There was a time when we considered Paris the centre of beautyand sophistication. The women seemed slimmer, more chic and moretanned than us and we believed their beauty potions held some kindof magical secret. Now there's a new destination that seems to holdall the answers: Tokyo.

Japanese women are now seen as beautiful and sophisticated,keepers of traditional beauty secrets. Part of the image goes backto the exotic allure of the geisha but it's also due to a renewedpride in their own looks and style. When Riyo Mori was last yearcrowned the first Japanese Miss Universe in 48 years it was clearJapanese women were becoming more confident with their ownappearance.

Shiseido's popular shampoo brand Tsubaki is advertised withimages of modern Japanese career women and the slogan "Japanesewomen are beautiful", a big change from the days when Europeanblondes were seen as the beauty ideal.

Japan has a long history of appreciating beauty -- from thegeisha culture to traditional crafts. Their spa culture isthousands of years old and traditional ingredients such as volcanicmud, wakame seaweed, rice bran and even nightingale droppings havebeen shown to have skin benefits (the bird droppings, long used bygeisha and kabuki actors, contain the enzyme guanine, whichbrightens the skin).

As Mikiko Ashkiri, a Cambridge University research associatestudying modern Japanese cosmetics practices told Britain's DailyMail: "Japanese culture has a constant need for innovation. As anation we are always looking for something new, extreme andstrange. At the moment, it's by reinventing ancient beautypractices, giving them a new high-tech edge."
Shiseido, founded in Tokyo in 1872, is the second-oldest cosmeticscompany in the world and the first to fuse Western pharmaceuticalswith Eastern medicine and philosophy. Its latest fragrance iscalled, appropriately, Zen. The company has been using aromachologyto develop fragrances that affect mood and the new fragrancecontains two ingredients shown to reduce stress. For Japaneseconsumers, it's not enough to look or smell good - a product musthave extra benefits.

The latest entrant on the Australian cosmetics scene is ShuUemura, which was launched in 1965 by the make-up artist of thesame name. He brought back to Japan the experience he gained inHollywood and, ironically, some of the products we now see asintrinsically Japanese, such as the cleansing oil, were inspired byhis time in the US.

Following Uemura's death last year, his top make-up artist,Kakuyasu Uchiide, took over as international artistic director.Following the launch of the brand at David Jones, Uchiide sums upthe growing appeal of Japanese cosmetics.

"Japanese women are very particular and pay a lot of attentionto details - that's why the standards are very high," Uchiidesays.
"Japanese make-up is getting to a really high quality becauseconsumers now have such high expectations."

Uchiide also believes Asian women are no longer looking to aWestern beauty ideal.

"They used to try to contour their faces like Western models;now they use make-up to enhance their natural features," hesays.

Journalist Sarah Lonsdale, who worked in Tokyo for eight years,sees the emerging pride in Japanese identity as the reason for anew Japanese aesthetic in design. In her book Japanese Style, shesays: "The consumer boom of the 1980s was swiftly followed by adecade-long recession. This has given the younger generation a newperspective on their own culture and a level of confidence to valueand use the traditional arts and crafts as a basis for the creationof new design."

Packaging is incredibly important in Japanese products. "Nomatter how insignificant an item, the same meticulous level of carethat goes into its packaging beauty is viewed as an integral partof function," Lonsdale says.

Uchiide's philosophy of make-up is "simple but dramatic", citingthe basic colours of Japan: black, white and red.

But beyond the pretty packaging and creative colours, consumerswant other benefits and an intriguing story to go with it. Renownedfor their high-tech performance, Japanese brands nevertheless offera holistic approach, using elements of traditional Eastern medicineand aromachology. Last year, Uemura launched a skincare range,Phyto-Black Lift, using ingredients such as hyaluronic acid andglycoaminoglycan, to help firm and moisturise the skin. But it'sthe quirkier ingredients, fermented black tea and black sugar, thattell the magical story. The packaging says: "In the fifth century,the Japanese emperor was cured from sickness and lived long thanksto the mystic beverage, black tea ferment, made with black tea andsugar.

"Since those days, Japanese people believe that blackingredients such as black tea and black sugar is the key to stayyoung and healthy."
Likewise, the success of SK-II is based not just on actress CateBlanchett's natural radiance but also on the story of the keyingredient, Pitera. The company says: "A Japanese monk visiting asake brewery noticed that the brewery workers had extraordinarilysoft and youthful hands. After a series of experiments a team ofskincare scientists discovered the secret: a clear, nutrient-richliquid that could be extracted during the yeast fermentationprocess. They named the liquid Piter, which, over time, has becomeknown as the secret key to beautiful skin."
Pitera is saccharomycopsis ferment, or in plainer language, yeast.It has exhibited protective and anti-inflammatory qualities inindependent tests by the Centre National de la RechercheScientifique but the sake story is far more romantic.

Shiseido has its own magical product, Eudermine, a moisturisingliquid subtly scented with peony. Since it came on the market in1897, the packaging and the formulation have been dramaticallyupdated but it still comes in a stylish red bottle and will beavailable in Australia this month.
Our fascination with Japanese beauty secrets has led to anavalanche of products purported to contain traditional ingredientssuch as green tea - in Elizabeth Arden fragrances and Dovecleansers. Kampo, the Japanese version of Chinese herbal medicine,is used in US brand Zelens. While sake and black tea are in bathproducts made by Fresh and the Miso Pretty range (which,confusingly, doesn't actually contain miso paste). These are alltapping in to a perceived exoticism.

So far, though, no companies are touting nightingaledroppings.

By Kirsty Munro