Megumi Taruta (1M151151-3) Graduation Thesis

Definition of “Beauty” in Japan and the US and Portrayals

of women’s roles in Makeup Video Advertisements of

America and Japan

~Comparative Case Study on Cosmetic Brands:

Maybelline New York and Maquillage ~

Graduation Thesis for Bachelors of Arts Degree

Waseda University, School of International Liberal Studies, 2019 Megumi Taruta (1M151151-3)

Professor Graham Law

Media History/ Media Studies Seminar

July 2019

1 Megumi Taruta (1M151151-3) Graduation Thesis

Abstract This paper is written in order to achieve two aims: 1) find out the extent to which perceptions of beauty is similar in contemporary Japan and the US and 2) discover how the portrayals of women regarding their roles and lifestyles in recent beauty advertisements (within the last two decades) differ depending on different countries. It is a comparative case study on cosmetic brands using one brand for each country- Maybelline New York (the U.S) and Maquillage (Japan).

The paper starts off with introducing the two brands by providing the history and the background information of each brand. Company information of the owners of the brands (L’Oréal and Shiseido) is also included. In addition, an overview of current makeup market in the US and Japan is also written as extra background information. The two brands are chosen due to many similarities making it a fair comparison. They are similar in terms of price, the target market and the fact that they are both owned by global beauty companies.

In terms of definition of beauty, the analysis is divided into body parts: skin, lips and eyes- specifically, eyeshadow for the eyes. Regarding women’s roles, the paper looks at women’s personalities and lifestyles. A total of 11 TV commercials are analyzed and each commercial is described under six categories: 1) Description 2) Slogan 3) Models 4) What the narrator is saying 5) Concept 6) Keywords.

The analysis shows that there are similarities and differences in definition of beauty and females’ roles between the two countries and this paper attempts to assess the possible reasons and explanations of such results found from the analysis.

Although perception of beauty and women’s roles are both complex and are considered to be indistinct matters, this paper tries to gain valuable insights and achieve a deep understanding of such topics through conducting an in depth analysis of 11 TV commercials of the two brands.

Keywords: Definition of beauty, Women’s roles, TV commercials, Comparative analysis

2 Megumi Taruta (1M151151-3) Graduation Thesis

Table of Contents 1. Introduction…………………………………………………………………………4 1.1 Thesis Objectives and Research Questions…………………………………………....4 1.2 Defining Key Terms………………………………………………………………..………4

2. Hypothesis………………………………………………………………….………6

3. Methodology……………………………………………………………….……….8

4. Maquillage and Maybelline New York’s History and Brand Description (including information on owners of the brands)…………………….….………9 4.1 Maquillage (Shiseido)…………………………………………………………...... ………9 4.2 Maybelline New York (L’Oréal)…………………………………………………..……...11

5. Current Makeup Industry in the Two Countries……………………….………14 5.1 Current Makeup Industry in Japan………………………………………..…………….14 5.2 Current Makeup Industry in the US……………………………………..………………16

6. Analysis………………………………………………………….………………..18 6.1 Definition of Beauty Analysis ①: Perfect Skin + Ideal Skin Tone………………….18 6.2 Definition of Beauty Analysis ②: Lips…………………………………………………23 6.3 Definition of Beauty Analysis ③: Eyes………………………………………………..26 6.4 Roles of Women (Personality) Analysis ①: Lady vs. Wild Girl……………………..31 6.5 Roles of Women (Lifestyles) Analysis ②: Girls’ Night Out and Finding New Love.38

7. Implications and Research Limitations…………………………………………45 7.1 Implications………………………………………………………………………………..45 7.2 Other Interesting Results found from the Analysis……………………………………48 7.3 Research Limitations……………………………………………………………………..49

8. Conclusion………………………………………………………………………...50

9. Works Cited………………………………………………………………………..52

3 Megumi Taruta (1M151151-3) Graduation Thesis

1. Introduction 1.1 Thesis Objectives and Research Questions The perception and definition of beauty as well as women’s roles in the society and their ways of living have been constantly evolving. This paper will investigate how makeup advertisements define beauty and represent women in the society by conducting a comparative analysis between two makeup brands that are from different countries: Japan and USA. Therefore, the goal of this paper is to discover the extent to which the definition of beauty is similar in contemporary Japan and the US and whether the portrayals of women regarding their roles and lifestyles in recent beauty advertisements (within the last two decades) are different depending on different countries.

In order to answer the questions, this paper will analyze 11 makeup TV commercials in total. For Japan’s makeup company, I have chosen Maquillage owned by Shiseido and for the US, I have selected Maybelline New York owned by L’Oréal.

1.2 Defining Key Terms Without a doubt, defining beauty is complex. Each person has his or her own definition of beauty, as it is a subjective concept. The culture, evolutionary factors, the media and individual personalities can all influence the perception of one’s beauty. Thus, it is crucial to define “beauty” in order to avoid confusion. Chaipraditkul (2013) states that beauty can be defined as an enhancement of one’s appearances. Nowadays, people have access to different methods in order to do this as Chaipraditkul (2013) further writes: “people are now exposed to advanced medical technology and cosmetic products to improve and treat their self-perceived conditions, physical abnormalities and facial disfigurations” (p.1).

According to quantitative and qualitative research conducted by McCann Worldgroup (2012), women around the world believe that beauty is composed of several factors and when these all factors are put together, “beauty” is formed. McCann Worldgroup (2012) explains that there are four factors and such factors are divided into two groups: “looking beautiful” and “feeling beautiful”. Basically, beauty is created from inside and outside or in other words, physically and mentally. The two components for the “looking beautiful” group are:

4 Megumi Taruta (1M151151-3) Graduation Thesis

1) Foundational Beauty: Skincare, hair care, hair color, sunless tanner. These play important roles in providing a solid foundation for one’s beauty. 2) Enhancement Beauty: Color cosmetics, accessories and style. These are all the components women are likely to incorporate when they want to try a new look or style according to the mood or occasion or just simply “when they want to take their beauty to the next level” (p.11).

The other two which are categorized in the “feeling beauty” are: 1) Wellness Beauty: This is where you have a healthy lifestyle: taking enough nutrients as well as enough rest, being active and removing makeup before going to bed. The significance of the concept of ‘wellness beauty’ is increasing around the globe. As a matter of fact, according to McCann Worldgroup (2012), most women believed that ‘eating the right food’ and ‘getting enough exercise’ were the most important factors out of all when they were asked the most important element to obtain beauty. 2) Emotional Beauty: Confidence, talent, charisma, kindness, and intelligence. Today, women attempt to present beauty not only through style, but also through substance.

(McCann Worldgroup, 2012)

The figure below shows a diagram of the concept explained above to have a clearer image.

(From McCann Worldgroup, 2012)

5 Megumi Taruta (1M151151-3) Graduation Thesis

This paper will focus on the “looking beautiful” group or in Chaipraditkul’s (2013) words, beauty being as a way to “improve and treat their self-perceived conditions” (p.1) with the use of cosmetic products and explore beauty in terms of appearance and the external, physical features (the face more specifically). “Feeling beauty”, in other words, inner beauty will not be explained as it is beyond the topic of this paper. Also, another factor that may affect the concept of beauty is the PR and the marketing techniques used by companies but this paper will not focus on this particular factor, and instead only concentrate on cultural and ethnic factors that affect “beauty”.

In this paper, the term “cosmetics” will be referred to the definition from Cambridge Dictionary: “substances that you put on your face or body that are intended to improve your appearance” (Cosmetic, n.d., para. 1). The concept of cosmetic surgery will not be included, as it is not related to this paper.

