Uemura's make-up legacy

By Angeline Neo
Publisher:The Straits Times - Publication Date: 10-01-2008
Beauty brand Shu Uemura is expected to continue its founder's legacy in make-up artistry after his death. Japanese make-up great Shu Uemura died of acute pneumonia on Dec 29 at age 79.
Considered the pioneer of Japan's make-up industry, he was known for avant-garde looks.

Although French beauty giant L'Oreal now controls Shu Uemura, he was still very much involved in the running of the business, said Violet Ho, L'Oreal Singapore's general manager for luxury product division.

His last initiative was the recent Spring/Summer Mode Make-up collection for the brand called Rebirth. He did the make-up for its advertising campaign.

The collection hits stores here on Jan 18.

The Tokyo-born Uemura graduated from a beauty school before moving to Hollywood to become a make-up artist in the 1950s.

His big break came in 1962 on the set of the movie My Geisha, where he transformed Shirley MacLaine's Caucasian face into that of a Japanese geisha with Asian features.

He soon became the choice make-up artist of Hollywood legends including Frank Sinatra and Marilyn Monroe.

He founded Japan Make-up Ltd in 1967, which was renamed Shu Uemura in 1982.

Today, the brand is sold in 18 countries. In Singapore, there are nine Shu Uemura counters.

Those who have met Uemura have only good words for the man.

Eileen Lon, a former brand manager for Shu Uemura, described him as a "father figure".

Now the regional brand manager for Beaute Prestige International, the French company that develops fragrances for Issey Miyake, Jean Paul Gaultier and Narciso Rodriguez, she hosted him when he was here to judge the brand's Beauty Art Makeup Competition in 2004.

"He was always very thoughtful and had no airs, despite his fame," she said.

During his trip in 2004 for instance, she said he told the team to rest after the event.

"He didn't need us to host him for dinner and said he would simply retire to his room and have a bowl of porridge. That's how considerate he was."

During brand inductions in Tokyo, he always made the effort to chat with the team and always had nice things to say about people, she recalled.

"He said to me that when you compliment a person, it makes him happy and that the philosophy extends to make-up, which should be used to bring out the best in people, never to cover a flaw."

Sam Ong, 35, a make-up artist who was placed second in the 2004 competition at which Uemura was a judge, also had fond memories of him.

He said: "There was a photo-taking session after the competition, and there were a lot of people around. But he whispered to me that he liked the way I did the make-up and complimented me on the colours I picked."

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