Review date: 1/10/2005
Image comments by LiK: 1/22/2005

Manufacturer: Shu Uemura

Released: 2004

Availability: RARE

Type: Cosmetics

Personal Story:
I was skimming one of my fashion magazines one day when I came upon a short blurb on the Shu Uemura Cleansing Oil with Artwork by Ai Yamaguchi, where there was a small picture of the clear oil bottle, with a girl sitting Indian-style and pink cherry blossoms decorated all along the top of the bottle. I couldn't get the image out of my mind, so I went online and did some research about what this product was. In total, there were 3 versions of the oils, each with a different design on the bottle. Since I wasn't really familiar with the product, even though I loved the packaging, I decided that for the price they were charging, I had to at least try out the product before I invested in all 3 bottles of oils.

I ended up going to New York City for a weekend in December, and was able to try it out at one of the big department stores. They gave me some samples to test at home, and I liked them, so I decided that I might buy the oils. When I came back, I found out that online, there was a special gift set. I procrastinated, because I was still not sure if I should get it, but the day that I decided to order it, it was all sold out! Luckily, I called the store in Manhattan, and they had a couple of gift sets in stock, so I ordered that. I was pretty happy, until I found out 2 things about the oils.

1) There was a 4th oil, the Premium A/O Oil with Green Tea Extract. I emailed the company, and they responded by saying that this 4th oil was not allowed to be sold in the US, due to some ingredients being banned by the FDA. That put a damper on me, because I read rave reviews online for it, and that meant that I would be missing the 4th bottle, if I were to be collecting the bottles. I frantically then emailed my cousins in Hong Kong and a friend in Japan, and my friend in Japan was able to buy the last bottle in the department store! She said that they only had it because someone who had ordered it in advance canceled at the last minute. I just couldn't believe my luck, but I was SO happy that I was able to get the elusive 4th bottle. ('Course, you'd wonder if I'd actually USE the oil, since it WAS banned in the US, but I guess I'll take my chances. No one in Asia seems to be having any probs!)

2) On the website, in the description for the gift set, it mentioned that I would get 3 buttons with the oils. When I finally received my order, I looked through the whole box and couldn't find any. Bummed out, I called the store the next day to find out if they had left it out when my shipment was packed. They told me that they had never seen such a thing, but was willing to check with the folks who worked for their Internet site. I spoke with a really nice sales person who went out of her way and was able to locate the last set of buttons. It turns out these buttons are really limited; they were only available with the gift set on the Internet for the first 2 weeks it was on sale. They were shipped to me the next day. Even though this sounds very trivial, I really liked the art, and decided that I would do what I could to collect the entire set.

I'm now the proud owner of all 4 bottles of oils, 3 art booklets about the art of Ai Yamaguchi and the history of the cleansing oils, and 3 buttons that accompany the 3 oils that came in the US gift set.

Introduction:
The Shu Uemura Cleansing Oils have been around since 1960, but these bottles were limited edition for Fall 2004. Shu Uemura was a Japanese make-up artist who started his own line of cosmetics while he was doing make-up for actresses in Hollywood. The cleansing oils are one of his top-selling products. He is also known for his famous eyelash curler (which I own), and other lash products. His bottles normally do not have any artwork on them. This special gift set was a collaboration between him and Ai Yamaguchi, an artist from Tokyo. Her characters are essentially prostitutes from the Edo period. While unknown here, she is best known as Takashi Murakami's protege. (He is now best known for his collaborations with Louis Vuitton.) The limited edition oils were released sometime in October 2004, and the last day that they were available was Dec. 31st, 2004. I've read on various sites that in some locations in Asia, these oils were quickly sold out due to their unique packaging. As I'd mentioned earlier, only 3 of the 4 oils were available in the US. The 4th oil, which was more expensive because it contained green tea extract, was sold only in Asia. Oils were limited to 100,000 bottles worldwide.