2. Hypothesis Since definition of beauty is subjective and is affected by culture as mentioned before, it can be predicted that feminine beauty ideals are different across countries. Thus, the advertisements of the two countries will likely to show different perceptions of beauty. For example, regarding skin, it can be expected that Japanese advertisements are more likely to put emphasis on “bihaku” (美白) meaning beautiful white, while the US advertisements focusing more on tanned, bronzed skin. Looking at Japanese skin products in general, there are countless amount of “bihaku” products and thus there are a lot of advertisements and media with “bihaku” message which will influence the Japanese women greatly. There is even a saying “White skin make up for seven defects” (色白は七難隠す) meaning that even if one has many unattractive features concerning physical appearance, if one has white skin, this will make one beautiful. This emphasizes the fact that having a fair skin is one of the Japanese beauty standards. “Bihaku” has its origin from Japanese history, more specifically from the Nara era, where Japanese women applied their face with oshiroi (白粉) meaning white powder (“The Fair Face of Japanese Beauty”, 2013). According to Tomizawa, a researcher at POLA Research Institute of Beauty and Culture states: “The recent boom in ‘beautifully white’ is an indication that we have returned to our starting point—the Japanese adulation of light skin” (“The Fair Face of Japanese Beauty”, 2013, para. 13). It seems

6 Megumi Taruta (1M151151-3) Graduation Thesis

that contemporary trends will not have a significant impact on the foundation of Japanese beauty and Japanese women will continue desiring to have white, pale skin no matter what time period they are in. In regard to the US, a research conducted by Vinh Q. Chung et al. (2010) shows that American people find people with tanned skin to be attractive than people with pale skin. Saad suggests that having a tanned “is perceived as desirable as it is associated with a healthy glow and hence its aesthetics are appreciated” (Saad, 2011, para. 2). This implies that the American culture identifies tanned, golden skin as being an indication of healthful and thus are more likely to be perceived as ideal beauty.

Moreover, in terms of representations of women, as US is more developed in women’s equal rights and gender equality in general, it can be hypothesized that women in Maybelline New York’s advertisements to be shown as more independent and powerful than that of Maquillage advertisements. Data and statistics prove that US is more progressed in gender equality than Japan by looking at the employment rate. Women’s employment rate in US in 2016 was 77.6% aged 15 to 64 according to United States Department of Labor (n.d.). On the other hand, Japanese Ministry of Affairs and Communications (2017) claimed that 66% of women aged 15 to 64 were employed in the same year, which is relatively, lower rate than that of US. Furthermore, although the data shows that the employment rate is increasing than before and hence seen improvements, according to The Economist (2017), “(Japanese) Women are disproportionately in part-time or casual work—with worse pay, worse benefits and worse career prospects. They earn 74% of the median male wage on average, compared with 81% in America” (para. 5). The same article also states that Japanese working women who are married and have children also known as “working mama” spend significantly more time on domestic chores than their husbands. Men (husbands) only spend 46 minutes a day while women spend five hours, which is a “far lower share than American men” (para. 11). It is clear that Japanese society still have the norm of women working at homes and doing all the housework, basically it is a more patriarchal society than the US. Therefore, it is reasonable to say that the advertisements of Maybelline New York are more likely to represent women as a stronger and more powerful character than women portrayed in Maquillage advertisements.

7 Megumi Taruta (1M151151-3) Graduation Thesis

3. Methodology A total of 11 TV commercials of Maybelline New York and Maquillage will be analyzed and compared in order to achieve two goals. One is to discover how each country defines and perceives women’s beauty and their roles. Another goal is to find out whether there is any difference in how each country perceives beauty and represents women.

Each advertisement will be described under six categories: 1. Description of the advertisement 2. Slogan and any other writings 3. Models 4. What the narrator is saying 5. Concept 6. Keywords

With respect to Maquillage advertisements, all the slogans, the writings and the narrator’s script will be translated into English. Additionally, screenshots are included for each commercial, which helps to have a clear understanding of the contents of the commercials.

The reason why Maquillage and Maybelline New York are chosen is because of numerous similarities that lead to a relevantly fair and an accurate comparison. The two brands are similar in terms of price and the place to acquire the products. Their products’ prices are ranged roughly between 1000 yen to 1500 yen (or 10 to 15 US dollars) and they are accessible in local drugstores. Also, they are similar regarding the target age group. The consumers of these brands are mostly made up of women in their 20s to 30s. Furthermore, both Maquillage and Maybelline New York are well established and popular in the country of origin. This means the advertisements are most likely to reflect the country’s ideal, true beauty of women and present the portrayals of standard women from the two countries. More information on each brand will be explained in the next section.

8 Megumi Taruta (1M151151-3) Graduation Thesis

4. Maquillage and Maybelline New York’s History and Brand Description (including information on owners of the brands) 4.1 Maquillage (Shiseido)

The brand Maquillage is owned by one of the global beauty companies, Shiseido. Shiseido first started originally as a pharmacy in Ginza, Tokyo established by Arinobu Fukuhara in the year 1872 and now has become one of the most well known beauty brands in the world (Shiseido Co., Ltd., n.d. b). According to their homepage, Shiseido has the largest sales in Japanese and Asian makeup manufacturing industries and manages business in 120 countries worldwide. In 2017, the company achieved net sales of 1005.1 billion yen and the company aims to reach over 1.2 trillion yen of net sales revenue in 2020 (Shiseido Co., Ltd., 2017).

Shiseido itself acquires many brands other than Maquillage and they are categorized into five categories: 1. Prestige 2. Fragrance 3. Cosmetics 4. Personal Care 5. Professional (Shiseido Co., Ltd., n.d. a)

Maquillage is listed under “3.Cosmetics” group, which is known as “Mid- and low-priced cosmetics that consumers select themselves, primarily sold in drugstores and general merchandise stores. Counseling sales tailored to market, brand and channel characteristics are also offered” (Shiseido Co., Ltd., n.d. a, para. 3).

Maquillage was founded in 2005 as part of Shiseido’s “mega brand” strategy. By the end of March 2002, Shiseido had over 100 brands in order to provide numerous needs for the customers (Shiseido Co., Ltd., 2005). However, this strategy was not successful as sales decreased. Therefore, the “mega brand” strategy was cooperated in 2005 to unite these brands into fewer and larger ones with the aim to increase and improve sales revenue (Shiseido Co., Ltd., 2005; “Shiseido plans new Cosmetics Line”, 2005).

9 Megumi Taruta (1M151151-3) Graduation Thesis

Maquillage was developed from combining two past brands: “Piéds Nus” and “Proudia” (Shiseido Co., Ltd., 2006). According to the firm’s Annual Report of 2006:

Within six months, due to the successful implementation of 100 percent customer-oriented product development and the effect of intensive marketing expenditures, sales and recognition levels for these two mega lines (Maquillage and Uno- Men’s Brand) had significantly exceeded original projections. (p.12)

In 2014, with Masahiko Uotani as the new CEO, Shiseido announced the brand renewal of Maquillage as part of the firm’s “marketing revolution” strategy. In other words, strengthening branding and marketing capabilities. The firm states that through thorough customer surveys trend analysis and scientific research, Maquillage strives to become a makeup brand that offers beauty a notch better than other makeup brands (Shiseido Co., Ltd, 2014, p.1).

Brand Renewal in 2014 with a new concept: レディにしあ

がれ。(Become a lady)

(From AdverTimes, 2015)

Maquillage products are targeted at women in their 20s to 30s and the 2006 Annual Report further states that the products especially aim “at Brand Logo of Maquillage (From Maquillage Japan Official women who desire to continue Brand Website, n.d.) refining their own beauty regardless of age” (p.13) and “women who with high regard for authenticity, quality and “mature beauty”” (p.13). Maquillage products are mid-priced and products are sold mainly in Japan but also available in Taiwan and Hong Kong. They can be purchased in

10 Megumi Taruta (1M151151-3) Graduation Thesis

local drugstores and cosmetic stores. The brand has wide range of products including foundation, concealer, lipstick, eye shadow and much more.

