LIFE AND BEAUTY HISTORY

The 150-year story of
SHISEIDO

This year marks Shiseido’s 150th anniversary.

Our long history is also the story of our exploration of the mind and body as two parts of a whole, an approach that has enabled us to offer beauty that is authentic, derived from the very mechanisms of life.

By infusing our products with cutting-edge science as well as art, we have constantly evolved over the years.

  1. Origin Our story begins in 1872.

  2. Research and
    Development    Using science to explore the essence of beauty.

  3. ProductsReawakening the beauty within.

  4. DesignThe beauty of life is also the beauty of expression.

  5. 150thConnecting the future with a beautiful circle of life.

LIFE AND BEAUTY MUSEUM

From life comes beauty.

Origin

  • Prescription booklets
    filled out by hand

OUR STORY BEGINS
IN 1872.

Shiseido started as Japan’s first privately owned Western pharmacy. Arinobu Fukuhara was only 23 when he opened the shop in Tokyo’s glamorous Ginza shopping district.

Although the shop specialized in novel, high-quality products incorporating the latest Western pharmaceutical research, the name itself was classically Eastern— a phrase borrowed from the Chinese text I Ching.

The holistic nature of the shop, wedded neither to Eastern nor Western thought, still informs our pursuit of the essence of beauty, even as we have expanded around the world.

  • Shiseido (ca. 1920)
  • The current Tokyo Ginza Shiseido Bldg.

LIFE AND BEAUTY MUSEUM

From life comes beauty.

Research
and
Development

  • A physics lab inside a Shiseido factory

USING SCIENCE TO EXPLORE THE ESSENCE OF BEAUTY.

Our interest lies in creating fundamental change not on the skin surface but from deeper inside.

For this reason, we opened a testing room in 1916 to research and develop new products.

Our exploration of the mechanisms of life began here and eventually led to the establishment of our many innovation centers around the world, as well as the Shiseido Global Innovation Center.

In 1989, we began working with the Cutaneous Biology Research Center, established by Harvard University and Massachusetts General Hospital. Our joint research continues to inform the science at Shiseido.

More recently, our studies into the effects on the skin caused by environmental change and stress, as well as our research on skincare solutions for such effects, has allowed us to become involved in the SIRIUS project being jointly conducted by Russia’s Institute of Biomedical Problems and NASA to find ways to mitigate health risks experienced by astronauts.

  • Inside the Shiseido Global Innovation Center
  • Inside the Shiseido Global Innovation Center

LIFE AND BEAUTY MUSEUM

From life comes beauty.

Products

  • Eudermine (1897)
  • Uviolin (1923)
  • Deluxe (1932)
  • Prior (1961)
  • Quiora (1998)
  • Evenese (1971)
  • Eudermine (1980)
  • Eudermine (1997)
  • Ultimune (2021)

REAWAKENING THE BEAUTY WITHIN.

In 1887, fifteen years after opening, we launched our first cosmetics product: Eudermine. The skincare lotion still enjoys widespread usage for its ability to activate one’s self-restoring power.

It was a product ahead of its time. White powder foundation was popular with the era’s women, and many would use lotion before applying the foundation to ensure it would not easily come off. While there were many such lotions available at the time, only Eudermine had the function to enhance the skin's condition.

Eudermine marked the beginning of Shiseido’s foray into sophisticated, science-based cosmetics, an endeavor that continues to this day with products such as ULTIMUNE and Essential Energy Moisturizing Cream.

LIFE AND BEAUTY MUSEUM

From life comes beauty.

Design

THE BEAUTY OF LIFE IS ALSO THE BEAUTY OF EXPRESSION.

From Shiseido’s iconic camellia logo to the scrollwork featured in our packaging and ads, our design choices reflect a desire to express the kind of vitality found in blooming flowers and intertwining vines.

It is the same desire that led our founder to coin the name Shiseido from the Chinese phrase, wàn wùzī sheng (“All is made here”). Shiseido has a deep respect for life itself.

LIFE AND BEAUTY MUSEUM

From life comes beauty.

150th

CONNECTING THE FUTURE WITH A BEAUTIFUL CIRCLE OF LIFE.

To commemorate our 150th anniversary, we created this “Alive Ring.” The design encompasses our artistic sensibilities (as can be seen from the use of an arabesque), while also symbolizing the science we have applied towards researching the very mechanisms of life.

The ring conveys our wish for life to continue without end, producing beauty for all of eternity.

We are also marking the momentous occasion by launching limited editions of three products that respectively represent our past, present, and future.

They include Eudermine, a gift for all people around the world; ULTIMUNE, which strengthens your inner defenses;* And ULTIMUNE Future Power Shot, which keeps the skin vibrant into the future.

Each product is designed for all skin types, regardless of age or gender; this is the result of our dedicated research into the essence of beauty.

The path we at Shiseido have forged in our exploration of the beauty of life extends all the way to your skin.

Based on the improvement of moisture-retention rate and transepidermal water loss.

150TH ANNIVERSARY PRODUCTS

LIFE AND BEAUTY MUSEUM

From life comes beauty.

BRAND MOVIE

From life comes beauty.

PLAY MOVIE

LIFE AND BEAUTY MUSEUM

From life comes beauty.