Skin Type/Concerns: Forever a makeup novice, especially because I have eyelids that are really hard to work with.

Product Name: Majolica Majorca Shadow Customize

Thoughts: I’m always hesitant to say anything about makeup, but someone had to bring these up. They’re single-color eyeshadows that cost 550 JPY a pop, with 23 different colors at the moment. There are better eyeshadows out there, but they’re a great option (among Japanese products, at least) if you want something affordable and don’t want to commit to a multi-color palette.

Brands like Kate, Visée, and even Cezanne also have them now, but (as far as I know) Majolica Majorca was the only Japanese drugstore brand with single-color eyeshadows for a really long time, especially with more than like, 3–5 colors in the lineup. I just checked and the (current) single-color eyeshadows from the other brands I mentioned first came out in 2016–2019, whereas this Majolica Majorca product has been around since 2004 (with changes to the lineup throughout the years). —But maybe there were other discontinued products in the past that I’ve forgotten about, so don’t take my word for it. My point is that they might’ve been more remarkable in the past, but I still think they’re worth mentioning.

I’ve had/repurchased BE286 Gorgeous Shimai for ages, and I find BE384 Cork and BR583 Teddy easy to work with as well. I think they have a pretty good mix of both basic colors and more interesting ones for experimentation (again, probably good for trying out more adventurous colors before deciding to commit to something pricier). They might not always be ideal in terms of staying power and color payoff—I think it depends on the color, but I also think people who are used to western products tend to find that Japanese eyeshadows have poor color payoff in general (personally that makes them easier to use)—but I think it’s pretty good considering the price.