Beauty School Knockout

JANUARY 10, 2008 TAGS: BUSINESS, BEAUTY, PIONEER ADD A COMMENT

Shu Uemera parlayed his prodigious cosmetic talents and entrepreneurial instincts into a career as one of the luminaries of cosmetics and beauty. He was the only man in his beauty school in his native Tokyo and moved to Hollywood in the early 1960s, where he stood out as an exceptionally gifted make-up artist. He then moved back to Japan and started a cosmetic line that grew to become one of Japan’s largest. Uemera died on December 29, at the age of 79.

Uemera got his big break while working on the 1962 film My Geisha. The head make-up artist failed to appear on set, and so Uemera was charged with transforming Shirley MacLaine into a Japanese courtesan. His almost flawless method of altering her Caucasian features to East Asian features stunned everyone on set, including MacLaine. Uemera’s reputation caught fire and before long he was the favorite of make-up artist of many stars, including Frank Sinatra and Edward G. Robinson.

His success didn’t end in Hollywood. In 1967, Uemera moved back to Japan and launched his own cosmetic line, originally called Japan Make-up. Uemera developed a cleansing oil that he advertised as a moisturizing alternative to traditional soaps. His emphasis on natural elements and holistic beautification became his trademark. In 1983, he changed the name of the company to Shu Uemera cosmetics.

Sensing the confluence of Japan’s rising economy and increasing consumer desire, Uemera melded his naturalistic techniques with an art and fashion consciousness that attracted status-seeking customers. In addition to products that used such esoteric ingredients as deep sea water, Uemera’s line made fanciful eyelash curlers and presented bold, almost architectural studies on make-up design. He became an icon.

And though he sold his brand to L’Oreal in 2003, he maintained a passionate and innovative presence in the beauty industry.

Read Time Magazine's musings on the Uemura's life.