# Cosmetic Playlover

Cosmetic Playlover (Japanese: コスメティック・プレイラバー, Hepburn: Kosumetikku Pureirabā) is a Japanese manga series by Sachi Narashima. It is serialized in the monthly boys' love manga magazine Magazine Be × Boy since December 7, 2017. In addition, two spin-offs, Bitterness Playlover and Twilight Playlover, are also serialized in Magazine Be × Boy. A live-action television drama adaptation premiered on Fuji TV on August 6, 2024, and ran for 8 episodes.

## Plot

Natsume Mamiya and Touma Sahashi work as department store beauty consultants for the cosmetics brand Romy Feerique, where they are known as the "two princes". However, Natsume is constantly annoyed with Touma for not taking his job seriously despite his potential. One day, Touma discovers that Natsume is gay and decides to use his secret to get closer to him. After the two begin dating, they navigate through a myriad of obstacles in their relationship, such as rivals, misunderstandings, and their long-distance relationship once Touma begins working as a make-up artist for Romy Feerique's French headquarters.
In addition to Natsume and Sahashi, there are two side stories focusing on the relationships of other characters in the story: Bitterness Playlover, which focuses on Keigo Kakizaki (Natsume's acquaintance) and Yukito Saionji's (Touma's high school senior) relationship; and Twilight Playlover, which focuses on Atsushi Nanjo and Iori Kosaka's (Nanjo's high school classmate) relationship.

## Characters
### Natsume Mamiya (間宮 棗, Mamiya Natsume)

    Voiced by: Chiaki Kobayashi (audio drama); Portrayed by: So Okuno
    Natsume is an earnest, hard-working beauty consultant. He is described as "pure-hearted". In volume 3, he is promoted to manager of his store.

### Touma Sahashi (佐橋 斗真, Sahashi Tōma)

    Voiced by: Kent Itō (audio drama); Portrayed by: Yudai Toyoda [ja]
    Touma is Natsume's junior co-worker who also works as a beauty consultant. He is a former model, but he quit after his senior co-workers staged a dating rumor out of jealousy for his competence. Touma is a talented and highly skilled beauty consultant, but he tends to be nonchalant. He is described as having a "cheeky and cool" personality. After he begins dating Natsume, he becomes a possessive yet doting boyfriend. Later in the series, Touma trains to become a make-up artist for Romy Feerique.

### Atsushi Nanjo (南条 敦, Nanjō Atsushi)

    Voiced by: Tomohito Takatsuka [ja] (audio drama); Portrayed by: Shunta Sono [ja]
    Nanjo is a make-up assistant from the Kansai region. He immediately becomes attracted to Natsume and irritates Touma, but he acts as a big brother figure to them. He is the main character of the side story Twilight Playlover.

### Tanouchi (田之内)

    Voiced by: Tomohiro Ohno [ja] (audio drama); Portrayed by: Yūichi Nakamura
    Tanouchi is a former beauty consultant who currently works in the sales department of Romy Feerique. He was the person who inspired Natsume to become a beauty consultant and is his first love.

### Tenma Sahashi (佐橋 天真, Sahashi Tenma)

    Portrayed by: Gaku Oshida [ja]
    Tenma is Touma's estranged older brother.

### Harada (原田)

    Portrayed by: Nozomi Seina [ja]
    Harada is the manager of Romy Feerique. In volume 3, she is transferred to Romy Feerique's brand headquarters.

### Aizawa (相沢)

    Portrayed by: Ayano Kudō [ja]
    Aizawa is the sub-manager at Romy Feerique.

### Taichi Harukawa (春川 汰一, Harukawa Taichi)

    Portrayed by: Tomoki Yonemura
    Harukawa is a new employee in the sales department and is Natsume and Touma's junior. While eager to work, he is very clumsy. He becomes attracted to Natsume, but he also supports Natsume and Touma's relationship.

### Keigo Kakizaki (柿崎 圭吾, Kakizaki Keigo)

    Portrayed by: Kaito Hori [ja]
    Kakizaki is a beauty consultant from a different brand. He resents Natsume and accuses him of stealing a customer in the past, which resulted in Natsume transferring locations. Kakizaki is one of the main characters in Bitterness Playlover.

### Risa Yumihara (弓原 リサ, Yumihara Risa)

    Portrayed by: Fuka Sugiura
    Risa is a famous model and the brand muse for Romy Feerique. She is from the same talent agency as Touma when he used to work as a model. Her real name is Risako (梨沙子).