Since the brand renewal in 2014, the catchphrase of the brand has become “レディにし あがれ”（Become a lady）, promoting the charm of being a “lady” as based on their research, most Japanese women have “lady” (sexy and resplendent) as their ideal women image (Shiseido Co., Ltd, 2014, p.1). The ambassadors of Maquillage have included many famous and trendy Japanese celebrities in the past and at the moment a model, Jun Hasegawa and a pop idol/model Mai Shiraishi are the brand muses.

Jun Hasegawa and Mai Shiraishi who are current brand ambassadors of Maquillage Japan (From

Maquillage Japan Official Brand Website, n.d.)

4.2 Maybelline New York (L’Oréal)

L’Oréal was founded in July 1909, by a young chemist Eugène Schueller in Paris, France. With its major launches and acquisitions the firm has become the leading beauty company in the world. The company operates in 150 countries and overall sales in 2017 were 26.2 billion euros, which is equivalent to 3.4 trillion yen (L’Oréal 2017 annual report). Like Shiseido, L’Oréal owns 34 numerous brands and are divided into four different groups: 1. L’Oréal Luxe 2. Consumer Products Division 3. Professional Products Division 4. Active Cosmetics Division (L’Oréal Group, n.d. a)

11 Megumi Taruta (1M151151-3) Graduation Thesis

Maybelline New York is categorized under Consumer Products Division, which refers to as producing:

the best of cosmetic innovation available to the greatest number of people on every continent. Its brands are distributed in mass retailing channels – hypermarkets, supermarkets, drugstores and traditional stores. These brands offer a wide range of coloring products, hair care, makeup and skin care. (L’Oréal Group, n.d. b, para. 1)

Maybelline New York was acquired by L’Oréal Group in 1996. In fact, Maybelline New York itself has its own history. It was found by Maybel Williams in 1915 and their first product to be sold in the market was mascara where Williams got the idea from applying mixture of coal dust and Vaseline onto her eyebrows and eyelashes (L’Oréal Group, n.d. c). It was a huge hit and Maybelline New York is still famous for their mascaras today. The brand is offered in 100 different countries and the brand aims to provide “innovative, accessible, and effortless cosmetics for every woman” (L’Oréal Group, n.d. c, para. 1) and offers “scientifically-advanced formulas, revolutionary textures and up-to-the minute, trendsetting shades effortlessly, affordably, beautifully” (Maybelline New York, 2014, para. 1).

Maybelline New York also targets at women mainly in their 20s to 30s and the products can be purchased in supermarkets and drugstores as mentioned above. Similar to Maquillage, Maybelline offers a wide array of products such as Brand Logo of Maybelline New York (From Maybelline New York Official mascara, eyeshadow, Brand Website, n.d.) and foundation and even sells makeup removers and brushes. Today, the most popular product is their mascaras especially the product: “Volum’ Express line: The Colossal” was a great success as well as The Falsies, which were introduced in 2010 (L’Oréal Group, n.d. c, para. 3).

12 Megumi Taruta (1M151151-3) Graduation Thesis

The brand’s slogan used to be “(Maybe she’s born with it) Maybe it’s Maybelline” since 1991. However, with their recent campaign called “#MAKEITHAPPEN” in 2015, the tagline was changed too to “Make it Happen”. The campaign or as the brand calls it the “movement”, supports and celebrates women around the globe to follow their dreams and “make it happen” and help women express their identity with confidence through makeup (Maybelline New York, n.d.). We can see that the brand’s mission is to offer beauty as well as empowerment for women.

“#MAKE IT HAPPEN” campaign in 2015 (From Maybelline New York Official Brand Website, n.d.)

What makes the “#MAKE IT HAPPEN” campaign unique and more realistic than other campaigns is that not only features supermodels such as Gigi Hadid and Jourdan Dunn as the brand muses but also include women with other professions like Enya Mommsen, a photographer and Chiomi Ada, a choreographer/ dancer as brand muses (Maybelline New York, n.d.). With the use of these wide ranges of women having different occupations as a living shows that every woman is unique and proves the possibility of women pursuing any dreams.

13 Megumi Taruta (1M151151-3) Graduation Thesis

Brand muses of “#MAKE IT HAPPEN” campaign including Gigi Hadid, Jourdan Dunn, Enya Mommsen

and Chiomi Ada etc. (From Maybelline New York Official Brand Website, n.d.)

5. Current Makeup Industry in the Two Countries 5.1 Current Makeup Industry in Japan Japanese beauty industry produced revenue of over 36 billion U.S. dollars, which is equivalent to around 4 trillion yen in 2017 domestically (Duncan, n.d. a). This statistic makes Japan one of the world’s most major markets in the makeup industry (Duncan, n.d. a).

There are many possible factors that explain this statistic. Firstly, the high revenue can be accounted for the increasing number of tourism in Japan in recent years. Many foreign visitors purchase Japanese cosmetic products when they visit the country (Duncan, n.d. a). Additionally, from October 2014, beauty products became duty free (“Current situation, Trend of Makeup Industry, including ranking and shares,” n.d.). Due to this reason, many foreign visitors especially from China come to Japan and purchase great amount of beauty products also known as “bakugai” in Japanese. “Bakugai” can be directly translated into explosive shopping. As Japanese products are well known for having high quality, this appeals to the Chinese people and consequently led to this effect (“Current situation, Trend of Makeup Industry, including ranking and shares,” n.d.).

14 Megumi Taruta (1M151151-3) Graduation Thesis

Another reason is that although there is the serious problem of aging population in Japan, cosmetic companies used this as a strategy and produced particular anti-aging products or brands in order to solve the problems of aged related worries (Duncan, n.d. a). It seems to be that this strategy was very successful. An article from Nikkei Asian Review (2018) reports that “anti-wrinkle lotions and creams debuted in 2017 by Pola Orbis Holdings and Shiseido proved to be big hits” (para. 5).

Expansion of Japanese cosmetic business to overseas can be regarded as another factor to the successful revenue. Shiseido for example has its business in China, and offer imported products from Japan through e-commerce online site “T-mall (天 猫)”(“Current situation, Trend of Makeup Industry, including ranking and shares,” n.d.). Through this digital platform, Shiseido focuses to target their products mainly at Chinese citizens from upper and middle class (“Current situation, Trend of Makeup Industry, including ranking and shares,” n.d.).

Exports to other Asian countries have been an additional crucial cause of the result of high revenue (Nikkei Staff Writers, 2018). In 2017, the profit generated from exports to Asian countries was approximately 1.6 trillion yen ($14.7 billion), which is 5% rise from the year 2016 (Nikkei Staff Writers, 2018). Nikkei Asian Review (2018) also notes,

With the domestic factories of companies like Shiseido and Kose operating at nearly full capacity during December, shipments in that month totaled an estimated 140 billion yen. This suggests that shipments for all of 2017 topped 2016's roughly 1.52 trillion yen, the first new record in 19 years (para. 4) and “For the 11 months through November, exports grew roughly 40% year on year to some 330 billion yen, exceeding the full-year record set in 2016” (para. 6). This shows that exports to Asia has been a huge impact to Japanese beauty industries and has been beneficial to the business.

POLA Research Institute of Beauty and Culture (2017b) conducted a survey on 1,800 Japanese women aged 15 to 74 to discover how much Japanese women spend on makeup and how long it takes them to apply daily. Results show that 83% of women

15 Megumi Taruta (1M151151-3) Graduation Thesis

use makeup and spend an average of 2,156 yen (=19.08 US dollars) per month on cosmetic products. The same survey also found out that: foundation is the most used product and then lipstick, eye shadow, eyebrow and blush; it takes an average time of 15.1 minutes for Japanese women to wear their everyday makeup and use an average of 8.46 products. Also, results show that the younger generation (15~24 years old) took a longer time with the average of 20 minutes due to the usage of more products.

