shopping or order by phone.

If they don’t understand, I say, “Katakana is ok” My katakana name is

フクマ

easy, right?

Well,  those kids with difficult names will have to correct or explain how to read their names for life.

If they live for 100 years, they will waste maybe 2 years of their time to explain their names, LOL.

Thank you for reading!

Toshiya

 

How do I get limited products in Japan?

Hi Everyone,

Today, I want to talk about the process of buying limited products in Japan.

——-

How do I get a limited product?

This is what I do.

First, I try to reserve a limited product in advance.  Usually two weeks or one before a sales date.

It is the easiest and I don’t have to wait in a long line on the first day of sale. 

But sometimes it is difficult.

When a product is really popular, a shop doesn’t accept a call to the representative number of a department store by which I can have them call me back. 

Some shops say that we should call a direct number only. And a phone never goes through….even with many attempts in a day.

Therefore, I sometimes call shops, outside Tokyo, have products sent by mail because local shops have fewer clients. For example, Okayama or Sapporo.  But they have fewer products available ( !) so the situation may not be much different.

If I cannot talk to a shop, I call them on the first day of sale. 

And if a phone doesn’t still go through, I go to a shop in person. 

That is how I usually do.

I try to avoid to buy on the first day. Even if I am at a shop, they limit the number of products per person. 

I find Chinese tourists come with family members so that they can get more. That is how it should be done….

I do only by myself.  So I sometimes come back on the second day.

The most difficult one  was Shu Uemura Pokemon. 

I waited in line for one hour and got nothing. 

I explained and apologized to my clients at the time. 

I really felt sorry for my clients because my clients reserved one month in advance. 

One issue here is that makeup shop employees are not evaluated by an individual performance for a commission except for some foreign brands  – Dior and Chanel evaluate individual performance more, I reckon.

Most of the cases, Japanese shops are evaluated on a shop basis  so it is hard for me to ask a special favor. A member is not motivated by getting more sales. 

Regardless, I  know some people who know me and what I do, and are willing to help me.

It must have been a moment when their perception changed from a strange guy asking a swatch and taking a picture to  a Fude Japan business person (LOL).

If they trust me, it gets easy. Trust is a key.

Well, these days I get more and more comfortable in getting limited.

I am always amazed that my clients get information on limited products earlier than I do.

FYI, if you look for limited products on the web,

limted is 限定

makeup is メイクアップ

makeup brush is　化粧筆

thank you for reading!

Toshiya

 

 

Masks are in high demand in Japan

Hi Everyone,

I visited the Amplitude shop in Shibuya the other day.

Amplitude is a brand that belongs to the THREE group.

Both are owned by POLA.

Rumiko, which RMK was named after, now create products for Amplitude.

I recognized that many ex-RMK employees are now with Amplitude. They are in love with Rumiko. Amplitude is expanding more and more, starting from Isetan.

I was told by a Laduree shop that RMK has excellent foundations, and Amplitude should be the same as it is created by Rumiko.

This time, I bought the limited eyeshadows.

———————-

I found an interesting blog about masks, which are sold out all over Japan due to the coronavirus.

The blogger is saying,

‘If masks are bought more than needed and sold out, people who are infected might not be able to buy them. Those infected, if not wearing masks, might give the virus to other people.’

He is talking from a different viewpoint where masks should be sold to. People who need a mask are those infected.

Japan sends many masks to China. I am sure that some Japanese think it important to distribute them in Japan first.

It is not only liked by Chinese social media, but it may make sense with a view to preventing more from being infected.

This reminds me of ‘Giver’ theory.  A Giver contributes to others, and by doing so, the Giver eventually gets more from an increased base.

Thank you for reading,

Toshiya

 

 

Dior Limited – is it Japan only?

Hi Everyone,

I received a question if Diorskin face powder and eyeshadow are limited to Japan.

When I reserved them at Dior, I asked this question. She is a makeup artist.

She thought it was Japan limited, but not 100% sure. She has not been informed.

This is what she thinks:

Peter Philips, a top makeup artist in Dior, was inspired by an idea of a Japanese garden, especially Gingko, and created these ‘Gingko’ imaged products.

Besides, Diorskin has developed the whitening product line, targeted to Japanese women.　These are Diorskin products.

But it could be sold later in other Asian countries as the Diorsnow products were previously sold.

What I think is that Dior decides later if they expand a product to another country or not.

By the way, I wrote about which brands I like to visit, which ones I don’t.

Dior is one of the best because I know 4 or 5 makeup artists and those are very easy to talk to.