## Media
### Manga

Cosmetic Playlover is written and illustrated by Sachi Narashima. It is serialized in the monthly boys' love manga magazine Magazine Be × Boy since the January 2018 issue released on December 7, 2017. The chapters were later released in eight bound volumes by Libre under the BBC Deluxe imprint. The manga is distributed digitally in English through Animate International.
Narashima created the concept of Cosmetic Playlover after hearing from a beauty consultant friend mention that there were men who also worked as beauty consultants. A challenge she faced in drawing the series was drawing make-up products, which she soon got used to.

#### Cosmetic Playlover

| No. | Original release date | Original ISBN | English release date | English ISBN |
| 1 | August 9, 2018 (2018-08-09) | 978-4799739631 | November 22, 2022 (2022-11-22) | — |
| Natsume is frustrated that his junior co-worker, Touma, is disrespectful and doesn't take his job seriously. One day, Touma discovers Natsume is in love with Tanouchi and promises to keep his secret if they have a friends with benefits relationship. Despite it all, Natsume sees career potential in Touma and advocates for him, causing Touma to declare his seriousness in being a beauty consultant so that he could show Natsume how serious he is about his feelings towards him. Later, Natsume receives harassing phone calls and rumors about his client relationships, threatening his career. With Touma's help, Natsume is able to clear his name, and he admits he has fallen in love with Touma. |||||
| 2 | April 10, 2019 (2019-04-10) | 978-4799742860 | April 25, 2023 (2023-04-25) | — |
| Romy Feerique is having a two-week demonstration event at their stores, and Touma is selected by the brand model, Risa Yumihara, to be her make-up artist. However, Natsume, who has only started dating Touma, feels uneasy about this, as Touma and Risa have a close relationship stemming from when they used to work as models together. In addition, Nanjo, an openly gay make-up artist, has temporarily been transferred to the store in Touma's place, and expresses romantic interest in Natsume. After clearing up their misunderstandings, Touma reaffirms his love for Natsume and gives him a pair of earrings. |||||
| 3 | December 10, 2019 (2019-12-10) | 978-4799745977 | June 27, 2023 (2023-06-27) | — |
| Natsume is promoted to manager at the store, while Touma is transferred to the Ginza location, and because they have little time to see each other, Touma proposes that Natsume move into his apartment. Natsume is overwhelmed by his new position as he struggles with new responsibilities and a sales event, which strains his relationship with Touma. When Natsume recovers from his illness, his co-workers remind him to depend on them for help, including Harukawa, a new sales employee. Through this, Natsume realizes how much Touma wants to support him, and once Touma returns from a training session in Paris, he apologizes to him. |||||
| 4 | August 11, 2020 (2020-08-11) | 978-4799748893 | January 30, 2024 (2024-01-30) | — |
| Natsume moves in with Touma. At an after-work dinner, Harukawa confesses to Natsume that he is love with him, causing Touma to reveal their relationship to him; however, Harukawa supports their relationship. Later, Natsume notices a stalker at Romy Feerique, to which Touma reveals is his estranged older brother, Tenma. Tenma reveals that their family runs a fashion brand in New York and wants Touma to return with him to work there. When Natsume suggests to Touma that he should talk things over with Tenma, Touma becomes angry, causing a rift in their relationship. At the fireworks festival, Natsume and Touma apologize to each other with Harukawa's help. Touma tells Natsume that he is fine with not having a close relationship with his family, but he makes amends with Tenma, nonetheless. |||||
| 5 | April 9, 2021 (2021-04-09) | 978-4799752104 | April 16, 2024 (2024-04-16) | — |
| Romy Feerique is invited to take part in the Tokyo Style Stage, a fashion runway event, but Touma is asked to model for Tenma's brand and attracts great attention, to which Natsume learns that he is even asked to become Romy Feerique's PR model for their upcoming men's cosmetics line. Fearing that Touma will return to modeling, Natsume proposes a duel over their total sales, where the loser has to do whatever the winner says. When Touma doesn't take the duel seriously, Natsume impulsively adds another stipulation where the two will not be intimate with each other until the sales period is over, which causes tension in their relationship. Weeks after their duel begins, the two realize they cannot stay apart from each other and make up, with Touma clarifying that he turned down the offer after the organizers rejected his proposal to have Natsume as a staff member. At Romy Feerique's end-of-the-year awards ceremony, both Natsume and Touma receive rookie awards. |||||
| 6 | May 10, 2022 (2022-05-10) | 978-4799757178 | July 23, 2024 (2024-07-23) | — |
| 7 | January 10, 2023 (2023-01-10) | 978-4799760987 | November 19, 2024 (2024-11-19) | — |
| 8 | February 8, 2024 (2024-02-08) | 978-4799766088 | TBA | — |
| 9 | September 10, 2024 (2024-09-10) | 978-4799768778 | TBA | — |

