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.
"Shiseido Life Quality Beauty" comprises all the activities that leverage the power of beauty for the well-being of people facing broad skin concerns and challenges, and concerted efforts with a variety of different support groups, medical institutions, and local governments are being made.
Support for People Living with Cancer
With the vision of a society where people with cancer can continue to live their lives in ways that they desire, we will redouble our efforts globally to help them cope with the changes in their appearance associated with medical treatment. Since 2008, Shiseido has 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 February 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, " Appearance Care for Your Confidence and Comfort ” and currently we provide copies to 133 medical facilities in Japan.
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.
The year 2022 was one of global expansion for LAVENDER RING MAKEUP & PHOTOS WITH SMILES. Shiseido held events in China and Taiwan in August, Singapore in October, and Thailand in December, and a total of 107 people living with cancer and 120 volunteers from our company and affiliates in 4 countries and regions joined in. The reception by the partnering of patient groups and medical institutions was very positive, and they hoped the event would be held regularly because it inspired courage and confidence in many participants.
In Japan, we held the first LAVENDER RING MAKEUP & PHOTOS WITH SMILES in Nagoya, the third most populous urban area in Japan, in July 2022. In August, we held an online event for the third consecutive year. In Addition, we showcased the smiles and messages from people living with cancer at the MAKEUP & PHOTOS WITH SMILES photo exhibit at 4 locations in Japan (Kasumigaseki Common Gate, Tokyo, and Shiseido Global Innovation Center at S/PARK, Yokohama, Aichi Cancer Center, and the Nerima City Office, Tokyo).
Since the launch in 2017, 329 people living with cancer around the world participated in the LAVENDER RING MAKEUP & PHOTOS WITH SMILES.
In October 2022, following the collaborative initiatives with Hiroshima Prefecture, Shiseido Japan and Osaka Prefecture entered into the Collaboration Agreement for the Health Promotion of the Citizens of Osaka. Through this agreement, Shiseido is joining forces in initiatives to promote the well-being of residents, such as appearance care seminars and the distribution of the booklet "Appearance Care For Your Confidence and Comfort" at more medical institutions beyond designated cancer care hospitals.
Shiseido Japan will also be working on providing more beauty information and consultation services for the Perfect Cover series designed for deep skin concerns at select cosmetic stores in the greater Osaka region and the Web service platform, "Omise+".
8 social area leaders and 36 social area partners from Shiseido Japan play crucial roles in these efforts in Japan by identifying the characteristics and social issues unique to their areas, planning activities rooted in communities, and leading the implementation of solutions.
In November 2022, Shiseido collaborated with the NPO Japan Hair Donation & Charity (JHD&C) and Aderans Co., Ltd., to jointly develop a medical wig. The wig is available at the JHD & C SATELLITE SALON website and production will be planning to expand. In order to develop a wig with quality and design at an accessible price for as many people as possible, Shiseido and Aderans provided the technical expertise at no charge.
In 2022, working with the "Asociación Española Contra el Cáncer of Spain", a cancer patient support organization, we offered 5 online appearance care lessons to 62 people with cancer. In Italy, we provided makeup lessons in collaboration with "La Forza e il Sorriso", also a cancer patient support organization, expanding social activities overseas.
"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 four countries and area around the world. In order to continue activities during the COVID-19 pandemic, the company shifted its focus to digital solutions. In July 2021, Shiseido began offering online appearance care consultations at the Shiseido Life Quality Beauty Center (Japan). In September 2022, the center moved from Ginza, Tokyo, to the global headquarters, Shiodome office (Higashi-shimbashi, Minato-ku, Tokyo). In addition to dealing with deep skin concerns, Shiseido is reinforcing its function of providing beauty information to older people and people with disabilities. Both in-person and online services at the center are due for expansion to include enhanced personalized consultation in a privacy-protected space and more virtual seminars and events.
In October 2021, "the Shiseido Life Quality Makeup" was featured in Successful Aging in the Eye Area: From Ptosis, Non-Surgical Aesthetic Medicine to Makeup for the Aging, a medical book published by Zennihon Byouin Shuppankai, a major Japanese publisher of medical texts. In the first chapter, a Life Quality Makeup Consultant discussed makeup techniques to diminish the look of swelling and internal hemorrhaging following surgery.
In January 2022, Shiseido provided an online makeup workshop at "To Smile #endnf", an event held by a support network for people with Von Recklinghausen's disease, and 57 people who were mostly patients and their families attended. We discussed how to prepare mentally before applying cover makeup to children in the first half of the workshop. In the second half,demonstrated makeup techniques for Perfect Cover, the designated product series for "the Shiseido Life Quality Makeup".