Another survey organized by POLA Research Institute of Beauty and Culture (2017a) with the aim to determine how Japanese women gather information on beauty shows that most of the Japanese women use information from the product advertisements at the store followed by review sites and TV programs/ commercials. Social media was ranked pretty low with seventh place. However, among the young generation (15~19 years old), SNS was the most used media to collect beauty information and then review sites and friends/acquaintance becoming second and third place. A survey conducted by TesTee Lab (2017), a research media, also supports this result of SNS being used the most to collect information for the young people. This means that at the moment in Japan, beauty advertisements and other media have an effect in shaping the beauty standards. However, as the younger cohort becomes older and have a greater spending power, the social media may be used more often as a tool to gather makeup information.

5.2 Current Makeup Industry in the US US produced revenue of over 86 billion US dollars in 2017 which is 2 billion dollars more than the previous year making US as one of the world’s leading markets for beauty products (“Beauty and personal care: U.S. market value 2013-2018 | Statistic”, n.d.). In fact, the country was regarded as having the world’s number one major beauty and personal care market in the year 2016 (Duncan, n.d. b).

Beauty is hot within the American society and according to Nicolaou and Keane (2018), the beauty market is expected to grow up to 750 billion US dollars in 2024. As a matter of fact, the same article written by Nicolaou and Keane (2018), also states that the main reason for this beauty boom is because of YouTube and the rise of social media. Beauty is the second most viewed category on YouTube and people from the millennial

16 Megumi Taruta (1M151151-3) Graduation Thesis

generation are more likely to trust and believe the YouTube vloggers over the big beauty companies (Nicolaou & Keane, 2018). There are countless numbers of beauty vloggers on YouTube and they provide reviews of beauty products to millennial consumers, which they are influenced and are very likely to buy the product, if it has received good reviews (Nicolaou & Keane, 2018).

The article also states: “almost half of US shoppers admit social media has played a part in a beauty purchase, according to Fung Global Retail” (Nicolaou & Keane, 2018, para. 23). This demonstrates that the social media has a strong influence on the purchase of beauty products by the millennial generation and even older generations in the US. This is very different from Japan where only the young population is influenced by SNS the most, out of all forms of media. The social media can be an efficient tool for rise of sales in terms of beauty industry but, it would cause a detrimental effect to the market when this social media boom (Instagram especially) disappears.

In the US, foundation is the most purchased makeup category, followed by mascara and lipstick (Duncan, n.d. b).

It appears to be that American women spend a lot of money on makeup products. According to a survey conducted by a beauty e-tailer, SkinStore, results show that American women spend around 300,000 US dollars just on their face in their whole life (“How Much Is Your Face Worth?,” 2017). The survey was conducted on 3,000 women in the US. The survey also reports that women wear makeup (including skin care products) worth of 8 US dollars everyday which is an average and over 45% of women take around seven minutes to do their everyday makeup (“How Much Is Your Face Worth?,” 2017). The survey also found out that American women use an average of at least 16 products including skin care products before leaving the house and take 10 minutes to apply these products (“How Much Is Your Face Worth?,” 2017).

17 Megumi Taruta (1M151151-3) Graduation Thesis

6. Analysis 6.1 Definition of Beauty Analysis ①: Perfect Skin + Ideal Skin Tone Maquillage: Perfect skin + 美白(Bihaku) 7 Snow’s Magic (White Facing Powder) (Aired: 2018)

Description A girl is sleeping at her desk with her “Snow Beauty Diary” open by her side. The opened page shows the kiss scene of the Disney film, “Snow White”. Then, suddenly, the diary begins to close, floats in the air and magically turns into the powder compact, the promoting product. It seems as if the powder compact has been casted by a spell. There is a clear contrast between the darkness of the room and the brightness of the shining compact. When the diary is turned into the powder compact, the girl wakes up from her sleep and notices it. She opens the compact and applies the powder onto her face. Once she applies the powder, she suddenly transforms magically into an angel-like figure wearing white dress with her hair down and looking very pure and innocent. At the same time, the window in front of the girl opens and the curtains and the girl’s hair sway from the wind. Outside, is a scenery of trees covered with snow and the light from outside is shone only at the girl. The girl’s face is then shot up close from the side- she smiles sweetly as she looks up. The slogan appears and the advertisement ends with a very close shot of the girl’s face, focusing on her white, pale skin. The girl is still looking up as if she is waiting for her “Prince” to come.

Slogan “７つの雪の魔法が、ハッピーエンドを連れてくる”(7 Snow’s Magic will bring a happy ending) “透明感に導く、７つの雪の魔法 ” (Leading to a clear skin, 7 Snow’s Magic)

The slogan is aimed at women consumers, informing them that by using this product, their skin will become clearer and whiter like Snow White’s skin. Hence, such Disney character is used to reinforce this message. “Happy ending” from the slogan has a double meaning. One is obviously the happy ending of the fairytale, “Snow White”, which this whole commercial is based on. The other explanation could be that by using this product, the skin will become beautiful and white and will lead to happiness- meaning the “Prince” will come and will be able to find true love. It is also interesting the fact that the number 7 is used as it is the same number as the number of dwarfs in the story of Snow White. “7 Snow’s Magic” indicates the seven effects/uses the powder offer such as moisture, floral aroma, possible to be applied as face powder and when fixing makeup etc. But most importantly, the powder gives “bihaku” (美白) effect and on the website of this product, there is even a link that leads to a page with scientific explanation of how the product can prevent the skin from getting spots and freckles.

Models A girl is probably aged 16~18. Her braids especially emphasizes her youth. She looks very angelic and pure when she applies the powder. Her skin is focused especially towards the end to highlight the whiteness of her skin.

18 Megumi Taruta (1M151151-3) Graduation Thesis

What the There is no narrator in this advertisement but the song “Someday my Prince narrator is will come” from the Disney movie “Snow White” is played throughout the ad. saying This music gives a magical, dreamlike effect.

Concept The concept is very magical and has a fairytale impression with the use of Disney princess, Snow White and the film’s music. Snowflakes and snow are used to convey the whiteness the powder gives to the skin.

Keywords Magic, Fairytale, Dream, Snow, Snowflakes

Maybelline New York: Perfect Skin "Dream Wonder" Liquid Foundation (Aired: 2014)

Description The commercial starts off with a focus on a model’s face and the model stares right into the camera. Then the foundation, the promoting product is introduced by the narrator. When the narrator states that the product is from Maybelline New York, the same model looks back at the camera in the streets of New York with yellow taxis running at the street. Then, a face of a model with a darker skin than the first model is zoomed up closely and the model look towards the side. Later, the first model appears again with different shots changing one after another looking very sexy and seductive. She often touches her skin to emphasize the smoothness of her skin. A closed shot of the second model’s face appears again but now she looks right at the camera. This is followed by a closed shot of the first model’s cheek and then zooms out so the majority of her face can be seen. The commercial ends with three models (third model on the left, the first model in the middle and the second on the right), all looking very flawless and having clear, perfect skin.

Slogan “It’s a wonder, now flawless- goes 100% traceless” The slogan represents that being flawless means being 100% traceless. In other words, the foundation can lead the skin to look perfect and clear as if no

19 Megumi Taruta (1M151151-3) Graduation Thesis

foundation is applied. In a sense, it will make your skin look not “fake” and is not applied with lots of makeup. Therefore, this shows that the foundation is truly a “wonder”.

