Cultivating Self-Efficacy Through the Power of Beauty

At Shiseido, we take a scientific approach to uncovering the power of beauty to enrich minds, spark joy, and bring happiness to life. This pursuit started in 1956 with the launch of Japan’s first makeup product designed to lessen the suffering of wartime burn victims, and we continue to explore ways to harness the power of beauty, such as the development of specialized cosmetics and application techniques to address the changes in a person’s appearance from discolorations and scars. We collaborate with various support groups, medical institutions, and local governments in activities that leverage the power of beauty to promote the mental, physical, and social well-being^* of people facing broad skin concerns and challenges.

*Social well-being is defined as the sustaining of meaningful relationships with society and people.

Support for People Living with Cancer

With the vision of a society where people with cancer can continue to live their lives in the ways they desire, we continue our global efforts to help them cope with the changes in their appearance associated with medical treatment. Since 2008, we have provided support in appearance care that addresses the visible side effects of cancer treatment. In 2015, we published a booklet for people living with cancer, and several editions have appeared since. In 2022, we introduced an easy guide for all genders illustrating the information and techniques to deal with changes in the skin and looks caused by cancer treatment, called "Appearance Care for Your Confidence and Comfort.” In 2023, following the COVID-19 pandemic, we once again began actively conducting appearance care seminars for people living with cancer and we have reached a total of 6,045 people worldwide^*.

"Appearance Care for Your Confidence and Comfort"

In June 2023, we won an award for excellence at the 8th Annual Meeting of the Japanese Association of Supportive Care in Cancer, held in Nara Prefecture, Japan, for our presentation on joint research with St. Luke’s International Hospital. The study demonstrated that online consultations on appearance care provided psychosocial support for people with cancer, improving their quality of life.

In Japan, a highly skilled team of seven Social Area Leaders and 38 Social Area Partners from Shiseido Japan plays crucial roles in planning and leading activities that leverage the power of beauty by identifying the characteristics and social issues unique to their areas.
In 2023, Shiseido Japan and Yamagata City entered into the Agreement for the Health Maintenance and Promotion of the Citizens of Yamagata City. Through this agreement, we are joining forces in initiatives to promote the health of residents through the city’s programs for cancer and health. In the same year, Shiseido Japan also entered into the Collaboration Agreement for Cancer Control with Tochigi Prefecture and held appearance care seminars for Tochigi residents living with cancer. Tochigi Prefecture and Shiseido Japan are working together to promote the prefecture’s measures for cancer with the aim of helping residents live more physically and mentally healthy lives.

*Countries and regions including Japan, China, Singapore, and Taiwan (as of December 2023)

Click here for the Shiseido Life Quality Makeup website.

Delegates from Yamagata City and Shiseido Japan at the signing ceremony

Delegates from Tochigi Prefecture and Shiseido Japan at the signing ceremony

Global Expansion of the LAVENDER RING MAKEUP & PHOTOS WITH SMILES" for People Living with Cancer

Since 2017, Shiseido has participated in the LAVENDER RING project to support people with cancer, pursuing a society where people can live with a smile even if they have cancer. We lead the MAKEUP & PHOTOS WITH SMILES, and we encourage people in living their own lives after cancer and helps them to return to society through hair and makeup, as well as portrait photography. In recognition of such efforts, Shiseido received the Mécénat Award for Excellence in November 2021 from the Association for Corporate Support of the Arts, a public interest incorporated association in Japan.

On World Cancer Day, February 4, 2021, LAVENDER RING published its first book entitled LAVENDER RING Photo Book: Smiles and Messages from 206 People Living with Cancer. The featured poster portraits and interviews with 206 people living with cancer resonate with, inspire, and encourage readers, and not just people living with cancer, their families, and supporters. The photo book is available in bookstores, hospitals, and from other retailers.

