Hasta La Gadget!

With all of the goings-on in Japan I’m not sure if I can make it or not yet, but we’re having a great event in our NYC office to kick off a new chapter with our partners at Mandalah. If we can’t be there physically, we’ll at least join digitally and in spirit. Please join us, and spread the word!

Ever fancied a beauty gadget decorated in jewels, precious stones and encrusted initials? Yes, it’s a bling face roller!

The ReFa Pro, which retails for just under 25,000 yen (about $300), is an electric roller for massaging your face and body, aimed primarily at women users. Now its maker Dinos is celebrating the company’s fortieth anniversary by holding a personalized and bejeweled rollers.

The first stage of the contest was themed “cute” and has already ended. The second (”cool”) just kicked off and the winner has the chance to win 400,000 yen (nearly $5,000), with runners-up receiving luxury beauty care treatments.

To enter consumers just send in pictures of how they’ve customized and decorated their ReFa roller. As the competition site gives tips, you can add dozens of “jewels” (real or not) and flourishes like emblems, your initials and more!

Making jewelry and other crafts are popular past-times for female consumers in Japan and we like how this campaign utilizes that hobby culture to push interest in the product, and also design innovations created not by the manufacturer’s team but the consumers themselves.

Face roller massagers are massive in Japan, as any trip to a beauty gadgets section of an electronics store will soon reveal. Many are pretty basic — just a couple of arms and roller heads, looking like a small plastic dowsing rod — but others are more hi-tech, like the solar-powered ReFa Pro. The idea, in a nutshell, is that they slim your face, firm up your skin and make you look more youthful.

They really started to hit the bestseller lists when the makers came up with the idea of packaging them as box sets with “technique” manuals, and then sold in book shops and convenience stores. A recent example is the gold-colored Y-Shaped Roller, which came out in late February.

One of the big trends of last year was the zero alcohol beer craze, bucking the tide of falling alcohol beverage sales. As the Japanese population continues to decline and as consumers seemingly react to deflation by always demanding lower and lower prices, the pessimist’s outlook is that only cheap beers sell. And it doesn’t come any cheaper than fake beer or non-alcoholic “beer”.

Now the likes of Kirin Free et al have been joined by a new contender, a non-alcoholic Umeshu drink. Choya’s Yowanai Umeshu (literally, “don’t-get-drunk Umeshu”) hits the shelves from mid-March and, despite containing no alcohol at all, its makers claim it tastes just like regular plum liqueur.

Umeshu is particularly popular with female drinkers so perhaps, now that the men are all guzzling zero alcohol beer, the ladies will be enjoying the sweeter Choya, and with no hangover.

A 350ml can is going to retail at a mere 150 yen (about $1.80) and a day after its release Sapporo’s new non-alcohol beer product, Premium Alcohol Free, will also be on the market. This trend just keeps on growing.

CScout Japan is now hiring Trend Analysts and Project Managers to deal with another strong year of projects from our domestic and global client base. 2010 was our best year ever and saw tremendous growth in every market we’re active in. Now we’re restructuring, looking for another office in the Shibuya area, and bringing in fresh talent to propel us further!

We work with some of the world’s top companies to help them innovate and create new products and services for changing consumer markets. These range from quick market reports on a specific topic, to full-on ideation and innovation workshops around the globe.

The positions we’re filling are full-time, though we’re always on the lookout for qualified freelancers who fit certain niche needs. Starting salaries depend on skills and experience, and there is generous vacation time.

Your job:
– Coordinating projects in Japan, as well as with our offices in NYC, São Paolo, and Mexico City
– Keeping the public informed about the latest in the market at JapanTrends.com
– Researching specific topics, from mobile to automotive, to keep our clients up to speed
– Planning Trend Tour market immersions
– Creating custom reports on market trends

Your qualifications:
– Residence in Tokyo
– Valid visa for working in Japan
– Unending curiosity about the Japanese market
– Ability to track and analyze trends
– Multitasking
– Bilingual English & Japanese (more also a plus!)
– Versatile writing style
– Familiarity with both Microsoft & Apple office suites

Pluses:
– An eye for design
– Outgoing personality
– Video / Photo shooting & editing skills
– International experience
– Enthusiasm for social media, both Japanese and English

While we appreciate the heaps of international inquiries we receive, these positions are only for the Japanese market and require a current Japanese visa. Please inquire via our contact form if you are interested in joining our growing global team!

Just came across this nose straightener that is quite widely available in Japan. Made by Omni it is called, in self-explanatory fashion, the Beauty Lift High Nose, meant for ladies keen to have the perfect snoot.

A few years ago, the CoCo clip-style nose straighteners from Japan got some online exposure but this model’s definitely a whole grade above.

Not only does it cover half your face like some complex surgical device, it even has electric vibrations buzzing out of it to make your adenoids that much firmer.

Check out the picture: the (1) are apparently the vibration points; (2) are the silicone supports.

The Beauty Lift High Nose currently retails at around 6,800 JPY (about $83).