Models There are three models. One having a fair skin tone (Marloes Horst), one having a medium skin tone (Adriana Lima) and one having a dark skin tone (Jourdan Dunn). This shows that the foundation is available for all different types of skin tones. Although there are three models, Lima appears the most in the commercial.

What the It’s a wonder, now flawless- goes 100% traceless. narrator is New Dream Wonder Foundation from Maybelline New York. Our thinnest saying layer of perfection ever. Our unique micro-concealing formula is 12 times thinner and covers flawlessly but weightlessly. Skin is smooth, refined, perfect from every angle. Experience the wonder. Now flawless is 100% traceless. New Dream Wonder Foundation- our thinnest layer of perfection ever. Maybe she’s born with it. Maybe it’s Maybelline.

Concept The foundation can give a flawless effect but at the same time it does not seem that the foundation is applied onto the face- it is “traceless”. It appears that the skin was perfectly clear from the beginning. This is simply a dream for all women- to have a product that can cover all blemishes and flaws but seem that they were not there in the first place. This also indicates the natural effect the foundation can give.

Keywords Flawless, traceless, perfection, dream

20 Megumi Taruta (1M151151-3) Graduation Thesis

Maybelline New York: Tanned Skin City Bronzer: Bronzer & Contour Powder (Aired: 2018) (Note: In addition to the City Bronzer: Bronzer & Contour Powder, the commercial introduces another product called: “City Bronze & Glow Sculpting bar” as a supplementary product. However, the analysis will only be based on the City Bronzer: Bronzer & Contour powder.)

Description The commercial begins with showing different shades of brown background and then an exterior of a brown colored building appears with an edgy effect. A young woman’s face looking down can then be seen. The slogan, “Now Bronzer Reborn” is shown with scenery of New York city at sunset as the background. Next, the woman looks directly at the camera and is followed by several shots of her taken from different angles. She seems to be at a modern, chic building. She wears a creamy beige, sleek dress. Then, the promoting product (Bronzer and Contour Powder) appears in stylish effects. Numerous shots of the woman are shown again taken from different angles and in different places of the building. These shots include phrases at the side showing the effects and the benefits of the powder. These phrases can be seen in the “What the narrator is saying” section. Occasionally, in between such shots, the product is shown again but focusing more on the City Bronze & Glow Sculpting bar (not the Bronzer and Contour Powder itself). Next, Before (applying the product) and After (applying the product) shots are shown. Several shots of the woman are shown again in stylish, elegant manner. The Bronzer and Contour Powder and the Sculpting bar appear once more with the text “New” next to it. The woman then stares down at the camera and the commercial suddenly ends with the brand logo.

Slogan “Now Bronzer Reborn” The word “Reborn” can be regarded as the revival and reintroduction of the bronzer powder. It is improved in terms of the quality and utility (the bronzer can also be used as a contour powder). This word helps to emphasize the fact that it is different from any other bronzers and makes the product distinctive.

Models Only one model (Emily DiDonato) stars in the commercial. It seems that the commercial portrays her as if she is a bronze goddess. Her creamy beige dress makes her golden, tanned skin to stand out. She looks elegant and smart throughout the commercial.

What the Phrases: Now Bronzer Reborn narrator is Phrases (Effects of the powder): Warm, Natural, No Streaking, Dimensional, saying Sun sculpted, Never Harsh Phrases: Before After, Maybelline New York

There is no narrator but a song called “Lust for Life” sung by Lana Del Rey is played throughout the commercial. The music and the melody help to give a

21 Megumi Taruta (1M151151-3) Graduation Thesis

sexy, graceful effect to the commercial.

Concept The Bronzer and Contour Powder can perform two functions. One is that the powder can give a sun-kissed, tanned effect to the skin and the other is that it can produce naturally dimensional look. This means that this multifunctional powder can deliver bronzed and softly contoured looks that are natural. The commercial highlights such effects and benefits by implementing short, catchy phrases such as: “Warm”, “Natural”, “No streaking” etc. Moreover, it utilizes Before and After shots to emphasize the difference the powder can make to the overall makeup look.

Keywords Tanned, sun-kissed, golden, warm, natural, contoured, elegant

These two commercials show to some degree that in both the US and Japan, having the perfect skin is one of the traits of beauty. However, with regards to Japan, in addition to clear skin, having a white and pale skin tone is also another important factor of beauty ideals in Japan. Moreover, in the US, clear skin plus having sun-kissed, tanned skin can be considered as one of the significant characteristics of beauty in the US.

22 Megumi Taruta (1M151151-3) Graduation Thesis

6.2 Definition of Beauty Analysis ②：Lips Maquillage: ぷるるるん うるるるん (Purururun Urururun- jelly feeling effect) CHU-NEW-LIP (Lip Gloss) (Aired: 2011)

Description A young woman is presumably shopping and her face is looking towards upper right. Her right hand is by the side of her face at first but slowly moves to her lips and at the same time the camera zooms into her lips. Then, immediately the scene changes by the use of a heart shape and the woman’s face is zoomed in and kisses to the camera. While this is happening, the phrase “CHU-NEW-LIP” appears. Next, the lip gloss, the promoting product and part of the slogan “ぷるるるん うるるるん” (Purururun Urururun) appears. The woman’s lips can be seen again up close and is applying the lip gloss while the phrase “まるでエッセンス注入” (as if the product is injected with essence) shows up. After the woman finishes applying the lip gloss, she again kisses but not towards the camera as she is facing to the side. The woman’s kiss produces a pink heart and this heart suddenly changes into the slogan: “ぷるるるん うるるるん CHU-NEW-LIP” (Purururun Urururun CHU-NEW-LIP). Then, only the woman’s lips are shown and the woman kisses again to the camera. The commercial ends with the woman’s face with the promoting product right next to it. Her right hand is by her lips in order to highlight them and she finally kisses again to the camera.

Slogan “ぷるるるん うるるるん CHU-NEW-LIP” (Purururun Urururun CHU-NEW-LIP)

The slogan uses onomatopoeia- “Purururun Urururun” which is used to describe jelly- feeling, resilient effect in Japanese. Thus, this onomatopoeic phrase is used to inform the target market that by using this lip gloss, the lips will result in “Purururun Urururun”-like, soft and moist lips. The second phrase: “CHU-NEW-LIP” has a double meaning. In Japanese, CHU is a slang for kiss. Therefore, one of the interpretations of this phrase is that the product can change the lips into new and also attractive ones that are wanted to be kissed by men. However, “CHU-NEW” can also be implied as “注入” (injection or pouring in Japanese). During the commercial, the narrator says “まるでエッセンス注入” which means “as if the product is injected with essence (which leads to the Purururun Urururun effect).” In Japan, “essence” can also be defined as a skin care product to make the skin moist and soft and thus this word is used in the commercial so the women will immediately understand the results that the lip gloss will give. This shows that this particular advertisement uses play on words to make it more memorable and easy to understand the effects of the lip gloss.

Models Only one model (Emi Takei) appears in this commercial. She kisses numerous times in order to convey the message of the product resulting in lips that want to be kissed by males. She also wears pink clothes to match the whole notion of kiss, love and heart of the commercial.

23 Megumi Taruta (1M151151-3) Graduation Thesis

What the まるでエッセンス注入 narrator is saying CHU-NEW-LIP Maquillage.

As if the product is injected with essence. CHU-NEW-LIP Maquillage.

The song used in the commercial, “CHU CHU” which is sung by moumooon also emphasizes the “Purururun Urururun” effect and the whole idea of “CHU-NEW-LIP” of the lip gloss as these phrases are part of the lyrics.

