Interview: Shiseido Chief Brand Officer Echo Lo on why age really is just a number

Prologue: “This is not just a product launch for us. It’s really a new perspective on beauty, a perspective that, with its authentic base in research, is changing how we see ageing.”

The words of Shiseido Chief Brand Officer Echo Lo as she proposed a toast to the new Ultimune Power Infusing Serum in Tokyo last month underlined the critical importance of the launch to the Japanese beauty products powerhouse.

Earlier she talked to The Moodie Davitt Report Founder & Chairman Martin Moodie about the new line – the fourth expression of Ultimune in its 11-year history. What ensued is a fascinating discourse, ranging from how the new serum encapsulates critical elements of Shiseido’s philosophy and long heritage to its implicit fusion of  art, science and beauty.

Clad immaculately tip to toe(nails) in black with red accents, including bright red Shiseido lipstick, Echo Lo is precision personified as she reflects on a key initiative in Shiseido’s proud 153-year history, one dubbed as marking a new era in anti-aging care.

Speaking to The Moodie Davitt Report on launch day for the much-anticipated new Ultimune Power Infusing Serum, the highly regarded Chief Brand Officer for Shiseido explains eloquently how the line – Ultimune’s fourth incarnation since it was introduced in 2014 – is intrinsically linked to the brand’s entrepreneurial heritage and to its Japanese roots.

“We were born in Ginza more than150 years ago,” she observes. “Ginza was a kind of court where western and other visitors were invited to interact with Japanese society and culture and create some synergies.

“An avant-garde and curator spirit has lived at the centre of our brand ever since. That’s the DNA. But it was always natural rather than intentional and that is really the key.

“What’s amazing about the company is that while we started from the founder’s [Arinobu Fukuhara] beliefs, the team has always inherited and sustained this natural DNA within us to keep evolving. I think that is really the beauty of the company – the way we keep pushing and then challenging the evolution.

“When you are balanced, you look still, but 1,000 muscles have already moved in coordination to make that happen. That is also the Japanese spirit of craftsmanship, this kind of balancing act. You don’t look like you are changing, but you are. So we never stop. We always challenge the status quo to keep evolving.”

Such evolution is not always synonymous with instant success, Lo admits. “I have to be very honest with you. We started Ultimune in 2014, 11 years ago, and even then we were already talking about skin immunity. But the truth is, I think, the consumers were not ready.

“I always like to quote Yohji Yamamoto [an acclaimed Japanese fashion designer]. He says, ‘When you are one step ahead of consumers, you are a genius. When you are three steps of them, you are dead.’

But Shiseido wasn’t dead. It stuck with the product and its underlining principles, constantly seeking a way to translate the energy that lies within a consumer’s skin.

“Through the generations, this has always been an area for us that never changed,” Lo explains. “That is why our efforts are so appreciated by well-known academic institutes. We keep digging for more. It’s not like we find a new technology that we can commercialise and then we stop. We keep digging to see if we can find a greater truth. Because coming from an oriental philosophy, we believe the foundation is the core – your skin is just a reflection of everything that comes from the inside.

“How we really feel inside is important. Skin is the biggest organ in our human body and vessels are how it translates all the nutrition and the required oxygen to make sure every organ functions.”

Lo resists the temptation to get overly technical but it’s clear she’s both imbued in and inspired by the science underpinning Ultimune. “This launch is not because the existing product already hit the cycle, it is because we have such a great research breakthrough,” she observes.

‘Age is just a number’ might be common consumer parlance, but in new Ultimune Power Infusing Serum’s case, the mantra has real substance, Lo insists.

“This product does what it says: age really is just a number. Look at the data we share, from age 15 to 80. The common ground of aging is not coming from the number. That’s why we’re very confident to introduce new Ultimune to the world, and it also shows the spirit of the company and the brand.” {Main story continues following the panel below}

