30 cheers for beauty

Japanese cosmetics and skincare maestro Shu Uemura may have passed away in 2007, but his legacy lives on in a grand way. He shot to fame in the 1960s when he ventured to Hollywood and was tapped to do the makeup of Shirley MacLaine in My Geisha, and upon his return to Japan, set up Japan Makeup. But his move to establish a namesake brand, Shu Uemura Cosmetics in 1983, meant a new force in the beauty market was here to stay. And 30 years on, we see the brand at the very pinnacle of highly regarded global luxury cosmetic and skincare brands. The first oil-based cleanser (cleaner than soap and yet acting as a moisturizer) is still one of his iconic products, as is his eyelash curler — which dutifully got mentioned in the film The Devil Wears Prada.

Even when he sold his company to the French giant L’Oréal, Shu stayed on as the brand’s creative force. Kakuyasu Uchiide, the company’s current international artistic director, recalls fondly his days working under the tutelage of the Master, and was in town recently as Shu Uemura Philippines celebrated 30 years of the brand, and a decade here in Manila.

Held at the Mango Tree restaurant at the Bonifacio Global City, the night was both a celebration and a showcase of what Shu Uemura has come to mean, over the years, in makeup design. The 2013 look is Eye-Conic, a sleek pun that refers to the palette of eye shadow shades that hark back to the Mod look of the late ‘60s, while still looking futuristic and forward-looking. Uchiide-san was here to demonstrate the new look, and supervise the local makeup artists who had been tapped to interpret iconic looks from the last three decades of Shu — including the 1968 Peacock and Flaggy designs. A regular visitor to our shores, Uchiide-san only included Singapore and Manila as his Southeast Asian stopovers.

On hand to assist Uchiide-san host this grand night and spectacle were L’Oréal luxury division general manager Charisse Hernandez-Chua with Shu Uemura brand manager Nina Solano, product manager Karen Crisostomo, and retail and education manager Nadia Bautista.

I’ve always appreciated the Shu dictum that beautiful makeup begins with beautiful skin, and how there lies the signature equity of the brand and its products. With Shu Uemura, it’s never just about makeup and design, the caring of one’s skin, the purity of what one applies to one’s face or body are just as important as color, and the look one creates.

Home for the ages

The upmarket lifestyle concept store Cura V partnered with Shang Properties (in particular, Shang Salcedo Place) in presenting a one-day Summer sale called Au Courant, one Saturday, at the Manila Function rooms of the Makati Shang. From 10 a.m. to the late evening, travel-inspired pieces from Manila’s most talented and promising names in design found a “home,” and was made available for discriminating buyers.

If previous Cura V events concentrated on jewelry, art and fashion, this time, home was also given its place under the summer sun! The list of participating artists and designers in the “home section” of this carefully assembled and “curated” event was like some dream team. There were Iñigo Elizalde for Catalina, artist Liliana Manahan, Bungalow 300, Raab Terrarium and Isabel Gatuslao for her paper products. And among the jewelry exhibitors, we found Carissa Cruz-Evangelista, Erica Concepcion-Reyes, Joanique, Maco Custodio and, of course, Cura V’s own Emi Jorge and Nicole Whisenhunt. Art curiosities from Cura’s international “house” labels (such as Mawi), as well as guest brands were also on display. I was especially taken by the terrariums of Raab — great “living” statement pieces for any table scape or room and only requiring minimum maintenance, spraying distilled water inside the glass cases once a month. All in all, it was a red-letter day for those decorating their homes, those who avidly collect and those just searching for that elusive, tasteful gift for a special someone... Or just to treat oneself to a wonderful gift or home item. And if you missed the opportunity to attend the one-day sale at Makati Shang, a good number of the items will be available at the Cura V store at Rockwell’s Power Plant Mall.