Concept The concept of the commercial is about making the lips look attractive and irresistible to kiss from the men’s point of view. In order to convey this message, the model kisses many times during the commercial and a lot of hearts appear throughout. In addition, as mentioned above, the commercial uses a lot of pink (fonts, the model’s clothes and of course, the color of the lip gloss), which can be associated with “love” and “kiss”.

Keywords Kiss, love, romantic, heart, pink

24 Megumi Taruta (1M151151-3) Graduation Thesis

Maybelline New York: Matte New Creamy Mattes Color Sensational Lipsticks (Aired: 2015)

Description A model, wearing a simple white sweater and denim shorts is shot from afar and up close at the same time. Then, the model’s face is zoomed in that only her face can be seen; she applies the lipstick, the promoting product while she is looking down. After she has applied the lipstick, she faces directly at the camera looking very sexy and throwing suggestive looks as she runs her fingers through her hair. The narrator then introduces the product and states the brand’s name while the promoting products appear. The narrator carries on explaining about the product and when she says “bold pigment” a plant with a bold red color appears. Later, the model can be seen again but this time holding a red curtain-like fabric that has the exact same color and the shade as the plant and also the lipstick that the model is wearing. The scene where the model is applying the lipstick is shown again and the camera zooms into her red bold lips. The model lies on her back and she faces towards the camera with seductive looks while she applies the lipstick again. The products appear once more and the commercial ends with the model again looking very sexy, gazing at a man, and looking as if she is glad to see him. Even though she is shot from afar, her bold red lips stand out as the city of New York is shot as the background.

Slogan “Love the Mattes, not the Cracks. A new era of matte” This slogan implies that the lipstick can result the lips to be matte, bold and also smooth leaving “no cracks”. Furthermore, the words “new era” can symbolize that the lipstick is so revolutionary and innovative compared to other lipsticks that it can possibly make a new history, which can attract attention from the target market and make the product unique.

Models Only one model (Adriana Lima) appears in the commercial. She wears a simple outfit- a white top and a pair of denim shorts to make her bold red lips stand out and catch the man’s attention who appears at the end.

What the Love the mattes, not the cracks. A new era of matte. narrator is New Color Sensational Creamy Mattes from Maybelline New York. Unique saying matte, creamy and comfortable formula with bold pigment, leaving no cracks. Choose your color. From our smoothest New Color Sensational Creamy Matte. Make it matte. Make it happen. Maybelline New York.

Concept The lipstick can create matte and bold effects but at the same time, it is creamy. This means not only the product will leave the lips to look vivid and eye-catching but also feel comfortable and moist when it is applied. The model constantly gives sexy and seductive looks towards the camera, which suit the “boldness” and dramatic effect of the lipstick.

Keywords Matte, no cracks, smooth, creamy, comfortable, bold

25 Megumi Taruta (1M151151-3) Graduation Thesis

These two particular commercials indicate that in terms of lips, Japanese women consider lips that have jelly-feeling, glossy and shiny effect also known as “ぷるるるん うるるるん” (Purururun Urururun) effect to be one of the characteristics of beauty. On the other hand, women in the US tend to think that matte and bold lips are one of the crucial factors of women’s beauty.

6.3 Definition of Beauty Analysis ③：Eyes

Maquillage: Natural look, brown shades (close to eye colors)

Dramatic Styling Eyes D (Eyeshadow) (Aired: 2018)

Description A young woman is standing in a blue, casual dress, wearing a brown hat and is in front of different shades of brown background. The brand logo appears from the beginning. Then, the camera zooms up closely to the woman’s left eye and the woman looks directly towards the camera. The camera zooms out and the woman looks down. However, the camera zooms again to her left eye, this time from the side and the woman opens her eyes showing her hazel colored left pupil in focus. The camera zooms out again and the woman looks down with a smile. She looks up and says “ブラウン” (brown) after the narrator states “運命の運命の” (Fated, fated). Afterwards, the promoting product (eyeshadow) showing all the colors of the eyeshadow palettes is shot with the phrase “瞳の色×ブラウン” (Color of eyes× Brown). The woman applies the eyeshadow onto her eyelids and the camera focuses on her right eyelid while this is happening. The woman’s whole face can then be seen with the phrase: “レディにしあがれ” (Become a lady). She looks very calm and sophisticated. The different types of eyeshadow palettes appear with the brand logo, the product name and the phrase: “運命のブラウン” (Fated brown). The camera zooms again to the opening of the woman’s left eye and the commercial ends with the woman asking “何色？”(What color?) with a pure smile, continuing the narrator’s question “あなたの瞳は” (The color of your eyes...) .

26 Megumi Taruta (1M151151-3) Graduation Thesis

Slogan “あなたの瞳は何色？運命のブラウン” (What color are your eyes? Fated brown) The slogan simply asks the women what shades of brown their pupils are and expresses that Maquillage offers the ultimate, “destined” eyeshadows that compliment every Japanese woman’s eyes. By using such eyeshadow, the eyes will look bigger and make them look glistened and distinctive but real at the same time. The word “運命” (fate) can also imply that if the women find out about this product (the eyeshadow)- it is meant to be. They simply found the “one” that is perfect for their eyes. In Japan, the phrase “運命の人” meaning destined person or the “one” regarding love is commonly used. Hence, Maquillage perhaps replaces “人” (person) with “ブラウン”(brown) to make the slogan memorable and create a somewhat romantic mood and effect. Also, it emphasizes the fact that the product is “meant to be” used for the Japanese women's eyes and is necessary to be applied.

Models Only one model (Mai Shiraishi) stars in the commercial. She wears an elegant but relatively casual blue dress with a brown, stylish hat- her outfit matches Maquillage’s brand concept of “レディにしあがれ”(Become a lady). Obviously, her eyes are zoomed in several times in order to emphasize the promoting product and to highlight how the brown shades of the eyeshadow complement the colors of her eyes.

What the 見つけた。私の瞳に運命の運命のブラウン。瞳の色から導かれた運命のブラ narrator is saying ウン。艶の新色登場。あなたの瞳は何色？

I found the one. The one that is destined for my eyes. The fated brown that is created through the color of the eyes. Available in new glossy colors. What color are your eyes?

Concept The different types of brown shades that the eyeshadow palettes provide make the eyes look brighter and bigger but natural at the same time. Although most of the Japanese have brown eyes, the darkness (shade) of brown is different for every individual. Therefore, the commercial asks the women what shades of brown their eyes are and offers them the perfect or in this case “fated” brown eyeshadow that matches the color of the eyes. Moreover, the brand concept at the time the commercial was aired and also at the current moment is “レディにしあがれ”(Become a lady) so the shots, the flow of the commercial, what the model is wearing and even the music are adult-like, sophisticated and calm- all of which are associated with characteristics of a “lady”.

