Shu Uemura was a Japanese make-up artist and founder of the Shu Uemura international cosmetics line which bears his name.Uemura developed and launched his first cosmetics product in 1960. His product was a cleansing oil, which left the skin cleaner than soap and also acted as a moisturizer. His cleansing oil remains popular in Japan today. Uemura developed a make-up philosophy that the health of his customers' skin should be the most important aspect of cosmetics. He also believed in enhancing a subject's natural beauty, not artificially creating it using cosmetic products.
Uemura returned to Japan in 1964 and opened the Shu Uemura makeup school, which taught make-up techniques which he learned in Hollywood. He founded a cosmetics company called Japan Makeup in 1967 and opened its first boutique store in Tokyo's trendy Omotesando district. He officially changed the name of his company to Shu Uemura Cosmetics in 1983. Uemura's company was able to take advantage of Japan's booming economy and taste for Western products during the 1980s. In the process, Shu Uemura Cosmetics became a major force in the domestic Japanese and international beauty market.