Shiseido takes on 'unconscious beauty bias' and we’re so here for it.
Picture this - it’s 2025 and the beauty industry finally represents each and every one of us. We feel at home embracing our “imperfections” and feel uplifted by brands that are helping us discover our uniqueness.
Soooo 😬 this might still be a pipe dream but one TIB isn’t giving up on. However, if you look closely enough at the beauty industry, there’s some movers and shakers that are really onto something.
Emerging as one of the “perfectly imperfect” gamechangers within the beauty world is non other than Japanese brand, Shiseido. They’ve recently waged war on conventional beauty standards with their See, Say, Do campaign. Yet for some reason, this fascinating movement hasn’t made headlines in any major beauty publications yet.
Why this might be is something I’ll leave for you to decide. But let’s take a look at the See, Say, Do campaign as we celebrate brands doing cool sh*t.
What is See, Say, Do all about?
Shiseido is actually one of the oldest beauty companies in -- the -- world. In the last 150 years, this Japanese cosmetics brand has ballooned into an global beauty giant that serves customers in 120 countries and regions. Not only have their perfected their products, but Shiseido leadership has focused on making a better world by “delivering new values,” and helping customers see beauty in a different light.
Shiseido is also a proud advocate of the Sustainable Beauty Actions initiative. Within this, there are three pillars; Monntainai (recycle & reuse), Harmony (society & environment) and Empathy (resonate with everyone).
Enter See, Say, Do. This is campaign that deserves a huge round of applause for its brilliant name alone and forms part of their “Empathy” pillar. At it’s core, Shiseido’s new campaign is all about Unconscious Beauty Bias, which they have shortened to UBB. What they mean by this is addressing the ongoing challenge of unconscious biases and prejudices that “keep us from being our true, beautiful selves.”
“ SEE the reality,
SAY what you feel,
DO what makes the world truly beautiful.”
- Shiseido
The way we see beauty is complex. Shiseido identifies that unconscious beauty bias stems from a number of things like age, gender, race, and nationality and it has a negative impact on people around the world. That’s why Shiseido is trying to raise awareness of the ongoing prevalence of UBB and instead promote more diversity and inclusion.
The beauty brand’s mission is to encourage people to notice, speak up and act upon UBB happening in their everyday lives.
The impact of See, Say, Do.
Shiseido sum up their impact perfectly: “While we may not bring an end to Unconscious Beauty Bias, at SHISEIDO we think there’s much we can do.”
In a world where beauty trends seem so ingrained, Shiseido is here to remind us that it’s never too late to encourage change. Elsewhere, they speak about “redefining beauty” and eradicating UBB in all of its forms to help create a more beautiful world. Ah-mazing!
Having only just launched in September 2022, it’s difficult to truly grasp the impact that the See, Say, Do campaign has achieved had so far. What’s more, we still have to wait for further developments and updates before we really see the vision that Shiseido planned for -- the anticipation is killing me.
The verdict
There’s a lot right about See, Say, Do. Yet, I can’t help but wonder if Shiseido are just preaching to the converted.
Many visitors to that platform will be Shiseido lovers and beauty fans that are aware of challenges in the beauty world. I wonder if this type of campaign will truly tap into people guilty of UBB and change perspectives from the inside-out. I hope so. I’m counting on that being their agenda later down the line.
Shiseido is certainly onto something great. After spending some time on their beautiful See, Say, Do website -- I am left wanting more. With this in mind, I’m very curious to see what comes next and how their campaign will envolve in the next few months.
WHATS UP NEXT…