Keywords Fate, destiny, brown, lady, eye color, natural

27 Megumi Taruta (1M151151-3) Graduation Thesis

Maybelline New York: Dramatic, vibrant colors Lemonade Craze Eyeshadow Palette (Eyeshadow) (Aired: 2018)

Description The commercial begins with a close up of the promoting product (the eyeshadow) focusing on the brand logo and the product name. The camera zooms out so the whole product can be seen. The brand logo appears at the bottom. Suddenly, the scene changes and a model with dark colored skin comes into sight. She is wearing a bright, pop pink eyeshadow looking very bold and edgy. She seems to appear confident and cool. Next, the different types of the eyeshadow palettes are shot diagonally and the colors pop out of the palettes and fly into the air. Then, each color is shown as if they are rubbed onto the background- a similar effect when they are rubbed onto the wrist when testing the eyeshadows to see how the color holds up. The phrase “12 Saturated Colors” in capital letters is shown at the same time. Subsequently, a model with fair skin is shot and her eyes are zoomed in from the side. She wears a bright reddish orange color above the crease, yellowish gold on the crease and bronze on the lower lash line; another bold and vibrant look. Instantly, an Asian model appears on the left side of the screen wearing a beaming, yellow eyeshadow and only her right side of the face is shown. On the right side of the screen, the same yellow eyeshadow is rubbed onto a pink background with a finger. The words “Richly pigmented” again in capital letters with the same yellow shade as the eyeshadow appear and continues to show while the background changes to bronze-colored eyeshadow. The different types of eyeshadow palettes are shown and the cases are opened; the colors pop out again. The fair skinned model smells the eyeshadow as the phrase “Citrus scented” with cute, stylish images of fruits and lollipops appear. The dark-skinned model is quickly shown again looking seductive. Then, the question ”How do you take your lemonade?” appears on the left side of the screen in pink bold letters with a small image of lemonade next to the question mark. On the right side of the screen, the product is shot diagonally with “rub” effect of yellow and pink eyeshadows as the background- the same color combination as the text color of the question and the background on the left side. The Asian model appears again holding the eyeshadow palette and

28 Megumi Taruta (1M151151-3) Graduation Thesis

looks to the left. The commercial ends with showing the eyeshadow palette closing its case while the images of fruits and lollipops appear once more. The brand logo is shown at the bottom and the word “New” is shown right next to the product.

Slogan “How do you take your lemonade?” The slogan uses a metaphor- lemonade refers to the eyeshadow palette. There are many different types of lemonades that can be enjoyed for each person. Some people may prefer extremely sour ones or very sweet ones. Some may like lemonades containing other fruits such as cherries, strawberries and peaches. Recipes and variations of lemonade are endless. This notion of endless can be applied to the eyeshadow palette also. Not only the eyeshadow consists of pop, bright colors, but also contains neutral and dark hues to help amplify and define the eyes. Therefore, with this one eyeshadow palette, countless number of looks can be created, just like the possibilities of creating different varieties of lemonades. The slogan purely asks the women consumers what kind of eye makeup “looks” they want to create by offering different types of colors including bold, neutral and dark hues enabling them to produce endless number of looks. The number of looks that can be developed is literally “crazy”.

Models Three models with different skin tones feature in this commercial. A dark skinned model (Herieth Paul) first appears then fair skinned model (name unknown) and an Asian model (I-Hua Wu) appearing next. By using these three models with different skin tones, it indicates that even though the colors of the eyeshadows are very pop and vibrant, they suit every skin tone and thus women from all over the world can enjoy using such product. Obviously, the eyes of the models are zoomed in many times, accentuating the vibrancy and liveliness of the colors that the models are wearing.

What the There is no narrator in this advertisement. The commercial only consists of narrator is instrumental music and is played throughout the ad. The music is upbeat and saying lively which suits the commercial’s concept of summer and pop. The use of a synthesizer or some kind of technology leads the music to have a modern effect as well.

Concept The eyeshadow allows the eyes to pop and stand out with the use of bold, shimmering colors that are included in the eyeshadow palettes. The bright colors are ideal to use especially during the summer period and hence “lemonade”, a summer beverage is used in the product name. Plus, the eyeshadows are citrus-scented which strengthens the summer vibe. Even the music is very pop and lively- it has a quick tempo and uses percussion-like sounds that make the music upbeat and cheerful. The colors of the texts and the backgrounds are colorful and pop as well. The little images of fruits and lollipops have the same colors as the colors of the eyeshadows- pink, yellow, red and orange; basically the colors that can be identified as “summer”. Moreover, the product name: “Lemonade Craze” is printed on the eyeshadow palette and next to the word “Lemonade”, there is a cute, tiny image of lemonade that reinforces the summer spirit. Even the frame of the eyeshadow palette case is yellow, which also enhances such summer essence.

29 Megumi Taruta (1M151151-3) Graduation Thesis

Keywords Pop, bold, vibrant, summer, lemonade, endless looks

The two commercials signify that in terms of eyeshadows, Japanese women are more likely to prefer wearing neutral, natural colors (colors that are close to their eye colors) when applying eyeshadows. This will help to make their eyes look bigger, brighter and stand out but in a natural and sophisticated way. Therefore, simplicity and sophistication could be attributes of beauty from the Japanese point of view. On the other hand, American women may tend to choose bright, energetic colors when applying eyeshadows especially during the summer. Also, they seem to have preferences for bold, colorful looks that allow their eyes to be noticeable and pop. Hence, boldness and vibrancy can be regarded as key features of beauty in the US.

30 Megumi Taruta (1M151151-3) Graduation Thesis

6.4 Roles of Women (Personality) Analysis ①：Lady vs. Wild Girl Maquillage: Lady New Brand Concept Commercial: レディにしあがれ宣言 (Announcement: Become a Lady) (Aired: 2014)

Description The commercial starts off with a close up of a young woman’s lips. She is whistling and continues to whistle as the camera moves to show the woman’s eyes. Then, the camera zooms out that the viewers can see the silhouette of the woman and the background. It seems that she is whistling to a bird that is in a cage. Assumingly, she is in her apartment with full of antique, stylish furniture like glass chandeliers and lamps. The woman is standing besides the windowsill and the window is open. The curtains sway from the wind. The woman’s face is shown again and she is still whistling. When she stops whistling, the bird that was staring out the window turns its head and looks at the woman. The camera zooms in to the woman’s lips and she whistles a high-toned note. Suddenly, the curtains blow in the wind. The bird flies and is released from the cage. Next, the phrase “いくよ、かわいいの先。”(Let’s go, beyond cuteness) appears. The woman then picks up a Maquillage lipstick (Dramatic Rouge) and applies it onto her lips. The camera zooms into her lips as she applies. After she finished putting on the lipstick, the camera zooms out and the woman’s face can be seen on the left side of the screen. She looks up and stares directly at the camera. She looks very elegant and “adult”. On the right side of the screen, the phrase “レディにしあがれ” (Become a lady) is shown. Next, the brand logo with the word “New” is shown with a few products of the brand in the background. The advert ends with the woman gazing to the left, perhaps looking outside her apartment window. Her face is shown on the right side of the screen while the cage is shown out of focus on the left. As the cage swirls, an overlap of the woman’s face and her reflection can be seen.

Slogan “レディにしあがれ” (Become a lady) The verb “しあがれ” is an imperative form of “しあがる” meaning to be completed or to have a finished look in terms of makeup. Therefore, the slogan can be interpreted as some kind of command, declaring to have a lady-like, elegant look. The slogan can be implied that Maquillage’s products can make the consumers look such way and can help them become a “lady”. With the use of imperative form, it makes the slogan more powerful and impactful which results in an unforgettable commercial. Although not a slogan but the phrase “いくよ、かわいいの先。” (Let’s go, beyond cuteness) appears in the commercial suggesting being “かわいい” (cute) is not enough for Japanese women. They have the desire to go one-step further striving to attain the goal of becoming a “lady”. This phrase further emphasizes the significance of becoming a lady regarding Japanese women’s beauty.

Models Only one model (Jun Hasegawa) stars in this commercial. Jun Hasegawa is half Japanese, half American and currently works as a model in Japan. Most

31 Megumi Taruta (1M151151-3) Graduation Thesis

of the Japanese women identify her as stylish, fashionable and chic. Many look up to her as a mother of two children as well and so she is perceived very positively from the Japanese women in their 20s to 30s, basically the target market of Maquillage. Therefore, this may be the reason why Maquillage chose her as the brand ambassador. Her elegance and style suit the brand image of “lady”, provoking the target audience wanting to become like Hasegawa.

What the レディにしあがれ。 narrator is 新しいマキアージュ。 saying Become a lady. New Maquillage.

The commercial uses an original song with lyrics in a fictional, English-like language but the word “lady” can be identified clearly. This indicates that Maquillage is even using the music to emphasize the brand concept of “lady”.