In October 2021, we presented our beliefs and described our efforts to medical professionals in China at the 5th conference of the Chinese Non-government Medical Institutions Association. We also sponsored 11 seminars attended by 380 medical doctors.
Shiseido Asia Pacific received a Champions of Good award in 2020 for its sustainability efforts—including activities led by the Shiseido Life Quality Beauty Center. The award recognizes organizations for exemplary corporate gifts and activities that engage partners and stakeholders in their initiatives.
The IAUD International Design Award
In 2022, Shiseido received the Gold Award for Shiseido Life Quality Makeup given in the category of Social Inclusion of the IAUD International Design Award program. The IAUD International Design Award program, hosted by the International Association for Universal Design, recognizes organizations and individuals actively engaged in realizing a universal design in society and helping people live more comfortably without undue inconvenience.
The award was given in recognition of our ongoing efforts based on inclusive thinking and design, including developing products together with people who have profound skin concerns, such as birthmarks, burn marks, scars, and changes in their appearance due to illness and treatments, and providing beauty information and free counseling services.
Designated Products for Shiseido Life Quality Makeup: Perfect Cover
In 1995, Shiseido launched the Perfect Cover series designated for "the Shiseido Life Quality Makeup", which applied photochromic technology to address blue discoloration (nevi of Ota), red discoloration (hemangiomas), and conspicuous dark spots. Later, the company reinforced the series to meet a wider range of deep skin concerns that included uneven skin textures, such as scars and vitiligo.
The series went through another renewal in March 2022 and now provides enhanced coverage for changes in appearance from the side effects of cancer treatment (such as dull complexion and pigmentation) in even easier-to-use, safer formulations. The flagship product, Perfect Cover Foundation MC offers a comprehensive coverage solution to concerns about uneven skin tones and surfaces. The results of the prelaunch product test were overwhelmingly positive. 100% of users found that the product gave excellent coverage of discoloration and adhered to the skin well; 96% said it gave good coverage and a natural-looking finish simultaneously and that they want to continue using the product.
Collaborating with Retail Partners in Support Programs for Older People
Japan is home to the oldest population in the world with its aging rate now 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 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 Comprehensive Support Centers, and Welcia Yakkyoku Co., Ltd., jointly sponsored 24 workshops for older people at 12 Wel-Café locations, the community spaces inside Welcia pharmacies.
Shiseido also developed the Beauty for Health program, which incorporates research findings from Shiseido’s cosmetic therapy to help older people, and 481 CRC 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 field of medicine, oral frailty among older people has become more apparent as COVID-19 continues to affect our lives. Shiseido’s cosmetic therapy has shown that applying cosmetics also stimulates the salivary glands, improving oral function. In June 2022, the Kanagawa Dental Association invited a Shiseido cosmetic therapy researcher to hold an online seminar on a new approach to oral frailty prevention using cosmetic therapy, and 103 association member dentists and clinic staff attended. In July and September of the same year, a beauty workshop to improve ADL took place and a total of 38 dentists, dental assistants, and dental hygienists participated.
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, we developed the Shiseido Guide Makeup for people with visual impairments and have since held workshops all over Japan. Shiseido Japan offers Shiseido Life Quality Beauty Seminars for diverse groups of people and added a lifting skin-care course in 2021 and a scalp-care course in 2022 to its online seminars for people with vision impairments. Online or in person, Shiseido is eager to show people with visual challenges how they can use cosmetics to lift their spirits and stay positive.
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.
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 2022, to raise awareness and promote the understanding of XP, we invited the Japanese National Network of Xeroderma Pigmentosum to speak about its activities and how it uses donations at Brown Bag, the online lunch seminar for Shiseido employees.
Challenging the Unconscious Biases and Prejudices That Limit Individual Beauty
As a cosmetics company that celebrates diversity in beauty, Shiseido launched a global project to dispel prejudices and stereotypes that impede people’s achievement of their desired beauty, that is, unconscious beauty biases (UBBs). This demonstrates our commitment to the achievement of a world where everyone can live their lives and celebrate each other’s beauty, regardless of gender, age, and nationality.
Launch Of an Interactive Website and the SEE, SAY, DO Program For Corporations/Organizations
Brand Shiseido, which markets to 88 countries and regions, pursues the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) through the Sustainable Beauty Actions project. As part of this initiative, the brand developed the SEE, SAY, DO project in September 2022, aiming of building a society where everyone can be who they want to be. A special website was unveiled allowing users to experience UBB. Shiseido also developed the SEE, SAY, DO program for Japanese corporations and organizations to help them discuss UBBs. The program has been well-received because it is eye-opening and informative to know even seemingly harmless, casual remarks can perpetuate UBBs. The project is due for expansion, including offering the program to educational institutions.
