Makeup artist Shu Uemura was born on June 19, 1928, in Tokyo. He is the founder of the cosmetics brand Shu Uemura.

He moved to Hollywood in 1955, where he began his career as a makeup artist, after a Hollywood film company came to him looking for an assistant at the beauty school he attended. His work there was highly acclaimed, and he continued working in Hollywood until the 1960s.

In 1965, he opened the Shu Uemura Makeup Institute in Tokyo, Japan's first Hollywood-style makeup atelier. In 1967, he founded Japan Makeup, the predecessor to Shu Uemura. From around 1972, he held Japan's first makeup contest and organized the Beauty Show, a makeup show, across Japan, contributing to the development of young artists' skills. In 1982, the company changed its name to "Shu Uemura Cosmetics." The following year, on June 19th, his birthday, he opened the first Shu Uemura Beauty Boutique in Omotesando. The store's concept was "an open atelier." At the time, transparent containers that allowed customers to see the colors at a glance and an open-testing format that allowed customers to freely try products were unprecedented, and it shocked the cosmetics industry. Uemura passed away in December 2007. Shu Uemura continued to produce a variety of products, and today the brand operates more than 460 stores in 18 countries. 2013 marks the 30th anniversary of the Shu Uemura Beauty Boutique. To commemorate this, newly designed displays have been introduced in all Shu Uemura stores. In addition, limited-edition kits and gifts commemorating the 30th anniversary are available throughout June.