LAVENDER RING Photo Book: Smiles and Messages from 206 People Living with Cancer（Hearst Fujingaho Co., Ltd.）

Since 2022, LAVENDER RING MAKEUP & PHOTOS WITH SMILES has expanded globally, and in 2023, events were held in countries and regions including Japan, China, Singapore, Taiwan, and Thailand. The reception by the partnering patient groups and medical institutions was very positive, and they expressed the hope that the event would be held regularly because it inspired courage and confidence in many participants.

Event in Taiwan

Makeup session at the event in Taiwan

In 2023, LAVENDER RING MAKEUP & PHOTOS WITH SMILES continued to grow in Japan, and events were held in five areas (Tokyo, Osaka, Aichi, Ehime, and Fukuoka). In addition, we held a special photo exhibit titled “MAKEUP & PHOTOS WITH SMILES” to display the participants’ bright smiles and messages at the 31st General Assembly of the Japan Medical Congress held in Tokyo.
In summary, since the inception of the program in 2017 until 2023, we have held 30 MAKEUP & PHOTOS WITH SMILES events in partnership with medical institutions and patient groups in Japan, China, Singapore, Taiwan, and Thailand and have welcomed a total of 653 groups of people living with cancer to these events.

Exhibit at the 31st General Assembly of the Japan Medical Congress

"Shiseido Life Quality Makeup" : Support for People with Serious Skin Concerns

The Shiseido Life Quality Makeup initiative started over 60 years ago. The initiative focused on Japan’s first makeup products for people suffering from burn scars from war. Shiseido has been engaged in the research of physical appearance care for birthmarks, burn scars, and the side effects of cancer treatment, as well as the development of beauty information and specialized products. Today, as part of this initiative, Shiseido operates dedicated Life Quality Beauty Centers in Japan, China, Singapore, and Taiwan. At the Shiseido Life Quality Beauty Center in Japan, we are reinforcing its function of providing beauty information to older people and people with disabilities in addition to people dealing with deep skin concerns.
In 2023, the center offered enhanced personalized consultation in a privacy-protected space, along with virtual seminars and events. A total of 2,516 in-person and online consultations, seminars, and events were attended by 58,058 people.
In China, upon renewal of the dedicated product series for Shiseido Life Quality Makeup, Perfect Cover (Chinese brand name: PF-COVER), in March 2023, we focused on online communication to reach far and wide; we are working with key opinion leaders (KOLs), a leading platform for people with vitiligo (白白手拉手), and social media. Currently, 80% of those who visit the Shiseido Life Quality Center in China have vitiligo.

In Taiwan, we strengthened our collaboration with medical institutions in 2023, holding 221 Shiseido Life Quality Makeup seminars through patient group events and lectures. Six highly trained consultants introduced Perfect Cover at retailers while continuously supporting the improvement of the skills of the retailer personnel.

Online appearance care consultation

Consultation room at the Shiseido Life Quality Beauty Center (Japan)

Consultation at the Shiseido Life Quality Beauty Center (China)

Makeup consultation at the Shiseido Life Quality Beauty Center (Taiwan)

Evolution of Perfect Cover

In 1995, Shiseido launched the Perfect Cover series designated for Shiseido Life Quality Makeup, which applied optical technology to address blue discoloration (nevi of Ota), red discoloration (hemangiomas), and conspicuous dark spots. The series has since evolved to meet a wider range of deep skin concerns including vitiligo and uneven skin textures, such as scars and vitiligo.
In anticipation of further global expansion, the series went through a complete renewal in 2022 with new packaging and reformulation. The renewed series provides enhanced coverage for changes in appearance from the side effects of cancer treatment (such as dull complexion and pigmentation) while achieving a lasting, natural-looking finish. The flagship product, Perfect Cover Foundation MC offers smooth application and a comprehensive coverage solution to concerns about uneven skin tones and surfaces. Specially developed for vitiligo, Perfect Cover Foundation VC provides seamless coverage of vitiligo patches to match the rest of the skin. As demand for makeup increases post-pandemic, we aim to support individuals seeking coverage to help them look and feel like themselves.

