Can you bring makeup on a plane?

Makeup on flights in and from Japan

On a domestic flight only the quantity limits apply. On an international flight the liquid rule comes on top.

Domestic flights in Japan

The 100ml liquid limit does not apply.

International flights from Japan

Each container 100ml or less, all of them inside one transparent re-sealable bag of 1 litre or less, one bag per person.

Make-up item by item: lip products, concealer, powder, tools

A make-up bag mixes solids, liquids, powders and small tools, so the lists answer it one product at a time.

Lip products: the stick is the exception

Japan's liquids list restricts gel-type lip balms and gel-type lipsticks, gives lip gloss as an example, and excepts solid lipstick in a note. The Japanese version words the exception as stick-shaped products. Narita Airport applies the same test to lip balm: a solid one is outside the liquid restrictions. The TSA accepts Lipsticks and Chapsticks in carry-on and attaches no size limit.

Concealer and primer are in the creams row

For base make-up the Japanese-language liquids list is more detailed than the English one. Its row for creams and lotions names liquid concealer and make-up base cream, and liquid foundation has a row to itself. The TSA has its own entries for Concealer and for Foundation, and limits each to 3.4oz/100 ml in carry-on.

Powder and compacts at the X-ray

Powder is not a liquid, but it draws attention of its own at some checkpoints. The TSA accepts Powder Makeup in carry-on and adds that powder-like substances greater than 12 oz. / 350 mL must go in a separate bin, where containers may be opened. GOV.UK warns that powders in hand luggage can obstruct x-ray images, so a bag may be searched again by hand.

Tools that travel in the make-up bag

The sharp items packed with make-up have lines of their own. Japan's list of blades lets small cosmetic razors for eyebrows into the cabin, and treats small eyebrow and nose-hair scissors as cosmetic scissors that may be carried on. GOV.UK allows tweezers in hand luggage. CASA's make-up entry covers brushes and compacts as well as eyeliner and pressed powder, with no conditions attached.

Makeup: the rule country by country

In Australia the authority's page lists makeup as allowed in carry-on.

Each row comes from that authority's own page. Airlines can be stricter, and the screening officer has the final say.

If security in Japan will not let makeup through

What to do

Move makeup to the bag you check in before you reach security, within the checked-baggage limits above. Narita Airport states that anything given up at the checkpoint is discarded and cannot be returned.

Buying makeup in Japan

Where to buy

Drugstores, department stores, Don Quijote.

Related items

• Sunscreen (cream and lotion)
• Sunscreen spray
• Toner and lotion
• Face wash
• Perfume and cologne
• Nail polish and remover