Time Capsule: Traditional Japanese Makeup

This is an obscure subject, and one that I am nevertheless very interested in. I have an intense love of Japanese culture, and as such their traditional forms of makeup have always fascinated me. It is also something that is rather hard to find information on, and even harder to find the traditional products and brushes.

The application of geisha and kabuki makeup starts with cleansing of the face, and then the application of an oil called Abura. They also use a wax called Taihaku to block out the eyebrows. The white face color is then applied. It is called Oshiroi, literally meaning "honorable white" ( The "O" is an honorific, and "shiroi" is the word for white). It tends to be made of kneaded white rice powder, and several minerals including zinc and titanium. In the past lead was used (yuck!) and as a result many geisha developed lead poisoning. In geisha makeup the oshiroi is applied to just below the hairline in a very sharp line outline, on the ears and around on the back of the neck, also forming a very distinct shape like a giant "W". In kabuki makeup it is applied so that no skin is showing. In the era before theater lighting was developed and candles and oil lamps were used, this allowed the kabuki performers to be more easily seen from stage. In both kabuki and geisha makeup all visible skin including the arms, hands, and in the case of male kabuki performers, also the legs and feet.

From there, for geisha how the rest of the makeup is applied is based on the age and experience of the geisha in question. More information on this is located in this section of the Immortal Geisha Website. There is also a step-by-step guide available at the Mitsuyoshi Professional Cosmetics website

You may have noticed that the above website does not sell direct from their page. This got me down quite a bit because I have been wanting authentic brushes. NARS actually does carry domestic replicas of the Kabuki Botan foundation brush (Nothing like your standard mineral makeup kabuki brush- it's about twice to three times as large.), the Yachiyo brush, and two different sizes of the Ita brushes. All of you know of my NARS obsession, but I also wanted to know if the authentic versions were available on this side of the pond.

My search led me to the eBay store Hannari-Ya, based in Kyoto, Japan, home of the geisha tradition. They sell all the needed cosmetics and a few brushes individually. They also sell other geisha oriented items like the combs used in the fantastic wigs, geta sandals, tabi socks, and so on. They also sell a large kit for about $250 with shipping, of all the needed cosmetics, primers, and brushes.

For those of you who are not satisfied with the brush selection, even more of the traditional brushes are available through Violet Moon Works, based out of Australia. Considering the currency difference, most of their prices, except of the Botan, are very reasonable. The least expensive option for that remains the NARS replica at $75. The Hannari-ya authentic Botan is $99.99, and through Violet Moon works out to about $125 US. (I used www.xe.com for currency exchange rate) As far as I could tell, Violet Moon is the only place to get the brushes not sold on Hannari-ya.

Hopefully this has been a throughly educational post- I know I learned a ton when I was doing the research. If any reader has any better information please please please leave a comment!