Adapting to Japanese beauty standards?

18 comments

1. This is a copy of your post for archive/search purposes.

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   **Adapting to Japanese beauty standards?**

   Hi, I (21f) will be studying abroad in Japan at a Japanese university.

   I am really excited but I am a VERY self conscious person. I’m probably over thinking it and no one will actually care about my appearance, but it would help my anxiety GREATLY if I got the least comments on my looks as possible.

   I look online and I see really mixed answers that range from a full face all the time to as natural as possible.

   I assume more natural makeup is popular in Japan? Is there anything I should pick up there before my first day of class?

   I have INSANELY long eyelashes, should still do mascara with them? Should I part with my winged eyeliner that usually accompanies them?

   I have acne scars, common in the US, do people hide their blemishes on a daily basis in Japan?

   Are short natural nails or long fake nails the norm?

   I’m 100lbs on a 5’3 frame, but somehow still have a bust. are shorts and a tank top appropriate for just going to the store? I get so hot so easily 🙁

   Ahh ik I’m being stupid and anxious, but if you reply tysm for relieving this weird worry that has been in my head!

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2. As a foreigner (and student) you will generally have more leeway in how you look/ dress, depending on the context you might stand out either way. It depends on the location (Tokyo vs smaller cities vs country side) and uni culture I’d say.

   Natural seems to be the most common, be it nails, makeup, hair color etc. Most people tend to dress like the Uniqlo catalogue, so long skirts and tshirts in summer, neutral colors, elegant but comfortable shiluette etc.

   Girls tend to not show a lot of skin (esp. bust) or wear super tight clothes, so shorts+ tank top might be an unusual look.

   I could tell you that it doesn’t really matter and you can dress however you’d like (which is true to a certain degree), but if you’re really sensitive to stares etc. it is best to avoid things like super bright colors and revealing outfits. I have my own style and dress nothing like the average Japanese person and don’t really get stares, but I do tend to wear relatively neutral colors and show little skin.

3. Speaking from a man standpoint so keep in mind that it is only my perception.

   Globally speaking japanese women seem to almost always wear make-up even for the most mundane task like buying food. When compared to the US standard of make-up it seems to be more discreet but the make-up here is definitely more visible than it is in my native France.

   For the mascara thing, I have no idea as it is simply not something I notice.

   It seems to me that japanese people do put a great emphasis on taking care of their skin. To the extent that most women avoid the sun like the plague.

   Also body odor seems to be very important, the best is to smell nothing. Japanese people usually don’t wear perfume and they seem to dislike being exposed to strong perfumes.

   When it comes to cleavage, japanese women usually don’t put anything on clear display and wear very modest clothing. BUT that is the opposite for skirts which can be extremely short even in the middle of winter (don’t ask me how they do it).

   Globally speaking, people will keep to themselves even if they don’t like something about your appearance. Plus if you do not look like a japanese person, their expectations will be somewhat different than what they would expect from their fellow japanese.

   In the end, please do not stress too much about all of that. You can observe your fellow student and imitate them if you want to blend in, but you can also express yourself through your physical appearance !

4. I suppose this advice is not japan specific, but generally over time you’ll understand and get used to the idea that people really aren’t thinking about you or judging you – they’re more focused on themselves. Beyond a momentary glance, you’ll quickly vanish from their thoughts.

   That said, it’s not trivial to move towards that understanding quickly.

   Based on my general observations:
   Yes, generally I’ve seen that women wear very naturally colored makeup, to the point that it’s typically kinda difficult to tell if they’re wearing any at all. There seems to be a dichotomy here – either the makeup is quite ostentatious for a specific look or quite muted.

   Can’t speak much towards eyelashes. I would assume it’s fine to just keep them natural. I never see winged eyeliner.

   I think people typically hide acne scars, but it’s hard to tell because most women wear masks. However, those that don’t never seem to have scars that I can see.

   Shorter nails are more common

   For quick trips to the store I do recommend just wearing comfortable clothing, especially if you’re going at night and if the konbini is super close to you.

5. I am currently on an exchange at a japanese university, i can’t comment on make-up (most females are still wearing masks also) but clothingstyle at my university is quite modest and a lot of neutral tones. Since you aren’t Japanese you aren’t expected to adjust completely. My tip would be go for safe and get the basics right (assuming you can not bring a lot of stuff overseas) and adapt once you’re here. Be aware that clothes in Japan (also 2nd time wear) is quite expensive in my opinion. Also for some reason they wear backpacks quite low (long strings) compared to my country.

