January 10, 2008

Shu Uemura, 1928 - 2007

I was sad to read this obituary online...

LEGENDARY Japanese make-up extraordinaire Shu Uemura, who built an international cosmetics brand under his name, died of acute pneumonia in Tokyo on Dec 29. The news of his death was released on Tuesday. He was 79. He leaves a wife and a son.
Born in Tokyo in 1928, Uemura graduated from a beauty school before heading to Hollywood to be a make-up artist in the 1950s. He was said to be the only man in his class at beauty school.
His big break to fame came when he worked with actress Shirley MacLaine on the 1962 Hollywood film My Geisha, after the staff make-up artist fell ill. His expertise in transforming MacLaine into a Japanese seductress won the young Uemura Hollywood fame. He became a favourite among top actresses as well as the likes of singer Frank Sinatra and actor Edward G. Robinson.
As Japan was rebuilt from the ashes of WWII into the world’s second largest economy, Uemura returned to tap into the growing consumer market. He opened a Hollywood-style make-up studio in Tokyo in 1965, and two years later introduced to Japan cleansing oil to wash away make-up. His “magic oil” quickly became popular among Hollywood actresses and the product remains popular even today.
Uemura believed that “beautiful skin is essential for beautiful make-up”. To him, beautiful skin was the canvas for make-up and the secret to beautiful skin started with gentle, thorough cleansing. That’s why his cleansing oils are central to the brand’s concept of beauty.
In 1983, amid Japan’s economic boom and just as Tokyo was establishing itself as a fashion trendsetter, Uemura launched a cosmetics boutique in the capital. It drew crowds for its gallery-like interior. Other than Japan, he had branches overseas with stores in Paris, New York, London, Hong Kong, Los Angeles, Milan, Singapore and Taipei.
Other than the brand’s signature cleansing oils and cosmetics, Uemura expanded his brand to include elegant handmade make-up brushes, perfumes, and fake eyelashes and eyelash curlers. Shu Uemura’s eyelash curlers were mentioned in The Devil Wears Prada starring Meryl Streep.
During a press conference in Tokyo in 2006, Uemura met the international press and gave a make-up demonstration using lipsticks from his newest range.

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January 10, 2008 in BEAUTY | Permalink