VOCE Magazine: Latest Issue, Free Gifts and Where to Buy

Last updated: 15 September 2026

VOCE is Japan’s most widely followed beauty monthly, and most people outside Japan discover it for one reason: every issue comes bundled with cosmetics from six to ten brands, often including full-size products, for less than the price of a single sample set.

This page tracks the current issue, explains how the different editions differ, and archives what has come with recent issues. It is updated every month.

Latest issue at a glance

The November 2026 issue goes on sale on 24 September. The October issue, released on 21 August, is still the one on shelves until then – its contents are in the archive below.

What’s in this month’s gift

© 講談社

The November issue’s theme is autumn skin firmness and bounce, and the standard edition is the most item-heavy VOCE furoku in recent months, covering seven brands:

• FAS The Plump Serum Foundation 02N Neutral Veil, 2ml (about 4 applications) – new product
• Elixir Total V Firming Cream ca, 5g (about 2 weeks) – Shiseido’s reformulated bestseller, which only reached counters on 21 September
• KANEBO Repairing Energies quasi-drug cream, 4g (about 5 applications), plus one sachet each of Generating Essentials and Replenishing Charms
• Eucerin Hyaluron-Filler Bakuchiol Serum, 8ml mini tube (about 1 week), plus Triple Skin Primer, lotion and cream, two sachets each
• Albion Excia Radiance Renew Extra Rich Milk E, two sachets, with two Extra Facial Cottons
• N organic Vie Firming Focus Serum, 8ml
• Faltea lotion, serum and cream

The Special Edition takes the opposite approach: a single brand, &nd by rom&nd – the Japan-market line from the Korean label. Both editions placed in Japan’s pre-release top ten, which suggests the readership splits fairly evenly between the two.

Regular vs Special Edition: what actually differs

This is the part that causes the most confusion when ordering from abroad, so it is worth being precise.

VOCE publishes two or three versions of the same issue on the same day. The editorial content is identical. What changes is the cover and the gift. Each version is a separate product with its own barcode, sold side by side in Japanese bookshops – you choose the one you want, and there is nothing random about it.

A rough pattern holds across recent months. The standard edition tends toward established Japanese prestige brands – Shiseido, KANEBO, Albion, LUNASOL. The Special Edition often narrows to fewer brands with a bigger single item, or leans Korean. When a third Special Edition supplement appears, it usually carries a different brand set again, sometimes with a male idol on the cover.

One trap: page-attached sachets are sometimes exclusive to certain versions. In the October issue, the Clé de Peau Beauté sachet came with the standard edition and Special Edition but not the supplement. Always match the full gift list rather than the cover month.

What kind of magazine is VOCE?

VOCE is published monthly by Kodansha and targets the youngest readership among Japan’s major beauty titles – broadly women in their twenties, against Biteki’s thirties-and-up and MAQUIA’s twenties-to-thirties positioning.

That skew shows in the gifts. VOCE carries noticeably more Korean beauty than its rivals, more colour cosmetics, and more newly launched products – several items in a typical issue reach readers before they reach shop counters. Recent issues have carried rom&nd, Torriden, Biodance, VT Cosmetics and Dermalaser alongside the Japanese prestige names.

Release day falls in the third or fourth week of the month, typically between the 21st and 24th. Cover price sits around ¥980 to ¥1,200 depending on the edition.

Where to buy VOCE outside Japan

VOCE is published for the domestic market and has no overseas distribution. Where it appears abroad, an importer chose to bring in that specific issue – so current issues at best, in a handful of cities. The digital edition carries the articles only; a sachet cannot be attached to an e-book.

Popular editions sell out within days of release, and some sell out during pre-order. Deciding before the on-sale date works considerably better than looking afterwards.

Two complications apply to beauty issues specifically. Cosmetics sachets contain liquids and creams, which some countries treat differently from printed matter. And anything Japan classifies as a quasi-drug – KANEBO’s Repairing Energies in the current issue, for example – faces import restrictions that vary by country. For a full comparison of the routes available, see our guide to where to buy Japanese magazines with gifts online.

VOCE free gift archive

Two things stand out across these three months. VOCE regularly includes full-size products rather than only samples – October’s Torriden skin booster at 200ml was a complete retail item. And Korean brands appear in every single issue, often with an entire edition built around them.

Frequently asked questions

Should I buy the standard edition or the Special Edition?
The articles are the same, so it comes down to the gift. The standard edition usually spreads across more brands; the Special Edition often concentrates on fewer brands with a larger item. Compare the two gift lists for the specific issue.

Can I buy the gift without the magazine?
No. Japanese publishing guidelines require that a furoku is not an item normally sold separately from its magazine, and the brands do not stock these versions at their own counters.

Do I need to read Japanese to use the products?
Not really. Product categories are usually identifiable from the packaging and the brand, and each brand’s international site generally lists the same line.

When does the next issue come out?
Release day falls between the 21st and 24th of most months. The next issue is listed at the bottom of this page.

Can I still get a sold-out issue?
Only if a copy is still listed somewhere in Japan, usually on a marketplace. Once nothing is listed anywhere, no route can produce one.

Are the samples genuine?
Yes. Brands supply them under licence. They are produced for the Japanese market and sit outside the brand’s warranty, but they are not counterfeit.

Next issue

The December 2026 issue is expected in the third or fourth week of October. Gift details are usually announced about a month ahead of the on-sale date – we’ll update this page as soon as they land.