Authenticity, longevity, quiet and humility Think Shiseido, you think Japan. Think Japan and – beauty product consumers at least – will think Shiseido. How does that relationship between country and brand shape Shiseido on the global stage? And what does Japanese beauty mean to an international consumer? Echo Lo was asked that precise question by former Shiseido Company CEO Masahiko Uotani, when he tasked her to head a project that set out to define the value of Japanese beauty. Out of that programme, she drew on a fascinating contrast between two ecommerce sites – blockbuster international service Amazon and Rakuten Ichiba, Japan’s largest online shopping platform. Amazon is much more templated she points out, with brands offered a prescriptive template in terms of number of photos and product description. In contrast, Rakuten basically says, “Okay, you own this whole space. Design it.” That results in very different online manifestations of a brand, Lo emphasises, citing the example of a Japanese denim jeans brand. “The storytelling is totally different. They were just a normal jeans brand like Levi’s on Amazon, but on Rakuten they have storytelling about how they use a dye to create the denim, how they cut and design it, the silhouette – much more 3D. “I think Japanese brands always try to be good storytellers. One word is authenticity, and the second, I would say, is longevity, the more long-term approach.” Slowly does it There are other implicit qualities too. Quietness. Humility. Antidotes to an all too brash and noisy world. “Many consumers nowadays demand everything fast, faster, fastest. And it has to be so visual, they don’t really care about the sensory or the experience.” In contrast, Shiseido is attempting through what it calls groundbreaking immune research to introduce the concept of ‘slow aging’ to society. “Can any human being live in such a fast-paced and efficient lifestyle forever?” asks Lo, picking up on the concept. “No, in the end, you need serenity. We need a space to slow down, to calm, to reflect. That’s why you see meditation coming back in appeal to the younger generations. “That is the mindset of wellness. So to answer your question, how Japanese beauty and Japan collide, it’s really about how we offer a unique value in the world where consumers can take a different pace. It’s like the freedom from age that we offer.”

Talking to an international audience

Walk into any Japanese department store or duty-free shop and Shiseido’s powerhouse status both as a brand and a group is immediately apparent. So the new Ultimune seems sure to be a surefire success at home in both local and travel retail channels. How though will it translate to the skincare needs of a more diverse international audience, especially in travel retail?

Very easily, Lo replies, thanks to the universal need and desire it speaks to. “First of all, we want to really address cellular aging. That is the key rather than your age according to when you were born,” she explains. “So I think that aim already sets the tone for this product – we want it to be universal. It should be cross-generational, so that at any age you are entitled to use it and should use it.”

That’s a contrasting approach to many products, which have a very targeted generational profile, she points out. Ultimune’s point of difference is reflected in the choice of three women models of different ages and different nationalities – Brazilian, French and Chinese – for a related promotional film campaign.

“This shows the way we want to communicate and address the consumer needs… we respect everyone for who they are. And the narration comes from their real voices rather than professional voiceovers.” {Main interview continues following the panel below}

‘Visualising the invisible’ Skin, body and mind. A simple-sounding mantra but one underpinned by deeply complex science. Science that underpins the fascinating work of Kentaro Kajiya, Vice President, Business Core Technology Center at Shiseido’s MIRAI Technology Institute. Kajiya, a youthful-looking, 24-year veteran of the company, has earned global renown for his contribution to dermatological research. His acclaimed research into the role blood and lymphatic vessels play in skin aging has converged with the world of beauty, thanks to an holistic approach that examines the skin’s interaction with the entire body – including, crucially, the immune system. While the inherent role of cosmetics is to maintain a healthy skin – and to embellish it beautifully – Kajiya says the science that underpins Shiseido’s work is much more than skin deep. The company’s research, he says, is to “visualise the invisible” – incorporating elements such as blood flow, immunity and the mind, as well as ‘the future’ or, in aging terms, time. Shiseido has been conducting scientific research related to skincare since 1916. Today it has six innovation centres dotted around the world dedicated to constant advancement in areas such as sustainability, skin beauty and future beauty. Through science, Kajiya explains, the company seeks to create new values and categories to drive the beauty sector forward. In terms of how it drives such innovation, he highlights three key tiers: skin beauty, sustainability and future beauty. The first addresses care of the skin and making it more beautiful. Sustainability relates to both ingredients and packaging. And future beauty recognises that skin is not a separate organ but intrinsically connected to the whole body through blood vessels and the immune system. Based on its scientific capability, Shiseido has been able to develop the ‘slow aging’ concept that underpins the new Ultimune, Kajiya says. How enthused is he to help unveil what the company sees as ground-breaking science? Ultimune’s original 2014 premise, at the time also seen as a breakthrough, underlined the critical role the immune system plays in skin health. But with the new serum, Shiseido believes it can actually slow aging by activating the immune system. “That’s a new concept, right? So therefore we are quite excited,” Kajiya responds. “Traditionally we try to fight against aging skin or the aging process. But now we can remove the aged cells from the skin. We can keep the skin healthy, and we can make the skin not aged. That’s the concept and it’s a new finding.” And when such a new discovery is made in the lab, is there a ‘eureka moment’, a collective high fiving of exhilaration? Kajiya’s response is deliciously understated. “No, such things usually happen in the microscope room, so we are usually in the dark.” The scientists may be but the new Ultimune has very much found the light of day. And underneath his measured academic exterior, Kajiya admits to the thrill of not only exploring areas that no-one else is investigating but uncovering something for the first time in the world. On the record with Kentaro Kajiya* On immunity: Immunity, simply put, is about eliminating foreign substances that come from the outside, but we found that this immunity also recognises things that are actually inside the body. The immune system can recognise and eliminate aging cells within the skin by itself, meaning it has a self-purifying function. We discovered that when this function fails, skin aging progresses. On Shiseido’s uniqueness: When I reflect on the strengths of Shiseido’s fundamental research, I realise that our uniqueness lies in ‘visualising the invisible’ and continuing research that closes in on the invisible. On blood flow: When light is shone on the blood vessels within the skin to visualise them in three dimensions, you can see that their structure is extraordinarily beautiful. It’s not something that someone calculated and created; it’s a beauty born from the incredible process of evolution of living organisms, and I feel both wonderment and beauty when I see this up close. On the role of camellia extract: We already knew that camellia-derived ingredients are good for the skin, but while selecting components that enhance the function of immune cells from countless options, we found that the extract obtained from fermented camellia seeds was effective. The camellia, which has been a symbol of Shiseido for over 100 years, is now merging with cutting-edge research on immunity that Shiseido is pursuing, resulting in innovative skincare. I feel a sense of destiny in this. On aging: I think the concept of aging is changing. Time should not be something to fight against; it should be something to ally with to live better. For instance, not all wrinkles are bad. While there may be wrinkles one might want to eliminate, it’s also true that some wrinkles can convey a gentle image that comes with age. The concept of beauty is likely to be continuously updated. *Taken from ‘The Desire to See the Invisible: Discovering New Beauty from That Desire’ – an in-house Shiseido interview with Kentaro Kajiya (February 2025).

