8 Japanese makeup and skincare products that can survive the Manila heat!

Hello, summer!

The sun has only grown to be more blatantly insistent in making itself known these days and the heat is just unbearable sometimes. We can take one step out of the house and all our makeup has already melted off. It’s frustrating–we put that stuff on our face for a reason.

Fear not! After hoarding (and I mean hoarding) skincare from Japan like a crazy person, I can tell you what stuff works even in the moody Manila heat (that sometimes even switches to rain!). I was worried about some of the skincare in our humid conditions but they surprised me by staying strong!

8. S Primavista Makeup Base

S Primavista Primer

Primers are usually hit and miss for me. Primers that are popular abroad sometimes don’t work out here because of the extreme heat and my tendency to sweat as hard as I cry (which is pretty hard already). But this stuff proved me wrong!

It glides on so smoothly and sets right away that I was almost confused at how quickly it settled. It doesn’t completely mattify or anything but it did reduce some shine on my face! But what really wowed me was how it helped all my makeup stay on the entire day. Even with my oily skin!

I believe in this stuff. It’s like cement for my foundation.

7. Canmake Cream Cheek

Canmake cream cheek

I’m pretty 50/50 about cream products. Sometimes they’re greasy and just worsen the oil situation already on my face. Other times they’re stiff and skippy. But this stuff seems to hit the sweet spot!

With just the right amount of slip and pigment, it stays on the entire day with minimal fading. I would like to think it temporarily stains the cheeks which helps keep the color on! It looks like a natural flush or like you’ve got a healthy glow.

6. Kiss Me Heroine Make Eyeliner

Kiss Me Heroine eyeliner

I’m iyakin to the max and no other eyeliner has stayed on quite like this. It’s sharp, precise, and very pigmented. It’s so easy to wing your liner with this!

This stayed on the entire day after I watched Up. My mascara was gone, streaks were in my foundation, even my blush had suffered my constant sleeve-wiping. But not this liner. It somehow soldiered on and gave my droopy eye shape the perfect lift even when I was bawling. If it can survive Up, it can survive anything.

5. Lululun Moist Gel Cream

Lululun moist gel cream

Most people think they don’t need to moisturize when they’ve got oily skin. That’s not true! Moisture is essential to the skin! You don’t need to go as heavy as those with dry skin, but you definitely still need a touch. This moist gel cream is perfect for my oily skin. I like it because it’s so lightweight (and also because it smells divine).

If you’ve seen those enormous packs of facemasks, this is from the same company. They’re famous for the masks that you can wear daily but this is just as impressive. The cream is not too heavy and my skin absorbs it right away! It’s kept my rare dry patches at bay and keeps my skin super soft and bouncy.

4. DHC Deep Cleansing Oil

DHC cleansing oil

Applying oil to oily skin sounds like bad news but this stuff is just something else entirely.

This melts off all my makeup but doesn’t make my skin feel slick or greasy after. If anything, it makes it feel nice and soft! I feel super clean and just need a light wash after to make sure no leftover oil is still sitting on top (which is rare). It melts off even the most stubborn of mascara and eyeliner!

This is more effective than other makeup removers and I’m surprised at how much it works even in the heat! It doesn’t make me feel like I’m baking in the sun or anything. I just feel very very clean.

3. Evita Beauty Whip Soap

Evita beauty whip soap

Stripping our face of excess oil is important. Now we can do it with style.

This beautiful foam cleanser, when pumped out, emerges from the can in the shape of a flower. It’s adorable, it’s effective, and it’s so brilliant. I’m floored every time I use it (pro-tip: Don’t hold on too long–it just keeps going and going and there’s so much foam!).

While it does its job with digging out all the dirt and washing it away along with excess sebum, it doesn’t dry the face out too much. Manila makes me oily af and I use this for a gentle wash to kiss all that excess away. Also, the flower is adorable.

2. Lucido L Argan Rich Oil

Lucido L argan rich oil

I’ve got thick, heat-damaged hair. Most of us do. Where the skin on our faces might be a goldmine for oil, our hair can be the opposite. It’s dry, frizzy, damaged. All because the sun decides it likes being extra obnoxious to us. Worry not! This Argan oil serum has brought my hair some healthy bounce and shine back!

Wearing this in my hair, it feels a little more put together. Like I’m not a walking ball of frizz ready to attract all the static electricity. It’s not heavy and it keeps my hair happy and hydrated. It also smells really good.

1. Melano CC Vitamin C serum

Melano CC spot treatment essence

My oily skin is also sometimes acne-prone. And I get so impatient with pimples that I do the opposite of what we’re all told: I touch them. Constantly. Scratch them off, poke them, try to get rid of them quicker. Which, as we all know, is bad for us. And I always pay the price with dark spots and acne scars. They’re unsightly and only remind us of how bad we are at following instructions (ouch).

After trying a ton of products that say they help fade acne scars (some did but at a glacial place and I would run out of product even before I got far enough), I ended up trying this Vitamin C one and I was immediately hooked. This stuff is potent. It’s fading my scars much faster!

It also doesn’t feel greasy at all, making me feel at ease about packing it on the spots that really need some TLC.

Got a friend in Japan for vacation? A relative? A classmate you talked to once because they needed the assignment from that session they missed 2 weeks ago (hey, might be time to cash in that favor)? I suggest you ask for these! They don’t disappoint!

Which one would you like to try? Let us know!