#### Spin-offs

Aside from Cosmetic Playlover, Narashima wrote and illustrated two other side stories focusing on other characters in the series. Bitterness Playlover is serialized on a yearly basis in Magazine Be × Boy since the August 2018 issue released on July 6, 2018, and published as extra side stories in the main Cosmetic Playlover volumes. Twilight Playlover was serialized in Magazine Be × Boy from the November 2020 issue released on October 7, 2020 to the August 2021 issue released on July 7, 2021.
| No. | Title | Japanese release date | Japanese ISBN |
| 1 | Towairaito Pureirabā (トワイライト・プレイラバー) | August 10, 2021 (2021-08-10) | 978-4799753712 |

### Audio drama

A series of audio dramas adapting the manga was released onto CD by Marine Entertainment. The first volume was released on November 26, 2021. The second volume was released on May 31, 2024.

### Television drama

A live-action television drama adaptation of Cosmetic Playlover was announced on July 1, 2024. It was broadcast on Fuji TV since August 6, 2024 with a total of 8 epsiodes. Fuji TV On Demand, the channel's online streaming service, is also releasing two episodes per week with uncut content. The series is directed by Takehiro Shindō, with Hiroko Kanasugi [ja] in charge of the script and Kōji Endō [ja] in charge of music. The drama adaptation is produced by NBCUniversal Entertainment Japan. The theme song is "Wagamama Only Mine" by Urashimasakatasen, of which the CD jacket illustration was also provided by Sachi Narashima. It was streamed internationally outside of Japan and South Korea through GagaOOLala.
The series stars So Okuno as Natsume and Yudai Toyoda [ja] as Touma. Additional cast members include Milk [ja] member Shunta Sono [ja] as Nanjo, Gaku Oshida [ja] as Tenma, Nozomi Seina [ja] as Harada, Ayano Kudō [ja] as Aizawa, and Tomoki Yonemura as Harukawa.

#### Episodes

| No. | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original release date |
| 1 | "Can I Get Serious About You?" Transliteration: "Ore, Honki ni Natte ii Desu ka?" (Japanese: 俺、本気になっていいですか？) | Takehiro Shindō | Hiroko Kanasugi [ja] | August 6, 2024 (2024-08-06) (online streaming) |
| 2 | "Let Me Overwrite the Meaning of Your Earrings" Transliteration: "Piasu no Imi o Uwagakisasete" (Japanese: ピアスの意味を上書きさせて) | Takehiro Shindō | Hiroko Kanasugi | August 6, 2024 (2024-08-06) (online streaming) |
| 3 | "You're Pretty Unfair" Transliteration: "Kekkō, Zurui Nen na" (Japanese: 結構、ズルいねんな) | Takehiro Shindō | Hiroko Kanasugi | August 13, 2024 (2024-08-13) (online streaming) |
| 4 | "A Life Passing Each Other By... The Two Princes Disband?!" Transliteration: "Surechigai no Seikatsu... Daburu Ōji no Kaisan!?" (Japanese: すれ違いの生活…W王子の解散！？) | Takehiro Shindō | Hiroko Kanasugi | August 13, 2024 (2024-08-13) (online streaming) |
| 5 | "Commonly Made Medicine for the Heart" Transliteration: "Zara Tsuku Kokoro no Shohōsen" (Japanese: ザラつく心の処方箋) | Takehiro Shindō | Hiroko Kanasugi | August 20, 2024 (2024-08-20) (online streaming) |
| 6 | "A New Life Where Preciousness Grows Stronger" Transliteration: "Itoshisa ga Tsunoru Shin Seikatsu" (Japanese: 愛しさが募る新生活) | Takehiro Shindō | Hiroko Kanasugi | August 20, 2024 (2024-08-20) (online streaming) |
| 7 | "Fireworks and Promises" Transliteration: "Hanabi to Yakusoku" (Japanese: 花火と約束) | Takehiro Shindō | Hiroko Kanasugi | August 27, 2024 (2024-08-27) (online streaming) |
| 8 | "The Real Duel is with My Lover" Transliteration: "Honki no Shōbu wa Koibito to." (Japanese: 本気の勝負は恋人と。) | Takehiro Shindō | Hiroko Kanasugi | August 27, 2024 (2024-08-27) (online streaming) |

## Reception

Cosmetic Playlover won the 2021 Digital Comic Award by Comic CMoa in the BL category. In 2024, the series sold a consecutive total of over 1 million physical copies.