Echo Lo interview continued:

Universality also means diversity, a global term with distinct nuances within a Japanese society that while not strictly mono-cultural lacks the multiplicity of many societies. How then does diversity play out in such an ethno-national context? The answer lies in authenticity at every level, Lo replies, rather than by a checklist across age, skin colour, race etc.

Such authenticity comes from respect for consumers and addressing their needs. For Shiseido, skin quality is the obvious one, manifested, say, in smoothness, resilience and radiance. But a healthy glow should not be a make-up effect, it should come from within, Lo contends.

It’s an holistic view of skin and beauty, one that plays out in Ultimune’s ‘Freedom from age’ mantra, a critical three-word articulation of the philosophy that underpins the product.

“Freedom from age is a very beautiful notion,” Lo comments. “Every generation thinks about aging differently. So freedom is actually a very broad concept.” That freedom and its implicit universality has particular relevance to travel retail, she observes, thanks to the channel’s inherent mix of traveller types (business and leisure), nationalities and ages.

“We want to provide a broad spectrum for people to be free. So age is just a number. When I was in my 20s, I was actually more anxious toward aging. People said my metabolism would slow – what would that change? I actually had more anxiety about aging then.

“As I aged, I actually felt better,” Lo continues with a laugh. “Yes, I’m more liberated. It’s not bad. And I can still squeeze into the jeans I had 20 years ago!

“So I think we are an amplifier. We are an empowerment for people to be free from the concept of aging that constrains or limits you. That is my take and I believe it also applies to travellers in your world of travel retail.”

The Ultimune launch – both the product itself and the big-budget nature of its unveiling – represent Shiseido “reclaiming its edge”, Lo contends. “We are such a beautiful brand with so much meaningful heritage behind us. So, what do we find to really remodernise and make the brand relevant to the consumers today? That is the key and I think that every brand with a long history faces the same challenge.

A fusion of beauty, science and art

“We were born in Ginza with this kind of avant-garde curator role through the art of fusion. We want to bring back that fusion. It’s not only about science, it is a fusion of art and science and only our sensibility can elevate it to such a stage.”

That three-component fusion of beauty, science and art was memorably played out over the course of the two-day launch event.

The experience began with a science tour at the Shiseido Global Innovation Center, where the company conducts research not only to develop cosmetic formulations but also to contribute to people’s health and well-being through dermatology.

There a science exhibition was hosted, featuring interactive installations and conveying Shiseido’s relentless commitment to scientific advancement — specifically in this case the new mechanism of eliminating skin immune cells.

The following day, launch guests were whisked away to Warehouse Terrada, a fulcrum of Japan’s art world, based in Tennozu, a waterfront district in Tokyo. Here, the artistic heritage that runs like a Shiseido-red bloodline through everything the brand stands for was showcased in a thrillingly sensorial hyper-physical experience titled ‘Freedom from Age’, structured into three themed rooms: The Origin, The Essence, and The Science.

“That is where we start from – this event is a fusion of art and science,” Lo observes, speaking just after the science exhibition had concluded. “Today was all about science them but you still feel the art. Tomorrow is art day where you will also feel the science. So we are juggling all this so naturally, so flawlessly, so effortlessly. That’s who we are and that’s why it makes us unique in the world of beauty.”