One of the first brands I associated with Asian beauty is Shiseido as it was my mother’s preferred luxury brand when I was growing  up. Shiseido was also one of the most accessible brands to purchase before there was the Internet or online shopping. In fact, there were a couple of Shiseido franchise stores that opened right in Chinatown, NYC where salesladies were able to make sales by speaking Cantonese to my mom. For my epic Tokyo vacation, I naturally wanted to visit the Shiseido Flagship right in the heart of Ginza, Tokyo’s premiere shopping district. The flagship has four floors with each providing a unique beauty experience.  Right across the street is Shiseido Parlour, an old-timey style confectionery retail shop. If you’re a Shiseido fan, or at least a fan of any of Shiseido’s many sub-brands, look at through my mini photo tour to see if you’d like to step inside.

Shiseido The Ginza
7-8-10 Ginza, Chuo-ku, Tokyo

Shiseido The Ginza

Opened in 2011, Shiseido The Ginza is the cosmetics-focused building on the right side of the Google Maps picture. They will honor tax-free purchases as long as you buy the minimum amount, check out my Japan Shopping Tips in this post for more details.

The ground floor is The Beauty Marché and it has all Shiseido sub-brands for sale under one roof. Brands that are harder to find like Za, IPSA, Qiora, Senscience, UV White, Revital, Clé de Peau, Aqualabel, Avène, ELIXIR, Aupres, Ma Cherie, and many more. Each brand has a mini station with clean testers and gifts with purchase offers specific to each brand. If you’re not into using a real tester, there are mirrored makeup simulators that will let you virtually try-on colors by scanning a tester’s barcode. I’m not so familiar with these other brands so I wouldn’t know what to recommend.

There is less intimidation browsing and testing products here as salespeople tend to leave you alone. There aren’t any pushy reps giving any side-eye from behind a scary booth. You can test and walk from brand to brand as you please without feeling guilty for not buying anything. There are also accessories like scarves, rings, and necklaces located by the windows. Drugstore brands that are under the Shiseido brand are also housed in The Beauty Marché. Majolica Majorca, Anessa, Integrate and ELIXIR are available to test and are sold at around the same drugstore prices.

The other floors in this building feature a Beauty Boost Bar which allows you to try out new Shiseido products and get your makeup done before a big event. There is also a photo studio where you can be pampered like a real model and have hair and makeup done for glamour shots. There is a Clé de Peau Beauté salon and spa that offers facial and body treatments. On the 4th floor, there are Beauty Lessons you can purchase with a beauty expert. There are skin analyzing machines where trained staff can help you see your imperfections better than the naked eye and give a personal consultation.

THE GINZA Skincare Line

There is also an ultra-fancy, ultra-expensive The Ginza skincare line by Shiseido. They are pushing their Hybrid Day Protector SPF 30 PA+++ which just seems like a $300 sunscreen to me (and not even at SPF 50). Their most expensive item is their Day and Night Empowering Essences set at $1,800 (or 180,000 Yen). I can’t even read the ingredients because they are listed in Japanese even with the English setting on. Visiting the website, they set a new limit of 1 item per month per customer so it’s selling out like hot taiyakis if you can afford it. Go and test these out if you’re ever in Tokyo!

Read my post on Shiseido Parlour so you can pick up some coveted snacks on your next trip to Tokyo!

Comments

Have you visited this location? What did you like about it? Did you get to test the makeup simulator machines? What was your best find? Share any tips that you picked up too!