6. Hi! I’m 35F and I teach at a Japanese university, so I see all the common variations of Japanese college fashion 💕 agreed on the fact that foreigners get more leeway, but if you want to follow the trends you could do that too!

   Makeup is up to personal preference— some of my girls wear very little and some are very done up. Even the girls with less makeup will typically have their hair very neatly styled, however— 90% have straight bangs/fringe with a couple longer chin-length pieces on either side.

   The ones who do makeup tend to focus on the eyes. There is a little trick with the eyeliner under the eyes that gives your eyes the illusion of puffiness right under— they explained to me that it looks “cute like baby eyes” 😆 and shimmery eyeshadow is very popular too. Lots of light pink/peach colors.

   As far as acne scars, again it seems to be personal preference. A LOT of my Japanese students still wear masks to class even though it’s not required and for some I’m sure it’s because it’s easier/faster than doing makeup. Lol

   There are lots of fancy nails here! Really cute long manicures with little charms and sparkles and all kinds of things on the nails… or nothing, again it’s up to your own fashion sense.

   Clothes tend to be muted colors and baggy/long OR very feminine. Cleavage is absolutely not a thing, nor is showing your shoulders. Sometimes girls with a more sporty/street style will wear an oversized t-shirt with short-ish shorts. Tank tops are almost nonexistent. I wouldn’t wear one to class… a quick run to the konbini? Maybe, but you will likely be the only person dressed that way. I don’t wear them personally… I feel uncomfortable being the only one showing my shoulders and chest 😅

   Feel free to ask anything else and I’ll try to help! For reference I’m in Saitama and my students live all over the greater Kanto area, including Tokyo proper.

7. Hi, with 21 you are very young and even though I am not that much older I very much remember all the uncertainty about appearance. I just want to tell you that you are as beautiful as every other human being! The small things that drive your brain into overthinking mode will not matter in the end. I can only recommend to you to check out videos (like on YouTube) and books about overthinking, (social) anxiety and mindfulness. For example headspace has a free series on Netflix on which they also cover fear. It helped me SO much to get out of my overthinking head. It sounds cliché and cringy, but work on loving and accepting yourself including appearance and anxiety and life will get much easier.

   So, as for Japan: people will probably see you as a foreigner anyways. But covering up is generally more safe to avoid stares and such, as in any other country, I think. It’s best to bring some longer lighter clothes for summer. You know something flow-y that doesn’t stick. Bring all the antiperspirants you can bring, because in Japan they work differently (not as effective). Revealing the chest area and tight clothes are not very common. I think you will just naturally transform yourself a bit once you get there. You will notice how people dress, put makeup on and behave in your environment and then just conform to it as much as you want. You seem very aware of other people, so I don’t think you will have a problem.

8. I want to point out that clothing fabrics is most important for staying cool in the summer. Polyester is going to make you more hot than natural fibres. Make sure to look at your clothing (shirts especially) to see if they are: cotton, light denim, linen, silk, lyocell or bamboo. You are ideally looking for your clothes to be around 100% makeup of one of those.

   If you are very concerned about sweat marks in shirts you can also get armpit protectors which you put in your shirts to help prevent any underarm sweat marks.

   Hope this helped 🙂 have fun in Japan and good luck at university!

9. You’re definitely over thinking it. it’s not unproductive to learn what’s common though it’d be more useful to know for business settings. You’re studying at uni so basically fine in whatever.

   Regarding clothes: people will say “its common not to show a lot of skin” but i live next to a girls only uni, and Japanese girls your age wear really short shorts, skirts. Top half.. yeah i don’t see many crop tops in Tokyo etc but light, short sleeved clothing like tank tops are very common especially in summer. Please don’t overheat dressing for the arctic to save face in summer. Shorts and tank top are fine, even crop-top, no one will say anything, except maybe an old jealous baba.

   Acne is hidden just the same as it is elsewhere. Foundations, masks etc, again no one cares. People keep to themselves, don’t often stare or bother anyone. If products make your acne worse, again don’t worry about it.

   Also – You can’t mention “INSANELY long eyelashes” and leave us hanging. Are we talking Guinness world record?

10. Being concerned about “fitting in” in Japan, in any sense, is something of a recipe for disaster. You will stick out and be regarded as different no matter what you do. In particular, being overweight AND being self-conscious about it may make life tough here. Having your own personal style, one that you are comfortable with (i.e., “I’m different in a good way”) and that does not annoy/offend the Japanese around you, is the way to go. As someone else wrote, no body odor and no (strong) perfume is one of the key rules. There are many others, and provided you don’t violate them and feel confident and comfortable being different, you can thrive in Japan.

