Shiseido Makeup’s new collection reinvents the traditional color cosmetic categories, dividing its new products into exciting new textures — Inks, Gels, Powders, and Dews.

Shiseido’s teams — in New York City at its Makeup Center of Excellence, and at its headquarters in Japan — have been working together, long-distance, for over two years on the new line.

Mao Komai, Shiseido’s art director based in Japan, states that during the production process he realized that Japanese manufacturing technology was amazing because he was able to control every detail. “We meticulously shaped the dynamic vision presented by the Makeup Center of Excellence (MCOE) using our expertise, right up to the finest points,” he explains.

Take a look at the brush collection, modeled after calligraphy pens. Shiseido’s team posted on Instagram, “The best things in life take time. Hand-crafted in Japan, each Shiseido makeup brush requires over 40 steps to assemble and a full month to complete.”

The sleek, sophisticated Essentialist Eye Palette, shown above, is one example of the successful collaboration between Shiseido’s teams in NY and Japan — and how the stateside team was relentless in its push for innovation.

Komai explains, in this commentary on Shiseido Group's website, “We wanted to create the thinnest compact possible. If it were our usual product development process, we would simply choose the thinnest option from existing parts. But the approach taken by the MCOE was to try to find any possible way to make it even thinner.”

The result?

“The slim look of the packaging — and the fact that it is lightweight — was important because it not only fits our Japanese heritage, but also mimics the lightweight feel of the makeup products on the skin,” says Gail Boyé, senior vice president, product development, Shiseido Makeup COE.

Read more about developing the collection — and the team in NYC that worked on it — in the Online Exclusive: Shiseido’s Team Talks Makeup

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Slideshow:  A Look at Shiseido’s New Makeup Textures — Inks, Gels, Powders, and Dews -- which products are in each category?

Slideshow: Shiseido Creates a J-Beauty Interactive Exhibit To Launch Makeup Line — Guests tried the new collection after walking through rooms that visually conveyed each new makeup texture.