Buying sunscreen and drugstore beauty on Amazon

You can get sunscreen and drugstore beauty products on Amazon. Staples like the gold Anessa and Bioré UV go on sale often, and some Bioré UV products even work with Subscribe & Save (定期おトク便).

The most important thing is the seller. One product page can have several sellers on it, and the Prime badge only means the item ships from an Amazon warehouse, not that Amazon is the one selling it. Try to pick listings where the seller (販売元) is Amazon.co.jp or the brand's official store, and stay away from third-party sellers that are way cheaper.

Anything labeled parallel import (並行輸入品) or overseas version (海外版) in the product name was brought in from abroad, and the formula and packaging may differ from what's sold in Japan. If you want the Japanese version, look for the official domestic product (国内正規品).

Sunscreens like Anessa get a new version roughly every two years. New versions usually come out in spring, and the old packaging gets sold off cheap. In Japan, cosmetics that keep for more than three years don't have to show an expiry date, so many don't have one printed. Use them up soon after opening.