11. Took me awhile to figure out that many women here get eyelash extensions (or wear falsies often). So if you have naturally long lashes it won’t stand much even if you want to emphasize them with mascara.

12. So lots of people have been replying about the current trends in amongst college kids, so I won’t reiterate that hear, except to say that there is a range of styles. I work at a university and young women wear everything from gothic Lolita getups, to rock tees and baggy jeans, to skirts and feminine tops.

    However, the most important thing is that as a foreigner, you’re not expected to conform to this. As a foreign exchange student you’re there in part to add some interest and give Japanese students a chance to interact with foreigners. So don’t worry about “fitting in”— you’re meant in many ways to stand out! That said, if it makes you more comfortable to try and dress in similar outfits, go for it.

13. I think it depends. I never went to Uni in japan or Tokyo for that matter. But when I visit Tokyo, I always notice how fashion forward it is. I think you can more easily wear what you like.
    I think in general, Japanese people tend to cover up more on top – chest and shoulders but wearing shorter skirts is more accepted.
    If you are blessed up top, it might be better to try to cover up a little more.
    As for makeup, I used to wear a full face but now I’m lazy and just put on my daily moisturizers for everyday. Nails done are fine but also not necessary. I think you can relax and show off your personality and wear the things that you like without worries. I think just be mindful of your chest/ shoulders in your outfits and that’s it?

    If you are worried about summer, you can buy undershirts that are cooling and help with swearing. And think tops. I think a spaghetti strap scoop neck is a bit revealing unless doing like a late night conbini run. Thin, flowing tops can be cool as well but cover up a bit more. You can also buy these cooling wipes. They are like minty and cooling so good for cleaning off sweat an cooling down a bit on hot days. I usually will step into the bathroom and wipe myself down and then get back to work or whatever.

14. I don’t have many specific comments, but I do want to say that there will be no avoiding people commenting on your appearance. It doesn’t matter what you do, people will comment. For some reason a lot of people think tact doesn’t matter when it’s a foreigner.

15. Please don’t waste too much energy stressing about this now because I PROMISE you’ll find entirely different things to be self conscious about once you’re in a groove and have a social circle.

    Living in Japan for 3 years gave me a ton of self confidence issues I didn’t have before about totally weird things I didn’t expect. My shoulder width, my thighs, the skin tone of my ankles and knees, my hair texture. I tried to dress in fashionable Japanese clothes for awhile but they just didn’t look good on my body type. It took me a long time to recover from this actually and just accept myself, let alone feel pretty again.

    All that said, University students have way more leeway in fashion and makeup. Feel free to do your thing. If you were in a workplace you’d be expected to have neat, tidy hair, neutral clothes, clean nails, and natural makeup. Not the case for uni!

    If you value your potential to have friendships with Japanese women your age though, dress conservative (as in keep your cleavage and shoulders covered; showing legs is fine) and don’t wear too sexy/attention grabbing of makeup. You might get compliments for these things from women, but they’re not about to invite you for lunch at a cafe. They might not want to be seen with you. This is probably less of an issue in Tokyo though

16. From what I’ve seen over here, there’s a lot of blouse/frilly top/sweater + skirt combo stuff for women… I’m not an expert on women’s fashion by any means, but as other commenters have pointed out, it does tend to the conservative side. Although especially if you’re around Harajuku, or some other fashionista sections of big cities, you’ll definitely see some more out there kind of stuff. Overall, I would stay on the safe side if you’re feeling self conscious. If it helps, imagine like you’re going to lunch with your grandparents or boss or something, until you really get in a rhythm over here and know what looks and feels comfortable for you!

17. In the best way possible, its not that deep! At the end of the day Japanese people are just like any other people going about their day and don’t really care about what somebody else’s outfit or makeup is. I think at the end of the day just being comfortable is going to be the best way to go.

18. If you wanna adopt Japanese beauty standards, there are several options you can go.
    1. Kirei: means beautiful, often imply more adult style like
    2. Kawaii: kawaii means totally different in English and Japanese. Kawaii here means adorable types of beauty
    These two are the biggest options but there are more for your preference like jirai-Kei, ryousan-Kei, Seiso-Kei and stuff.
    You might wanna Google them all to see what it looks like and there are trillions of YouTube tutorials explaining how to be it