Shiseido is a Japanese prestige skincare and makeup brand founded in Tokyo in 1872. In Australia its skincare is sold through Mecca, and David Jones also lists it, as at 5 October 2026.
Shiseido was founded in 1872 by Arinobu Fukuhara, who opened Japan's first private Western-style pharmacy in Tokyo's Ginza district. The company says the name comes from the Chinese classic Yi Jing (Book of Changes), from a line praising the virtue of the earth, from which all things are born.
Cosmetics became a separate business in 1916, when Shiseido opened a dedicated cosmetics shop with design and laboratory facilities, and the company was incorporated in 1927. The brand says it has always seen itself as a source of culture and lifestyle as well as products.
Shiseido's mass-market personal care brands, including Senka, were moved into a joint venture with CVC Capital Partners in 2021, so today the Shiseido name in Australia mainly means its prestige skincare, makeup and suncare.
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