Shiseido Life Quality Makeup for serious skin concerns

Perfect Cover products

Collaborating with Retail Partners and Other Organizations in Support Programs for Older People

Japan is home to the oldest population in the world with its aging rate^*1 now^*2 at 29.1%. Japan’s Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare issued guidelines to promote the healthy lifestyles of residents in local communities, and this inspired the creation of support structures for people with cancer and older people nationwide.
Shiseido Japan supports this initiative by reinforcing partnerships with retail partners, support groups, medical institutions, and local governments in different regions of Japan to enrich the social lives of older people. Together, we offer beauty workshops for older people designed to promote a healthy life expectancy. For instance, in Saitama, Shiseido Japan, local Community General Support Centers, and Welcia Yakkyoku Co., Ltd., jointly held 56 workshops for older people at 18 Welcafe locations, the community spaces inside Welcia pharmacies in 2023.

Workshop at the Welcafe Kawaguchi Ryoke branch

We also developed the Beauty for Health program, which incorporates research findings from Shiseido’s cosmetic therapy^*3 to help older people, and 497^*4 CRC^*5 member retailers have adopted the program. We are committed to providing access for local communities to improve well-being through the power of beauty.

In the medical field, oral frailty^*6 continues to affect the lives of older people. Shiseido’s cosmetic therapy has shown that the action of applying cosmetics stimulates the salivary glands, thereby improving oral function. Drawing on our research, we collaborate with dentists and dental clinics to hold seminars for local communities.

*1：The aging rate is the proportion of a society's population that is comprised of persons aged 65 or older.
*2：Based on data published in 2023 by Japan’s Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications
*3：Shiseido's cosmetic therapy uses skincare and makeup application techniques to help improve and maintain mental and physical health, quality of life, and healthy life expectancy.
*4：As of December 2022
*5：CRC: National Federation of Cosmetic Retail Cooperatives.
*6：A decline in oral function, including chewing, swallowing food, and speaking. It is considered a key early sign of aging.

Support for People with Disabilities

In the 1980s, Shiseido began developing educational materials to assist consumers with vision impairments or low vision. This included beauty manuals in Braille, Braille stickers for products, and Braille dosage stickers. The Shiseido Listener’s Café, an audio-based beauty information website launched in 2002, enjoyed a major renewal in July 2022 to reach a larger audience. The website now features updated videos, and employees with visual challenges join to share beauty tips. As it did before, the website works with text-to-speech (TTS) software and offers beauty advice from Social Area Partners, event information, and other practical information so that people can enjoy the beauty and grooming content.

In 2019, Shiseido Japan developed the Shiseido Guide Makeup for people with visual impairments and added the course to Shiseido Life Quality Beauty Seminars. In 2021, online seminars were enhanced with workshops for people with visual impairments. In 2023, we resumed Guide Makeup seminars after the COVID-19 pandemic in cities across Japan, including Saitama, Hamamatsu, Nagoya, Kyoto, and Hiroshima. These seminars were designed to accommodate both in-person and online attendance. By harnessing the power of beauty, we are committed to promoting a society where people with visual, intellectual, developmental, and other challenges can also live their lives in ways they desire.

Also in 2018, Shiseido started adding closed captions to its television advertising to reach viewers who are deaf or hard of hearing, and now all our commercials have closed captioning.

Poster for Shiseido Guide Makeup

Guide Makeup workshop at the Association of the Visually Impaired in Nagoya

Logo of Shiseido Listener’s Café

Support for Patients with Xeroderma Pigmentosum

Since 2000, Shiseido has supported people living with Xeroderma Pigmentosum (XP)—a condition characterized by extreme sun sensitivity—through sunscreen donations and seminars led by Shiseido researchers and Personal Beauty Partners.
At these seminars, they explain how to effectively protect the skin to enjoy the outdoors even for patients with XP. Since 2005, Shiseido has also provided financial aid for patient exchange meetings through voluntary donations from participating employees’ salaries (Shiseido Camellia Fund). In 2023, to raise awareness and promote the understanding of XP, we invited the Japanese National Network of XP Family Associations to speak about its activities and how it uses donations at Brown Bag, the intranet seminar for Shiseido employees.