Care and colour: Shiseido’s Prior to launch eye shadows with skin ageing care benefits

Prior is a Japanese beauty brand established in 2015 dedicated to mature women aged 50 and above.

The brand is available primarily available in its domestic market and offers a range of skin care, hair care, body care and make-up products.

In October, the brand is set to debut Beautiful Eye Cream Colour, a cream eye shadow in a stick format that claims to care for the eye area with ingredients such as Argan oil and hyaluronic acid.

According to the brand, the multifunctional eye product can hydrate and brighten the eye area while also concealing wrinkles and dullness.

It was developed to “feel like skin care”​ and will be available in four soft pastel colours – beige, brown, pink and lavender – and gives a glossy, bright finish.

Hybrid hero

In light of the COVID-19 pandemic, the focus on personal health have pushed cosmetic companies to develop make-up products with skin-loving benefits.

According to the brand, the development of this product was also influenced by the increased focus on the eyes given the prevalence of mask-wearing.

According to a survey of 1,083 women that Shiseido conducted in December 2020, women in their 50s to 70s noted that highlights around the area increased the impression of happiness by around 27%.

Previously, CosmeticsDesign-Asia​ reported​ that Shiseido Japan CEO Norio Tadakawa said that Japanese consumers were likely to continue wearing masks for the foreseeable future even if it is no longer mandatory.

As such, the firm was working to tap into new opportunities, such as eye care and eye make-up products.

Furthermore, the company said has identified new opportunities among mature consumers as it has observed a growing interest in cosmetic products among older consumers.

“As we are seeing more active seniors, we know that the senior demands will increase. So, we will enhance our proposals to the senior market, including further R&D efforts,”​ said Tadakawa.

Japan is a rapidly ageing market. According to the Statistics Bureau of Japan, one in every four persons in Japan is aged 65 and above. In 2020, this population was 36.19 million and accounted for 28.8% of the total population.

As such, Prior is set to be an important brand for Shiseido moving forward. This year, it has already released several new products, including the new Prior Wrinkle Gel which debuted in August.

The product features the firm’s skin corset technology to improve the appearance of wrinkles while also suppressing melanin production to prevent the development of spots.