The icon is back! Back, that is, to the shores of Blighty, because in its native Japan – and indeed across Asia – Shu Uemura’s Ultime8 cleansing oil never went away. More than that, it’s the number one best selling cleanser of its kind across the region (even beating Korean brands) and is known affectionately as “The King of Cleansing Oils”. But, of course, anyone who’s ever used it would know that already, and fans have been lamenting its absence from the UK (and the European) market since the brand pulled out in 2017.
To herald its return, the Tokyo-based brand flew Uchiide Kakuyasu, its international artistic director, and YuHwa Yang, its technical education manager, to Paris for a presentation on Monday (and to tend to the makeup for the Ujoh AW26 show at the Palais de Tokyo the next day). “I am very happy to be here with you and really appreciate all of you making this happen here today,” a very understated Uchiide told the assembled guests.
Uchiide has worked for the brand for 38 years and recounted that he felt “so lucky that for the first twenty years I worked closely with Mr Shu Uemura”. He has also collaborated with the likes of Takashi Murakami, Viktor & Rolf and Karl Lagerfeld. “I have learned a lot from them,” he said, the biggest of them being “that beauty and cosmetics can be appreciated as a form of art. And to me, the definition of art is that it enriches our lives with its aesthetics”.
He described the brand founder as “gentle and charismatic”. That charisma took Shu Umeura far – indeed to Hollywood, where he travelled to pursue his dream of become a make-up artist in film. His big break came with the 1962 movie My Geisha when the MUA who had originally been booked for the job fell ill and Shu Uemura was asked to step in. He did, of course, and used his skills to transform Shirley MacLaine into a believable geisha as part of a plotline that involved a wife playing a trick on her husband (probably not a film that anyone would be greenlighting nowadays). Critical acclaim for his skills followed, as did word of mouth for the cleansing oil he had developed to use on actors backstage, one that was effective but also kind and nourishing to skin. When he returned to Tokyo and founded his own brand in 1967 the oil was officially launched (at the time it was under the name Unmasked); next year it will celebrate its 60th anniversary. The formula is still the same today and is rich in Japan-grown, sustainably sourced camellia oil which, said Yang, has been loved by Japanese women for its skin and hydration benefits since the 10th century.
More than a cleanser, said Yang, Ultime8 is a key step of makeup; “Makeup starts and ends with cleansing oil,” she said (the OG himself described it as “Beautiful makeup starts with beautiful skin”). How you use the oil though is also important. Deliver three pumps into dry hands and then massage into the face – feel free to use a gua sha should you wish. To remove mascara there’s no need to rube the oil in but simply hold your fingers on top of your lashes and the makeup will dissolve. Once you’ve finished massaging, add water to emulsify and then wash off.
For the time being, only the Ultime8 oil and the brand’s equally iconic eyelash curlers have returned to the UK (and Europe). Both are available to shop here.
Photography courtesy of Shu Uemura.
