Won't Miss #405 - skin care advice (that is ignored)

Nine times out of ten, when a Japanese woman says she has bought "cosmetics", she has picked up a plethora of skin care products (not make-up). In fact, most women under 50 have a "skin care regime" that they go through which costs them a pretty penny. Because my skin is clear and pale, I'm often asked what I do to maintain it. The answer is, "nothing." I buy soap which is 3 bars for 98 yen ($1.22) and I wash my face once, sometimes twice a day. Other than that, I apply cheap moisturizer (bought at the 100 yen shop) after I shower because I'm getting older and my skin is thinner around my eyes. I don't use sun screen or a parasol either. I tell my Japanese acquaintances who ask that it's not what you put on your face that matters, but what you put in your body. Good skin comes from eating (preferably, cooked) tomatoes, carrots, and citrus, and from drinking plenty of water. I get nods and proclamations that they, too, will do these things, but they never do it. Japanese women drink plain water very rarely, if at all, and the promise of better skin at no cost isn't enough to compel them to start doing so.

I won't miss wasting my breath talking about skin care basics with women who'd rather throw money ineffectively at their issues than do what works.

Will Miss #358 - "mata haris"

I associate the name "Mata Hari" with spies, who generally don't want to be recognized for who they are. For that reason, I call women in Japan who are so fearful of sun exposure that they cover nearly every inch of exposed flesh by this name. The first time I saw such a woman, I thought that the desire for "creamy white skin" in Japan gives celebrities an ideal manner in which to disguise themselves should they want to remain anonymous, but I see them in the most mundane places and doubt that fame has anything to do with it.

These women take all of the means by which Japanese women try to avoid sun exposure and pile them on into one ridiculous get-up, and I'll miss seeing them go to such extremes.

Won't Miss #199 - unsuitable makeup colors

Most of the makeup in Japan, unsurprisingly, is sold for women who have very dark brown eyes, black hair (brows, eyelashes), and a certain skin tone. When you have red hair, blue eyes, and a very pale skin tone, most of the make-up isn't going to flatter your coloring. Most of the mascara and eye liner is, of course, black which is really too dark for me.

I won't miss finding that the vast majority of the make-up does not suit my coloring.