In gold we trust

At some point in life, shortly after Barbie has lost her luster, there is a woman we all dream of becoming. She is steadfast and successful, maybe a stockbroker or an art gallery owner. She has a strong sense of ethics but enjoys laughing at a dirty joke or two. She isn’t afraid of wearing something interesting or offbeat even if it gets a snicker from an unknowing bystander. She’s hardworking – often to the point of insanity – yet doesn’t brag about it. She’s the kind of woman who dresses well, not because she wants to draw attention to herself in a flashy way, but because she takes pride in herself and her appearance. She wears makeup that doesn’t hide her flaws – only the kind that enhances what she already has. Later on in life, most women begin to realize that that woman is their mother: she is the template of womanhood.

From the beginning, girls the world over have emulated mom, trying out her shoes when they are five sizes too big and donning her lipstick when the shade’s a tad too mature. Come adolescence, suddenly anything mom-friendly becomes worse than plutonium – banned by legal agencies across the board.

It’s time to give mom her due. She was right about the excessive drinking (it does make you fatter), so maybe she was right about the whole clean makeup philosophy, too (i.e. you’ll regret the glitter and crazy eyeshadow).

"Every girl’s mom uses Shiseido," says senior product manager Donna Faylona, who came to love makeup as early as high school. "The line has been around so long that people have come to trust the products."

Post Meiji Restoration, a man by the name of Arinobu Fukuhara began the Shiseido pharmacy in the Ginza district, the center of bustling Japan, in 1872. Merging Eastern aesthetics with Western science and business technology, according to the website, is the company’s key to success and the reason why its pioneering spirit lives on in customers who continually come to the skincare and cosmetics label for their supply of beauty products. The brand proudly stands behind its strong scientific background, with technological abilities that probably surpass the research that went into, say, the space shuttle (hey, a girl’s gotta have her lipstick).

One of the oldest companies still thriving on the market today, Shiseido glamorously combines the Zen aesthetics of its ancestors with an avant-garde approach to marketing. As early as 1980, the brand went the vanguard route in terms of advertising, selecting French artist Serge Lutens, whose credits include Vogue magazine, to create an international image. The image, a stark contrast to the overzealous, hard-sell techniques of other cosmetic brands, stood out: a painting of a girl resting delicately over a bold, red disc.

It’s this offbeat, Japanese sensibility that makes Shiseido the label that style scenesters like Maggie Q, the sultry Asian actress starring in the third installment of Mission Impossible, come to again and again. Arty folk enjoy Shiseido’s cultured mystique, due largely in part to the force it’s become in the art scene. Advertising and packaging comprise a small chunk of the brand’s contribution to the world of humanities – they are constantly organizing contemporary art exhibitions in public museums in Tokyo, the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, and the Fondation Cartier in Paris. Both sons of Shiseido founder Fukuhara were pioneers in modern art and photography in Japan, transforming images of quotidian matter – a rooftop, trees, an elegant tea set – into art.

Credited with developing Infinite Color, essentially a pigment whose color changes depending on the angle of reflection of light, a technology widely utilized in cosmetics, the label took the next step and created a makeup line.

Shiseido The Makeup – the label is so prestigious its cosmetics line doesn’t require another name – was developed as an extension of the skincare range, famous for its cutting-edge production process and roots in Eastern medicine. "Shiseido believes the secret to a beautiful person is excellent skin," says Faylona. "Whatever makeup you put on should just enhance your beauty."

With its emphasis on simplicity and elegance, the latest collection from Shiseido, dubbed Golden Kiss, features a range of shimmery amber hues. "Gold evokes wealth," says image creator Tom Pecheux, who’s responsible for forming the season’s colors and looks. "This season’s makeup look blends into the skin with different nuances of a natural, powdery gold."

Though the label stays true to its classic roots, each collection has a product with some edge to it. The latest invention is Shiseido’s Shimmering Lipstick, a series of lipcolors with a jewel-like finish. "The Shimmering Lipstick pays tribute to one of the season’s trends, namely sparkling spangles," says Pecheux. "Each lipstick creates moist, sensually refined lips, transforming them into a triumphant object of fantasy." An ultra-refractive oil adds a high level of luster, while hydroxypatite conceals rough lip surfaces and a hydro-wrap vitalizing DE moisturizes for plump lips. Both my mother and I can attest to the gorgeous shine of the Shimmering Lipstick.

The line also includes Silky Eye Shadow Duo in six combinations, which create contrast on the lid for greater effect.

For a sunkissed look, the Terracotta Glow, a multi-shade enhancer that captures the soft glow of summer in five shades, from sand to saffron, can be applied to the face and body.

The Suncare line, a boon for sun-worshippers, provides a safe, warm glow without worrying about the pesky, oh-so-inconvenient effects of skin cancer. The Brilliant Bronze Self-Tanning Gel comes in two colors (light and medium) and smoothes on evenly for a tan that doesn’t look counterfeit. Advanced Shiseido formulation ensures a pleasant application, without the harsh chemical scent of most self-tanners.

"With its attention to detail and consistent faith in research, Shiseido The Makeup places emphasis on flawlessness," adds Faylona. "Despite it’s vanguard background, it’s something that will make you pretty."

* * *

Shiseido is located at Glorietta 4, PowerPlant Mall, Gateway Mall and Shangri-La Mall.