Packaging:
My gift set came in a square white box that reminded me of a bigger version of the iPod packaging. The box had 2 of the characters from the bottles on the front and back. Each bottle of oil was packaged in a clear plastic box that compliments the design that is on the bottle. The box set came with the following:

1) high performance balancing cleansing oil light (features the character "Otaka")
2) high performance balancing cleansing since 1960 (features the character "Tama")
3) high performance balancing cleansing enriched (features the character "Okyo")
4) depsea water in lavendar (This came in as the 4th item in the box. I have a feeling this is because they were not allowed to include the Premium A/O version of the oil, so this was used to balance out the gift set.)

There were 3 art booklets that came in a folder. One booklet, titled "art by Ai" showcased briefly Ai Yamaguchi's art. The 2nd booklet, "oil by Shu" gave the history of the oils. The third booklet, "artwork by ai yamaguchi - Shu by Ai" showed how the 2 products melded together into the current collection.

I also had the 3 buttons that were sent to me by the company. Each button corresponds to each bottle.

My friend in Japan was able to purchase the following:

cleansing beauty oil premium A/O (features the character "Ichi")

The packaging is the same in that it comes in a clear plastic box. However, it doesn't come with anything special, since it was purchased as a regular product.

Overall, I think that the designs on the bottles are beautiful. It was a real main driver for why I even bought the oils! When I took the oils out of their boxes and placed them on my bathroom counter, they were just so aesthetically pleasing. I read that Shu Uemura had commissioned Ai Yamaguchi to create the 4 original artworks for each bottle of oil, and the artwork is outstanding on their own. What really drew me to the art was the simplicity of the characters, the fine details in the background for the flora and fauna, and the art looks even better with the oil in the bottle, because light reflects off of it, and the whole look reminds me of something clean and fresh and very Zen, which is exactly what the makers were going for. The packaging makes me want to use the product. If the oils didn't come with the art, I might feel very differently. If you're not a fan of anime-inspired art, this might not be for you. I've read that some people find her characters strange, because they're topless with no breasts, and they have really lrge and somewhat empty-looking eyes. I tend to think differently. Even though I read that these are supposed to be prostitutes, the way that the artist chose to portray her characters are very innocent and in some childish way, very romantic. They all have this idyllic expression, as if they are deep in thought, surrounded by nature. It is comforting and nice to look at, and I am a fast-growing fan of her art!

The boxes that held the oils were very nice, too, and I can imagine myself storing them away in those same boxes, and it wouldn't take away from the scheme. I wasn't too crazy about the gift box, since it was made out of cardboard, and didn't seem to carry that transparent look that would go well when you think of a theme for the gift set. However, since the bottles are so heavy, I guess they needed something sturdy to hold everything. I like the art booklets because they gave me more insight into both artists (Uemura and Yamaguchi), but I wish that the pictures were bigger; it was hard to see the detail in the art in some of the pics. The folder for artbooks was also cardboard and flimsy; it could've came in a plastic transparent folder much like the boxes that they came in. The very limited edition buttons that I got weren't anything to write home about; they don't even have Ai Yamaguchi's name on it or on the back, so it seemed to cheapen it a little, and anyhow, if no one told you what they were, they'd look kind lame. However, I liked that extra touch in that they were limited with the set, which makes them an even more of a collector's item. Ultimately, it's the bottles that I will prize the most. I definitely can see them displayed as pieces of art.

Product:
I've only used the oil twice so I can't say for sure if they're as good as they promise to be, but I liked how my skin felt after I used the classic oil (since 1960). My skin felt very nourished, but I wonder if I'm just talking myself into believing that. I think overtime, I will be better able to see if my money was worth buying all of this, and going through so much stress, because I was always buying "the last one left." The Premium A/O is supposed to be the best, so I'm looking forward to using that. The only sad thing is that once I've used up all of my oils, my bottles will all be the same clear color. Tsk...

The box. Superb design. The construction is similar to the iPod boxes.

The Japan exclusive fourth bottle which never made it overseas.

The books.

The buttons.

The bottle that replaced the original Japanese fourth bottle for the US market.