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Shop assistants

How to become a Cosmetics Sales Consultant

Also called: Cosmetics salesperson, Beauty adviser

Is placed by a cosmetics company in department stores, supermarkets, retailers, drugstores and the like, advising customers on make-up and skincare products and selling them at the counter.

Main tasks

Workers in this job say high school or university is common. From job tag's survey of people in each job, who could give several answers. It shows what workers see as common, not how many workers hold each level.

How to become one

No particular education or qualification is required to start. Cosmetics sales companies and makers hold regular recruitment for new graduates from upper secondary school, tanki daigaku (junior college), senmon gakko (vocational college) and university. There is also mid-career hiring, but experienced people are often preferred. The job is highly specialised, so after joining you receive training in basic knowledge of beauty and skin and practical skills. You then learn counter service alongside senior staff. You need to keep building your expertise, for example by learning new information at regular in-house study sessions and gaining company qualifications. Every company treats cosmetics sales staff as specialists, and the work basically stays the same, but some move into other work such as training, product planning or sales planning using their counter experience. There are also chances to move up to store manager and other management roles, trainer or advanced beauty specialist. The work centres on serving customers at the counter, so you stand a lot and need a certain level of fitness. You also need to keep up with new products and the latest fashions and have good taste.

Ways in

Pay · Job openings · AI and this job

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Questions people ask

How do I become a Cosmetics Sales Consultant?

No particular education or qualification is required to start. Cosmetics sales companies and makers hold regular recruitment for new graduates from upper secondary school, tanki daigaku (junior college), senmon gakko (vocational college) and university. There is also mid-career hiring, but experienced people are often preferred. The job is highly specialised, so after joining you receive training in basic knowledge of beauty and skin and practical skills. You then learn counter service alongside senior staff. You need to keep building your expertise, for example by learning new information at regular in-house study sessions and gaining company qualifications. Every company treats cosmetics sales staff as specialists, and the work basically stays the same, but some move into other work such as training, product planning or sales planning using their counter experience. There are also chances to move up to store manager and other management roles, trainer or advanced beauty specialist. The work centres on serving customers at the counter, so you stand a lot and need a certain level of fitness. You also need to keep up with new products and the latest fashions and have good taste.

How much does a Cosmetics Sales Consultant earn in Japan?

Average annual income in the private sector, bonus included, is ¥3,847,600 (Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare). The figure is for the wage survey group Shop assistants, which covers several jobs.

Do you need a degree to become a Cosmetics Sales Consultant?

Usually not. In this job's census occupation group, only 21% of workers are university graduates. Ways in include: Junior college (短期大学) programme.

Will AI change the work of a Cosmetics Sales Consultant?

Generative AI could change some tasks in this job, by the ILO's global estimate.

Sources

独立行政法人労働政策研究・研修機構（JILPT）作成 職業情報データベース 解説系ダウンロードデータ（IPD_DL_description_7_01.xlsx）ver.7.01 職業情報提供サイト（job tag）より2026年10月4日にダウンロード（https://shigoto.mhlw.go.jp/User/download）を加工して作成

独立行政法人労働政策研究・研修機構（JILPT）作成 職業情報データベース 簡易版数値系ダウンロードデータ（IPD_DL_numeric_7_00.xlsx）ver.7.00 職業情報提供サイト（job tag）より2026年10月4日にダウンロード（https://shigoto.mhlw.go.jp/User/download）を加工して作成

Sources: JILPT Occupational Information Database download data via job tag (解説系 ver.7.01 and 簡易版数値系 ver.7.00, downloaded 4 October 2026), processed by Peernovo; MHLW, Basic Survey on Wage Structure 2025; Statistics Bureau of Japan, 2020 Population Census; MEXT, School Basic Survey 2025; MHLW, Employment Referrals for General Workers (Hello Work statistics). Figures processed by Peernovo. English job names, translations and the matching of jobs to statistical groups, schools and degree fields by Peernovo.

Updated 4 October 2026