(Biteki magazine, August 2007)
Biteki is one of the major beauty magazines in Japan. There are others, such as Voce and Maquia, but Biteki has always been my firm favorite.
The magazine was launched in May, 2001. I think I have almost every issue. Even here in the UK, I subscribe to it at JP-Books in Mitsukoshi Department Store London. I pay the airmail rate so the latest issue arrives about 5 days after it is in store in Japan. The service at JP-Books is absolutely wonderful.
Biteki is like Allure in America (there is no equivalent in the UK!!), but I have to say Biteki is much better. First of all, it is much more up-to-date. The regular feature “launch calendar” lists all the major launches in the upcoming month, and there are comments on some of these new products from readers who were asked to try them by the magazine.
Second of all, it is *way* more comprehensive (there’s simply no comparison). Every March, June, September, and December issue has a major feature (for at least 20 pages) of virtually all the new seasonal makeup products (usually around 1000 items, mostly with actual-size photos) by all the major brands (around 45 brands).
Biteki focuses specifically on skincare and makeup. There is very little fashion, or even perfume. That’s what I like about Biteki. With it, I know everything I need to know about what to expect in the beauty market and I can make very informed purchase choices.
As mentioned earlier, there is no equivalent to such kind of magazine in the UK. Compared with British people, Japanese people are much more into skincare and makeup. They want to know everything and they enjoy staying updated. British people are much more laid-back about this and they don’t do nearly as much research. Certainly a huge cultural difference. (I would probably put American consumers in the middle. Websites like MakeupAlley and most blogs about beauty products are US-based, while there are extremely few beauty blogs in the UK.)
I have shown many issues of Biteki to my local Dior sale assistant. She loved them and agreed with me that there should be a magazine just about cosmetics in the UK. I wonder when it is ever going to happen…
Updated on October 24, 2007:
Photo of the cover of Biteki magazine August 2007 is added above.
{ 12 comments… read them below or add one }
You are so right about the lack of beauty orientated mags in the UK. I’m from the US and I miss the better resources for make-up in particular. There are loads of women in the UK who would buy a magazine like Allure but its just not produced.
I’m really tempted to subscribe to the magazine you mentioned from japan even if I can’t understand the text I can drool over the pictures :D
Hello there,
Thank you very much for leaving a comment!
I am sure you know that US Allure is available in some larger bookstores in the UK. But, as you know, many products are just not available here.
I really hope there will be a good cosmetics-based magazine in the UK. I do think there is a market for it!
My wildest dream would be to set up a cosmetics magazine in the style of Biteki that is mainly for all the cosmetics fans in the UK…
I don’t know if you happen to live anywhere near London. If you do or if you have time to travel to London, do have a look at Biteki, Maquia and Voce in JP Books in Mitsukoshi Department Store near Piccadilly Circus. Also, near Piccadilly Circus, you can find these magazines in the book/magazine section in Japan Centre.
Maybe you can try buying one issue of any of these magazines and see whether you can enjoy looking at the photos. (I believe you totally can!) Then you can decide whether you want a subscription. (In JP Books, the shortest subscription they do is six months.)
Do e-mail me if you have any related question.(The address is toward the top of the home page.) I’ll be glad to help out!
Take care!
Hola,
I was googling for some Japaneses beauty tips, ’cause they are much more into deep skincare and found your blog.
I’m from Angola but I live in Madrid, and with my Mediterranean’s genetic mixing and all this changes from very hot and humid weather to cold and extremely dry, so after many cosmetics I settled on Kanebo…
but Im looking forward to know more tips and products…
so Im adding you to my bookmarks!
Thanks for the magazine I found the link online and Im checking it,
Cheers
Belaart
Hello Belaart,
Thank you so much for visiting my blog and leaving a comment!
Thank you as well for introducing yourself to me. It is always great to know a little more about my readers!
Skincare can be quite tricky, isn’t it? Apart from our inherent skin types, we need to adapt ourselves to the climate we live in as well.
I had a very short trip to Madrid several years ago and I loved it. I was there in July and it was very hot. It was indeed slightly dry, but it seemed okay with the hot weather…But I know it can be difficult to keep the skin in top conditions when it is both cold and dry…(it is generally less dry here in the UK during winter…) Let me know if there is any particular product that works for you. I’d be interested to know.
Thank you as well for bookmarking my blog. Hope you will find some interesting things to read every now and then…:)
See you soon!
Hi PJ!
I enjoy your blog immensely!
I’m eagerly awaiting my first Biteki issue in the mail! I just know I’m going to enjoy looking at those pictures even though I can’t read a lick of it! Do you get most of your information on Japanese cosmetics through them (magazines) or do you have other sources?
Hello there,
Thank you very much for enjoying my blog!
I hope you will enjoy every issue of Biteki like I do!
I do get information on Japanese cosmetics from Biteki. I also browse through other Japanese cosmetics magazines in the bookstore (where I get my Biteki subscription) as well, like Voce and Maquia, which I buy occasionally.
I also get information from official websites of Japanese cosmetics brands and other Japanese websites like http://www.cosme.net.
Hope it helps. Thank you very much for visiting my blog and posting your comment. Do let me know what you think about Biteki later on! :)
Thanks for the tip! I am on my way to buying myself a few of the Japanese makeup mags!!
Hi BeautyPopStar,
Hope you’ll enjoy the magazines as I do, and let me know your thoughts later on! :)
Thank you very much for leaving your comment. :)
AAAAAAAAHHHH!! Why have i not read this before!!!! So this weekend——off I go to Mitsukoshi! Actually I can go tomorrow!!
Mega thanks x
Hey whats the make up section like in there?
Hi there,
Thank you for reading my blog!
There is actually no makeup section in Mitsukoshi London. (It is a very tiny department store.) It used to have a small Chanel counter several years ago, but it is no longer there.
Thank you for leaving your comment! I hope you’ll enjoy JP-Books there. :)
Hey there, I’m a silent reader of your blog and I love Japanese cosmetics too. =)
Have you checked out this month’s (May 2009) Biteki? I think its quite awesome cause it touched alot on foundations and its applications techniques.
But I think its quite frustrating when I want to read the text. I can understand a little bit of Chinese so I tend to buy the Taiwan mags sometimes.
Hi Cheryl,
Thank you very much for reading my blog! :)
I haven’t collected the May issue of Biteki. (I will do that early next month and I will pick up the June issue then as well). The May issue sounds quite exciting, as I always enjoy the base makeup features. I am looking forward to getting it!
Thank you for posting your comment! :)