Muji Manila Media Launch

I have this bad habit of never going inside “must see” stores when I travel. In the many times I’ve been to the States, I’ve never set foot inside a Sephora or a Forever 21. I’ve never been to the Ikea in Singapore. I bet if I went to Hong Kong, I’d be too distracted by novelty of the country to visit H&M. So it’s a great thing for me whenever foreign stores build shops on Philippine shores, because I know I’ll never miss out on the awesome items they have to offer.

One such foreign brand is Muji, the Japanese lifestyle store known for their minimalist, no-frills aesthetic, reasonable prices, and “no brand” branding. It’s called a “lifestyle” store because they have all the everyday items you could ever need, from clothes, to furniture, to kitchenware, to office supplies. Muji, which literally translates to “no brand”, lets their products speak for themselves and entices customers through the beautiful simplicity and ingenious functionality of their design, rather than through branding and packaging. If you look closely at Muji’s products, none of them are wrapped in fancy paper nor are they decorated with logos. That’s because Muji does without all the extra packaging, advertising, and branding costs, which jacks up a product’s price tags. I often wonder why they chose to open their next store in the Philippines, seeing as the 80s mindset of excess, luxury, and label obsession still dominates much of our desires. We Filipinos love the C’s all over our Coach bags and don’t mind Louis Vuitton monograms over…well, everything. I was able to buy a gorgeous Vivienne Westwood dress on eBay for just P400 because she’s basically unknown to the average shopper; the same seller was able to let go of Zara and Mango dresses for P1,000+ apiece.

I’ve never been to a Muji store abroad, but I’ve heard enough about their well-designed items to be curious about the opening of the Manila flagship store at Bonifacio High Street. Thanks to Cecile, I was able to attend the media launch this morning and be one of Muji’s first shoppers!

We were given Muji canvas aprons upon entering the premises. Too bad it hides my outfit, but I’ve worn this dress before.

The president of Muji (I forgot to take down his name) said a few words and thanked Stores Specialist Inc for bringing the brand to the Philippines.

Without further ado, the 100-something crowd was invited up to become the first shoppers of Muji.

Keep reading to find out what Muji has to offer in terms of fashion and beauty!

The first thing you’ll see is the Women’s Apparel section, which dominates about 1/4th of the store. If you’re shopping for basics and loose-fitting cotton clothing, you should definitely give Muji a look. I had my heart set on buying a pair of jeggings, but the saleslady says they don’t have any denim for women right now. Boo. I would have broken my shopping ban for a comfortable pair of jeggings.

A rack of maxidresses. If I’m not mistaken, a dress costs P1,950.

Lovely textured cotton blazers for around P2,250.

A row of light, pastel-colored cotton scarves.

Seamless tank tops made of 100% organic cotton sell for P565 apiece.

Basic ballet flats are priced at P2,250. Not sure how much the sneakers cost.

A row of unisex hats. I wanted to get the black beret, but it cost P995 and I’m still kind of on a shopping ban (ie. only shopping for things I really really need).

After browsing through the women’s section, I made a beeline for the beauty section, which is only made up of two shelves. However, one shelf is dominated by organic skin care products – moisturizer, facial wash, toners, and body wash! Prices start at P335 for a 200ml bottle. Not bad at all!

Behind this shelf are Muji’s cosmetics, which are somewhat limited. I’m guessing the Philippine store doesn’t have the complete cosmetics line because the makeup display at Muji Singapore is well-stacked. In any case, they’re also reasonably priced, with nothing above P1,000.

Other things of interest to me were the accessories organizers. I very nearly bought one but I need a way to organize my bracelets more than anything else, and these don’t quite do the trick.

If you’re looking for furniture, kitchenware, and other home-y stuff, you certainly won’t be disappointed because Muji has a lot of them. These ultra-comfy bean bags are probably my favorite pieces of furniture because they make for lazy, laid-back gaming. They’re not stuffed with the tiny styrofoam balls we’re all familiar with; it seems to be filled with finer material.

Me and Jayvee standing in line.

I’m pretty impressed by how disciplined I’ve been today. The woman in front of me spent slightly over P6,000 on a lot of stuff; I, on the other hand, shelled out a paltry P355 for the Muji Moisturizing Milk.

I’ve been on the search for my holy grail organic moisturizer and I think this might be it! I tried it just now and it feels just as light, gentle, and non-greasy as the Clinique Dramatically Different Moisturizing Lotion. I can’t really tell if it’s actually 100% organic because the label is in Japanese, but I’ll do my research and review this in a couple of weeks.

Aside from letting us keep our aprons, Muji thanked us with a gorgeous bunch of colored pencils! I’ll be giving these to my boyfriend, who has more use for them than I do.

Muji will be opening its doors to the public tomorrow, October 16 (sans the cocktail buffet). It’s located above The Gap at Bonifacio High Street.

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