Here’s your ultimate guide to Japanese beauty-related keywords that are frequently seen on packaging and print advertisements. What was originally intended as an ongoing bite-size series has resulted in one very extensive list with over 200 terms — it’s called “ultimate” for a reason! It covers everything from products to common problems to cosmetic procedures.
If you’re going to Japan and you want to make sure you know some important words when you’re navigating the glorious, albeit confounding, beauty aisles, this is the list for you.
If you’d like to get the most out of this list but you do not know any Japanese whatsoever, you need to familiarising yourself with romaji and also be able to differentiate Japanese characters — even if you cannot actually read them. These Japanese terms will not be much use if you cannot recognise them in the “wild” or pronounce them correctly (enough) that native Japanese speakers will actually understand you.
The list is pretty self-explanatory — there’re over 200 terms here, so do jump right to the section(s) that is to your interest.
Japanese Male Face with Boy-ish Features
(lit. “Sugar Face”)
砂糖顔 (satou-gao)
Japanese Male Face with “Western-Looking” Features
(lit. “Sauce Face”)
ソース顔 (soosu-gao)
Japanese Male Face with “Japanese-Looking” Features
(lit. “Soy Sauce Face”)
しょうゆ顔 (shouyu-gao)
Japanese Female Face with Fox-like Features — inverted triangle face, slant eyes, high sharp nose, high cheekbones
(lit. “Fox Face”)
キツネ顔 (kitsune-gao)
Japanese Female Face with Soft, Round Features — round face, large dark round eyes, large rounded nose, soft arched brows
(lit. “Japanese Racoon Dog Face”)
Are full lips popular in Japan, and is cosmetic lip filler a procedure that people get? I recall hearing once that smaller lips were considered more desirable in Japan but I wonder if the beauty standards have been influenced by the West at all.
You might be thinking of Korea and China and their trend of gradient lips. The look supposedly plays down plump lips and draws more attention to the eyes. That trend has never taken off in Japan.
Japanese have naturally fuller lips than Caucasians so lip fillers or plumpers aren’t really a thing. When it comes to the lips, the trend in Japan has always stuck to the natural side of things. People don’t really try to make their lips look bigger/fuller (or smaller/thinner).
This list is EVERYTHING! I imagine that it must have taken a considerable amount of time and effort. Thank you so much for having gone to the trouble of compiling this valuable and much-needed guide!
How common are procedures like botox and fillers in JP, especially amongst women who are middle-aged and older?
I’d say they aren’t common at all. Mainstream beauty magazines, for example, almost never mention these kinds of cosmetic procedures.
this is so useful! I was wondering how I could say “facial oil” or “oil serum” ?
Like an oil-based facial serum? Thank you!
オイルセラム (oiru seramu). It’s an English loanword.
Thanks i thought so 🙂
What does araka jime mean please?
あらかじめ (arakajime) means “beforehand”/”in advance”/”previously”
Thank you 🙂
Are full lips popular in Japan, and is cosmetic lip filler a procedure that people get? I recall hearing once that smaller lips were considered more desirable in Japan but I wonder if the beauty standards have been influenced by the West at all.
You might be thinking of Korea and China and their trend of gradient lips. The look supposedly plays down plump lips and draws more attention to the eyes. That trend has never taken off in Japan.
Japanese have naturally fuller lips than Caucasians so lip fillers or plumpers aren’t really a thing. When it comes to the lips, the trend in Japan has always stuck to the natural side of things. People don’t really try to make their lips look bigger/fuller (or smaller/thinner).
This list is EVERYTHING! I imagine that it must have taken a considerable amount of time and effort. Thank you so much for having gone to the trouble of compiling this valuable and much-needed guide!
hello! this list is amazing thank you!
i have a question; how do i say to hair wax as a verb- as shaving you hair etc
thank you in advance
ワックス脱毛