Makeup artist created own brand

Shu Uemura, 79, a makeup artist who started out in Hollywood and returned to Japan to build a cosmetics brand under his name, died of pneumonia in Tokyo on Dec. 29, according to his company.

Born in Tokyo in 1928, Uemura graduated from beauty school before arriving in Hollywood in 1955. He first gained attention when he filled in for an ailing makeup artist and transformed actress Shirley MacLaine into a Japanese beauty for the 1962 film “My Geisha.”

After developing his first cosmetics product in 1960, Uemura launched a makeup school a few years later in Tokyo. In 1983, he opened his first cosmetic boutique and steadily expanded with branches in Paris, London, Los Angeles and other major cities.

His company, Shu Uemura Cosmetics, has been under the control of cosmetics giant L’Oreal since 2004.