Shu Uemura

Shu Uemura was a Japanese makeup artist and founder of the cosmetics line which bears his name. He was born in Tokyo in 1928 and became interested in hairstyling and makeup as a teenager while recovering from a severe illness. He enrolled at the Tokyo Beauty Academy, becoming the only male student in a class of 130 pupils. He left Japan in the late 1950s to pursue a career in the film and television makeup industry in Hollywood. He gained fame and recognition for transforming actress Shirley MacLaine into a Japanese woman for the 1962 film, My Geisha. He worked with many well-known Hollywood celebrities, such as Frank Sinatra, Lucille Ball, and Edward G. Robinson. He developed and launched his first cosmetics product, a cleansing oil, in 1960. His cleansing oil was revolutionary for its ability to remove makeup and moisturize the skin at the same time. He returned to Japan in 1964 and opened the Shu Uemura makeup school, which taught makeup techniques based on his Hollywood experience. He founded a cosmetics company called Japan Makeup in 1967 and opened its first boutique store in Tokyo's trendy Omotesando district. He changed the name of his company to Shu Uemura Cosmetics in 1983. His company became a major force in the domestic Japanese and international beauty market, with stores in Paris, New York, London, and Hong Kong. He sold his controlling interest in his company to French cosmetics maker L'Oréal in 2004, but remained the creative force behind it until his death. He died of pneumonia in Tokyo on December 29, 2007, at the age of 79. He was survived by his wife and son, Hiroshi, who founded his own cosmetics line, UTOWA, in 2002. Shu Uemura was known for his makeup philosophy that emphasized the health and natural beauty of the skin, as well as his innovative and artistic products, shades, and tools. He was a pioneer, an innovator, and a visionary in the world of beauty.