Tag Archives: Tokyo

Retail notes from Tokyo: [Show Report] Cosme Tokyo 2023

Cosme Tokyo 2023 was my first in-person Cosme Tokyo since the pandemic. The 2022 show actually took place offline again but back then travel to Asia was still impossible for Europeans, so I attended Cosme Tokyo 2022 digitally. Cosme Tokyo 2021 was a fully digital show as well. And here are the links to the 2020, 2019 and 2018 shows, if you’re interested.

Cosme Tokyo 2023 was smaller than its pre-pandemic editions. Then again, this has been the case with every international beauty trade show that I’ve attended over the past nine months (from Cosmoprof Bologna 2022 over Vivaness 2022 to Cosmoprof Asia 2022). I think it’ll be a few more years before these global trade fairs return to normal again.

Quite a few of Cosme Tokyo’s regular Japanese exhibitors didn’t attend the show this year, and the Chinese exhibitor contingent was also much smaller than usual. So was the number of European and US/Canadian brands, by the way – I only saw a half dozen or so non-Asian beauty companies at the fair. Still, it was a super interesting Cosme Tokyo and I was incredibly happy to be back at Tokyo Big Sight.

Halls (10)

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Cosme Tokyo 2022: [Show Report]

The 10th edition of Japan’s largest beauty retail show Cosme Tokyo took place from 12th to 14th January 2022 at Tokyo’s Big Sight Expo Centre.

Unlike last year’s event, Cosme Tokyo 2022 was not a hybrid show; it was held completely offline but luckily organizers RX Japan (formerly Reed Exhibitions Japan) had provided a detailed exhibitor database and digital product showcase. There were even two live-stream segments from the show (which were so much fun to watch!) so I attended from a distance, as per usual these days.

If you’re interested in checking out my previous trade show coverage, here are the links: Cosme Tokyo 2021, Cosme Tokyo 2020, Cosme Tokyo 2019, Cosme Tokyo 2018 and Cosme Tokyo 2014.

Cosme Tokyo LEAD

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Retail notes from Tokyo: [Brand Profile] Tokotowa Organics

Today I visited organic perfumery chain Cosmekitchen’s Naturopathy outlet in Shinjuku’s luxury Newoman department store to check out the aromatherapy fragrances of Japanese organic perfume brand Tokotowa Organics. I had met the founder of Tokotowa’s parent company Organic Styles at the Natural Cosmetics Conference 2017 in Berlin just last month – and of course I was immediately interested. A Japanese aromatherapy brand? Cool!

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Retail notes from Tokyo: [Store Profile] Hands Expo Culture Mall at Tokyu Plaza, Ginza

This is more of a pictorial article! I was in Ginza a few days ago and whilst I was navigating my way through Ginza subway station I almost accidentally strayed into Tokyu Plaza department store. Like so many of Tokyo’s department stores and malls, Tokyu Plaza has several direct exits to the underground public transport system. On my way to the Marounochi line I saw one of the exits for Tokyu Plaza and went in; was charmed by the food places and restaurants in the basement levels and decide to explore the store further. And this is how I ended up walking around the Hands Expo Culture Mall for almost an hour, admiring arts, crafts and foods from all over Japan.

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Tokyo Design Week 2016: [Show Report]

One of the highlights of this autumn’s Tokyo trip was the visit to Tokyo Design Week 2016. TDW is one of the biggest and most important design shows in Asia; it takes place each year in Tokyo’s Meiji Jingu-mae park in late October (this year, TDW took place from 26th October to 7th November) and it is – quite simply – fabulous.

Product design, robotics, arts and crafts, architecture, interior design, intelligent fabrics – off-beat, ingenious, weird, innovative logical and sometimes completely bizarre design ideas; from young creators and world-famous designers and architects, design school graduates from across Asia; big international exhibitors and niche companies. It makes the brain sparkle.

This was my third visit to TDW (here are my show reviews of TDW 2014 and TDW 2015) and in 2016, my personal favourites included a pair of robot carp, a stylish boutique skin care brand from Taiwan, an Ukiyo-e juke box and two dozen juice mixers that played “Twinkle Twinkle Little Star” with different sounds. Click on the link for more pics of my favourite TDW 2016 exhibits!

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Retail notes from Tokyo: [Brand Profile] Gofun from Ueba Esou

A few days ago I was walking through drugstore retailer Ainz & Tulpe’s Harajuku store when the fabulous retro-looking packaging of Ueba Esou’s Gofun nail polish range caught my eye. That very same day, in a different part of Tokyo, I saw Gofun again; this time in a store selling traditional Japanese handicrafts. Besides the Gofun polishes, the store also carries Ueba Esou’s hand cream range – less retro-looking but equally charming. I started to research the brand and guess what – Ueba Esou isn’t a cosmetics company at all: they are a Kyoto-based manufacturer of traditional Japanese artist paints.

Gofun (2)

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Retail notes from Tokyo: [Store Profile] Its‘ Demo

I was walking around Shibuya today (my must-visit stores in this area include Cosmekitchen in Hikarie department store, the big Tokyu Hands and, of course, design depato Loft Shibuya!) and saw this interesting example of gender-specific retail: Its’ Demo is a fashion/beauty store chain aimed at an exclusively female demographic.

It's Demo 1

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Brand Profile: Satamisaki Organics

I first came across Kyushu-based niche beauty brand Satamisaki Organics in Japanese drugstore retailer Ainz & Tulpe’s Shinjuku East outlet this October (you can read my article about the company’s fabulous new Tokyo flagship store here!). Ainz & Tulpe has a special section on the first floor that is dedicated to local beauty brands from across Japan.

Ainz & Tulpe Flagship Shinjuku (54)

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Tokyo Design Week (TDW) 2015: [Show Report]

From 24th October to 3rd November 2015, Tokyo Design Week celebrated its 30th anniversary with the biggest and most spectacular show ever. Granted, it was only my second time at Japan’s most important design trade show but the whole event was on a much bigger scale than in 2014, with a number of new exhibition sections. This year they also had a central festival/food tent which hosted live bands, DJ sets and other events. I was lucky enough to catch a gig by Japanese indie band Noodles and became a fan straight away.

Amongst my favourite shows this year was the Robot Inspired Exhibition (featuring famous android girl Asuna, a robot band and some seriously intriguing examples of 3D facial and motion capturing!). The Schools Exhibition – young designers from different Asian design institutes and universities – was also very worthwhile. And then there is Creative Life: the main TDW exhibition in which brands and companies from all over the world present their take on how we might live, communicate and interact in the future.

TDW (23)

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Retail notes from Tokyo: [Store Profile] Beauty Library in Omotesando

Another interesting store which Julia from Beautyjagd and I visited last week was Beauty Library in Omotesando, just off Aoyama-dori street. Beauty Library opened in June 2015 and is run by Japanese beauty company Nature’s Way.

The retail concept for Beauty Library was created by renowned Japanese design agency Nendo: a concept store presenting organic and natural cosmetics like library information, with an attached café serving healthy foods and beverages.

And Beauty Library is indeed a beautiful store with a generous glass-fronted entrance, plenty of light and free-standing wooden product shelves that really do look a bit like library shelves.

Beauty Library (8)

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