The Art Of Beauty

Sophie Faucillion gets lost in the world of Shu Uemura, the unparalleled make-up pioneer and artiste who transformed the way women could look.

It was while I was studying in Paris, when my daily journey to university would take me from 56 rue Mazarine to rue du Dragon, that the Shu Uemura store at 176 boulevard Saint-Germain became (after Maison Sennelier) my favourite spot – a place where I could reinvent myself through the pigment palettes, the diverse brushes, the sponges… Another dream for a freshman in fine arts. But let’s go back to where this story really starts.

Monsieur Shu Uemura always talked about the Art of Beauty, which for him meant the perfect blend of art, science and nature… a world apart, a colourful one, where women would finally have a voice, and where fashion meets life, transformation and dressing up. He lived by the philosophy that “beautiful make-up starts with beautiful skin”.

He had originally intended to become an actor, but that dream was destroyed after he caught tuberculosis when he was in his teens. Never mind: his art would be beauty, and the Tokyo Beauty Academy was the place where he learnt his craft, the place that propelled him into the world at large. After heading to Hollywood as a make-up artist, the movie world only inspired him further in his enjoyment and interpretation of make-up.

In 1965 he returned to Japan and set up the Shu Uemura Make-Up Institute to teach the techniques he had picked up in Tinseltown, and then, in 1968,

he started a revolution in the cosmetics world with the launch of his seasonal collection, Mode MakeUp. It became the standard against which other brands had to measure their products. Always ahead of his rivals, he then began staging huge make-up demonstrations, which were truly theatrical performances in which he was able to give free rein to his acting talent and display his mastery of the mise en scène.

In 1983, he opened his first boutique in Tokyo, followed three years later by another in Paris, a city much loved by him and many others. He became the envy of the rest of the beauty world thanks to his amazing innovations – his false eyelashes, his striking eye shadows, his crimson lipsticks.

A true pioneer, Shu Uemura conquered the fashion world with his shows, his spectacular make-up looks, his diamond and mink eyelashes, his sense of colour and his one-of-a-kind creations. And even now, the brand’s bond with the arts is strong, as seen in the recent collaboration with the internationally renowned film director Wong Kar Wai. But of course, Monsieur Uemura always knew how to convey his mix of savoir-faire and unparalleled grasp of the art of seduction.