150 Years on Shiseido Still Has a Spot On Our Vanity
By Kelli Luu | 09 Sep, 2025

Shiseido started as a Ginza pharmacy in 1872 and has grown into a $6.5 billion global skincare brand.

Some beauty brands come and go but Shiseido is one of the most legendary beauty brands in the world. It is the Asian founded brand that was created over 150 years ago in 1872 and it has stuck as a vanity staple even after all this time. 

Shiseido’s story began as a pharmacy in Ginza with Ariniobu Fukuhara. He was a former head pharmacist to the Imperial Japanese Navy who developed Shiseido into Japan’s very first Western-style pharmacy. His dream was to provide affordable and effective medicine to the people of Japan that would help support health, beauty, and wellness. 

In 1897 Ariniobu made his first step into the cosmetics game with Shiseido’s first skincare product, Eudermine, which became the talk of the town, solidifying the company’s place in the beauty industry. 

During a trip to New York City in 1902 Ariniobu encountered the soda fountain. Never seeing anything like it before, Ariniobu decided to import one to Japan to put in the pharmacy which grew the business into the Shiseido Parlor. 

In 1913 Ariniobu passed on Shiseido to his son Shinzo Fukuhara. Using the knowledge he learned from traveling through the U.S. and Europe, Shinzo looked to expand even more into the cosmetics industry and became interested in advertising as a huge selling point for the business. 

Shinzo wanted to revolutionize makeup. In 1917 cosmetic lovers were obsessed with white powder until Shiseido released a colorful rainbow face powder. 

By the 60s and 70s Shiseido started to branch out internationally with sales hitting in Taiwan, Singapore, Hong Kong, Hawaii, and Europe quickly exhibiting themselves to be an incoming powerhouse. 

Customers were fond of Shiseido because of their skincare technology. Anti-aging research and their development of excellent sunscreen formulas have kept Shiseido ahead of all the skincare trends. In more recent years, Shiseido has also demonstrated their desire to stay relevant with younger consumers by acquiring popular brands like Drunk Elephant for $850 million. 

As of September 2025 Shiseido is bringing in around $6.5 billion in yearly revenue and continues to stand as Japan’s number one beauty brand. 

Although it is over 150 years old, Shiseido has never lost its sparkle. Shiseido has been around this long for a reason and it is because they excel at staying up to date while still producing quality products that honor its heritage. Our great grandmothers kept Shiseido on their vanities and today its legacy is still proving that true beauty never goes out of style.