It’s the latest news! A few days ago, @cosme, a Japanese beauty and cosmetic site, announced the best new cosmetic products for the first-half of 2016. @cosme is a community site that boasts 14 million visitors and 13 million reviews every month. The heavy users are females who have a high level awareness of beauty matters, making the reviews to be very useful when choosing products. The product reviews form the basis of how @cosme ranks the products for the first half of 2016.

By the way, these are some of the items that has ranked in in the past!

Sekkisei Emulsion Excellent (2013 Face Lotion Category)

Fancl Mild Cleansing Oil (2014 Skin Care Category)

JILL STUART Ribbon Couture Eyes (2015 Eye Shadow Category)

For this round’s best cosmetics of the first half of 2016, 3478 products that were released between 1 Nov 2015 and 30 Apr 2016 were chosen and ranked.

We shall introduce some of the products that survived the ranking gauntlet.

First, the best out of the 3478 items!

RMK Lip Jelly Gloss

Translucent-like colours and juicy look of fruits, this item is highly rated for giving its users an attractive bouncy look to their lips.

01 Sparkle Red
02 Romantic Pink
03 Baby Blue
04 Orange Pearl
05 Shiny Pink
06 Candy Pink
07 Coral Pink
08 Lavender
EX-01 Sparkling Ruby
EX-02 Sparkle Pink
EX-03 Vivid Pink

There are a total of 11 colour variations, and can fulfill your desire to become cute or sexy. The most popular in Japan is 03 Baby Blue. Blue gloss is quite rare, and the laminated look gives a pair of round and glossy lips. In fact, blue coloured makeup is popular this year, cosmetics of bluish pink, lavender, violet receive a lot of attention, which may be another reason why the Baby Blue is popular.

Next is the category we’ve been talking about recently: sunscreens.

Number 1: Anessa Essence UV Aqua Booster

Among all the sunscreens, the popular Anessa brand that is well known even outside Japan, has taken number one for its silver sunscreen.

The reason for its popularity and good reviews is because of its wonderful UV protection, and its resistance towards water and sweat. The moist application also provides moisture for the skin.

Both gold and silver Anessa sunscreens has Aqua Booster Technology, meaning when applied, the membrane of sunscreen applied is able to protect your skin from UV rays, while remaining resistant to water sources such as water and sweat.

The silver Anessa sunscreen contains hyaluronic acid which makes the skin firm. The gold Anessa sunscreen is a “super waterproof” type and applies easily. By the way, the gold Anessa sunscreen was ranked third on the charts.

Next, the serums and boosters category.

Number 1: Naturie Skin Conditioning Gel (Adlay Moisturising Gel)

This is the gel-type adlay face lotion that got famous through reviews and recommendations.
Adlay is an ingredient used in traditional Chinese medicine, and is good for the skin. It is noted for its effectiveness against acne, discolouration, freckles, and for anti-aging.

Reason for its popularity and reviews:
It has a cooling feel gel that is comfortable to apply, and it’s stored in the refrigerator.
Its price is low, so you can consider applying on the body too.
Adlay series + Nivea is the ultimate catch.

For busy people, using the adlay moisturising gel is enough, but by combining the adlay moisturising series with Nivea cream like many reviews say provides a surprising skin beautifying outcome that has gotten quite popular.

The Nivea cream is able to protect the skin completely, while the outstanding adlay ingredient penetrates the skin deeply. Whatever the price, it is definitely worth giving this a try!

Next, it’s the sheet masks category.

Number 1: Keana Nadeshiko Rice Masks

The surreal packaging attracted a lot of people to want to try out this mask. In Japan, there are those who use the leftover water from washing rice as a zero cost skin care. However these masks are made of 100% Japanese rice.

Reason for its popularity and reviews:
The sheets are thick, allowing plenty of serum to be used on the face.
The serum in the pack is in great amounts, and can be used after finishing the masks.
The milky lotion has an elastic feel to it too.

Seeing how much serum the pack has, it feels like we got a good deal!
The packaging retained the cute Japanese traditional image, making it a good souvenir too. Keana Nadeshiko also has a men’s series.

In the Shampoo & Conditioner Category

Number 1: Dear Beaute Oil In Shampoo/Conditioner (Volume and Repair)

This is the sunflower and blue skies packaging that has been stirring the community. It is loved by those who are looking for reasonably priced shampoo that works as well as those in salons.

Reason for its popularity and reviews:
The package is cute, making it a great addition in the bathroom. It also has a great fragrance.
Perms are easier to handle, and your hair will get an airy volume.

For those who have thin hair and for thinning hair, the Volume and Repair type is recommended as it gives the hair the resilience, while giving the hair a gentle and airy look.

In the same series, the orange-packaged items are Dear Beaute Oil Shampoo Conditioner Rich and Repair. This has the ability to control volume, thus recommended for thick hair and for hair that puffs easily.

The number one products from every category are products that have extra features to it. Not only do they work effectively, the prices and packaging are not compromising to the willfulness of the female customers. Products that are popular outside of Japan and within Japan are likely to be different, so you may not be familiar with them. But we the Japanese have tried many different Japanese products, so do join in quickly and enjoy the popular items now! We also greatly welcome questions about the products. With that, see you next week.