On May 16th 2017, Japanese hair and make up artist, Masa Ohtake, received the globe educator award 2017 in Osaka, Japan, for over 50 years in the beauty industry and his guidance as the head of Shiseido Beauty Academy.
Ohtake first enrolled in Shiseido Beauty School (currently Educational Corporation, Shiseido Gakuen Shiseido Beauty Academy) and subsequently qualified as a hair stylist, joining Shiseido in 1969.
After receiving his accolade at the award ceremony on 16th May 2017, Masa Ohtake, said: “50 years ago, I ventured into this beauty world without any thorough understanding of beauty, just regarding myself as a single player at making people beautiful.”
50 years in beauty
The artist’s career spans 50 years, which has seen him take part in beauty shows and fashion weeks around the world. Ohtake has supported the development of Shiseido’s make up soft theories including space balancing theory and personal image creation, along with launching a new styling wax, Zotos Hair Styling Wax, in 1995 and 1996, respectively.
A flurry of awards then ensued, including the accolade of Contemporary Master Craftsman in 2004, which is awarded to outstanding and skilled individuals.
In 2009, Masa Ohtake was appointed as the principal of Shiseido Gakuen, Shiseido Beauty Academy, before also winning Intercoiffure Mondial’s Best World Academy in 2014 and now the Globe Educator Theory award.
Beauty knowledge
Multinational conglomerate, Shiseido, has strengthened the promotion of its Golden Balance Theory, which was developed through the initiative of Etsu Nishijima, hair and makeup artist, at the Shiseido Beauty Solution Development Centre.
The theory seeks to demonstrate how accumulated empirical data can provide balance and a sense of “beauty” in numerical terms.
Why consumers love beauty?
Ohtake emphasised the importance of emotion in beauty: “I have learned through my on-site experience that beautification [through] direct contact with the skin and hair is so closely connected to people’s hearts.”
Supporting the phrase, ‘beauty in infinite’, Ohtake has found that “consumers are always in pursuit of beauty, with their skin, hair and state of mind”, which changes daily.
“I believe that we as artists will never complete our work in beauty because we offer consumers [multiple] answers for their diverse beauty needs,” Ohtake went on to say.
With a “challenging spirit”, Ohtake added that as beauty artists, his team continue to “strive to improve our skills and sense of beauty”.
Helping to build the knowledge, expertise and talents of beauty artists, Ohtake hopes that these efforts will help “to create unique beauty reflecting the originality of an artist”.
Celebrating talent
An anniversary event in Masa Ohtake’s honour will take place on 27th June 2017 at the Shiseido Beauty Academy in Tokyo, Japan.
The event will feature a make up and hair show by both Masa Ohtake and seven of Shiseido’s hair and make up artists. It will also feature a question and answer session to offer up to 50 guests insights into contemporary methods, key trends and Masa Ohtake’s career.
“Going forward, I would like to further pursue my career as an artist and at the same time, focus on nurturing new talents and enhance the irreplaceable value of beauty in people’s lives,” Ohtake concluded.