Some of them will take a trip to Malaysia Dior. It must be interesting if you have a chat)

Dior seems to have one or two makeup artists in each shop, and their backstage has not only MA’s but other kinds of specialists – e.g. skincare.

That is different from other brands. Chanel has MA’s but they don’t work at a shop every day. Only at events.

She told me that a person who wants to be an MA studies at makeup school, then studies at Dior and takes some Dior tests to be MA’s.

It sounds like Dior is more open to people who want to work as an MA.

She gave me other information:  the cushion foundation with this special case may be resold in April.

Thank you for reading!

Toshiya

Limited products – Dior, Laduree, Celvoke

Hi Everyone,

It is said that the Japanese love saving money. Is it true?

Japanese like saving money?

People want to be assured lifelong or long, to say the least.

This ethics ? was taught  in the Meiji Era( 1868 – 1912 ) when many countries tried to increase weapons to use in wars. 

Saving is good for the government to increase power at that time.

The concept of saving has since been loved by people in Japan. 

There is an argument.

If people spend money, of course, in good ways, it will increase economic power in general, and people will get more wealthy, many economists say.

Of course,  ‘good’ ways are hard to come up with.  

Anyway, it is one of the Japanese traditions.

I talked about Yu Darvish, a baseball player in Chicago, who challenged the traditional way of using a chopstick. 

It is another traditional way which could be challenged.  

It seems to be similar to the ‘Giver’ concept,  where the money is given (?) to people and it eventually increases the money of other people. 

My  father loves saving, my mother loves spending, LOL.

Maybe changing)

————

I checked the limited products today. 

This is Celvoke eyeshadow 2400yen.

Yokohama Takashimaya will open the first shop, and this is limited to Yokohama.

This is Laduree limited 3840 yen. It comes with a kit.

These are Dior limited.

Lip Maximizer 4440 yen

Face powder 6960 yen

Eyeshadow 9360 yen.


This is not limited. A client of mine sent me a nice picture of Chikuhodo Silver fox brushes.

Thank you. 

Please take a look more.

https://fudejapan.com/product-category/limited-brushes/

 

Thank you, 

Toshiya

 

 

 

 

 

 

Chikuhodo Silver Fox new eyeshadow brushes

Hi Everyone,

I wrote that shop employees wore a mask in my previous newsletter due to the Coronavirus.

Now some brands stopped touch-up. They cannot touch the skin of a client.

Those are Kanebo and Shiseido groups.

So SUQQU, RMK, Lunasol, all in the Kanebo group, and Shiseido, CDP, NARS, IPSA,  all in the Shiseido group,  stopped touch-up. You can try products by yourself, but shop employees only give you advice.

——-

Chikuhodo released new Silver Fox brushes.

Eyeshadow round/flat

Eyeshadow candle type


each 2800 yen

I also visited Hakuhodo today.
Here is a monthly set. 17160 yen

 

Thank you for reading!
Toshiya

Now most shop employees wear masks

Hi Everyone,

Due to the Coronavirus, department store employees now wear masks. The only exception was Lancome. 

On the subway, it is 50% of passengers that wear masks, I observe.

By the way,
in Japan, many wear masks even before the Coronavirus.

The purpose is to prevent flu, of course,
but some women wear them when they don’t do makeup)

Did you know?

—————————

It is February, and February is a month of entrance exams.

In Japan, school starts in April.
February and March (national universities) are the months of exams.

It is hard for students as it is one-time match. The new system of essay and recommendation started several years ago, but still not finalized.

Junior high schools’ exams start from February 1, and then high schools, private universities, and national universities in March.

Good junior high schools are believed to be better routes to good universities and a good university was a ‘good’ life in Japan.

But now kids want to be something else.
‘YouTuber.’ 

The value of Japanese is changing.

I read an interesting article.
Yu Darvish, a baseball player in Chicago, tweeted,
‘my way of using a chopstick may not be traditional to Japan, but there are many ways.’ 

Some Japanese criticize that he needs to correct his way. Some say it depends on an individual.

Darvish responded that it was his way.
Some believe it should be a traditional way, which is fine for him.

Actually, I like him. 

I like his way of initiating discussions. 

But yes, I know Japanese and some foreigners respect the Japanese tradition and think we should follow it. I respect the tradition. And He is fine with others following the tradition, but he is just doing his own. 

He is saying it is not the only way. 

I guess I am trying to say,

Whether students pass or fail, there will be an interesting life with a value they believe.

Ganbette! (do your best!)