Concept Same with the slogan, the concept of the commercial is becoming a lady. This commercial does not promote a particular product like a typical commercial would do but presents and introduces its new brand concept and thus this commercial is very significant for Maquillage. Hence, the commercial itself portrays the whole brand’s concept of “becoming a lady”. In this commercial, there are numerous elements that exhibit such concept. Firstly, the setting of this commercial fits the concept of “lady” perfectly. The commercial sets in the woman’s fashionable apartment. Inside the apartment, various antique furniture can be seen which has a stylish, sophisticated effect and reveals the woman’s chic taste. Moreover, the model (Jun Hasegawa) whistles gracefully and looks calm and elegant throughout the commercial. Even the music in the commercial that is employed after the whistling is very “lady-like” with the use of brass instruments and chimes making the melody elagant. Lastly, the products’ design can be regarded as stylish also. They have a grid pattern with silver and gold colors, which adds an extra classiness and refinement to the commercial. These elements help to reinforce that being a “lady” and being called one is perhaps better and more ideal than being “cute” or in Japanese “かわい い”(kawaii). “Lady” ranks higher than “kawaii”. Presumably, the commercial promotes that being a lady- being elegant and graceful can increase one’s attractiveness and also boost confidence, which may encourage the women consumers to start using the brand’s products.

Keywords Lady, elegant, graceful, stylish, one step further of cuteness

32 Megumi Taruta (1M151151-3) Graduation Thesis

Maybelline New York: Wild Girl One by One Volum’ Express Mascara (Aired: 2011)

Description The commercial begins with the texts saying: “Your Assignment:” in capital letters. The letters are in turquoise blue with a vivid pink colored background- the same color shades and color combination can be seen in the mascara, the promoting product. Next, a young woman appears. She has a fair skin and her blonde hair is tied back neatly. She is looking directly at the camera. As she is wearing turquoise colored (the same shade as the text in the beginning) eyeshadow on the lower lash lines, her eyes are dramatic and quite impactful. She wears this eye makeup look throughout the commercial. In the following scene, the woman is pretending to read a newspaper outside a hotel. She is probably a spy or a detective. The camera zooms into her eyes showing her volume, long lashes. Then, the woman now with her hair down, takes off her sunglasses and when she looks towards the right, the camera zooms into her lashes once more. The texts appear stating: “Lose the bulk” with the same effects used as the text in the beginning. The woman can be seen again, with her sunglasses on top of her head. She is wearing turquoise blue top and is holding a bright pink handbag- another same use of color shade and color combination as the mascara. A man is trying to chase or possibly attack her but she hits his face with her pink bag and runs away from him. The mascara then appears “one by one” in a row and the camera takes a close up shot of the brand logo and the product name. The woman appears again wearing a black mini dress and walks towards the camera and poses as if she is walking on a runway. She poses with full of confidence and determination. The brand logo can be seen at the bottom of the screen. Her

33 Megumi Taruta (1M151151-3) Graduation Thesis

eyes are zoomed in again and she seems to be using binoculars. When the narrator says “Your weapon”, the woman holds the mascara wand and shows it to the camera, signifying that the wand is the weapon. The tip of the wand turns into an optical sight and moves around in a street of New York. It is as if the mascara wand has changed into a gun and is trying to aim at something. The mascara can be seen once more and the camera zooms into the brush. After the narrator says: “The lash catcher brush”, the woman catches a man and handcuffs him. After the narrator says: “Captures”, the screen suddenly changes to black and white and is showing from the hidden camera’s point of view. The woman realizes the existence of the hidden camera and uses a spray to cover the lens of the hidden camera. After the narrator says: “Coats”, a red car driving straight into numerous boxes can be seen. After the narrator says: “Declumps every lash”, a close up shot of the woman applying the mascara is shown. Only her left eye can be seen. The woman then pushes three men all at once and holds them against a wall. The texts: “Makes ‘em bolder” with the same effects as the previous texts appear. When the narrator whispers: “one by one”, a close up shot of the woman’s left eye comes into sight and each lash is highlighted with a pink light. Next, the woman stares through the blinds and looks to the right. Only her eyes can be seen. The narrator whispers: “one by one” again and a close up shot of the woman’s left eye with the pink light can be seen once more. The camera zooms out and the woman’s face appears. The red car drives straight towards a wall of boxes and it seems that the same men from the previous scenes are in front of the boxes. The woman appears to be the driver, as she then stands right besides the driver’s door. She says: “The old one by one trick” with her left hand on her hips indicating her power and authority to some extent. The product is shown again with the text: “One by one” next to it and the brand logo is at the bottom of the screen. A very short scene of the woman walking back on the “runway” is shown and the woman looks back at the camera. The commercial ends with the woman wearing a black sleeveless dress with white thick line across her chest. She has her hair in a neat ponytail and she is with the same men from the previous scenes. The men are all injured and have bruises on their faces symbolizing the woman’s great physical strength and power. While the men stares directly at the camera with neutral expressions, the woman puts a huge smile on her face and looks straight into the camera.

Slogan “Makes ‘em bolder, makes ‘em flirtier. For bold lashes without the bulk” The message is quite clear. The mascara allows the eyes to look dramatic and somewhat inviting but does not create any clumps. The use of repetition of the work “makes ‘em” increases the likelihood to remember the slogan for the viewers and therefore be able to make such effects (bold, flirtatious) stick in their minds. Furthermore, the shortening of “them” helps to add a sense of boldness and wildness to the commercial, which matches the whole concept.

Models Other than the various men seen in the commercial, only one model (Emily DiDonato) is featured in this commercial. Her volumized lashes with the turquoise colored eyeshadow applied onto her lower lash line make her eyes eye catching and distinct. The last scene showing the men injured and bruised

34 Megumi Taruta (1M151151-3) Graduation Thesis

represents that she is strong and powerful physically and is able to manage to work as a spy or a detective on her own. Everything she does in the commercial is very bold and dramatic. For example, she drives into a wall of boxes, and sprays directly at a hidden camera. Such daring actions exhibit her extreme confidence and power and proves that she is fearless. She is basically unafraid to catch the men “one by one” and is perfectly capable of passing her “assignment” as mentioned by the narrator. Hence, the model herself symbolizes the mascara and the men represent each lash. Similar to the mascara’s ability to capture every lash, the model is capable of catching any man even if she is a woman.

What the Narrator: Your assignment: Capture the boldest, flirtiest lashes but lose the narrator is bulk. saying Maybelline introduces One by One Volum’ Express mascara. Your weapon, the revolutionary lash catcher brush, captures, coats and de-clumps every lash all at once. Makes ‘em bolder, one by one. Makes ‘em flirtier, one by one. For bold lashes without the bulk. Emily DiDonato: The old one by one trick. Narrator: One by One. New from Maybelline.

In addition, the music used in the commercial has a fast tempo and has an exciting, exhilarating sound that suits the wild, bold theme of the commercial.

Concept The mascara can make the lashes volumized and bold but without producing any clumps or in other words creating any “bulk”. The mascara is capable of capturing every lash “one by one” resulting in a bold, flirtatious look. As mentioned above, the model symbolizes the mascara and the men exemplify the lashes. She (the mascara) catches all the men (lashes) and keeps them (lashes) under control and hence she (the mascara) is able to pass the assignment that was given to her (the mascara) in the beginning of the commercial. Therefore, the model herself and her actions show the positive effects and results of using the mascara and highlight the benefits such as being able to catch every single lash without creating clumps and thus resulting in volumized, dramatic lashes. Her physical strength and dominance portrayed in the commercial can also represent that the mascara is “strong” enough to hold the lashes in place for a long time and be able to“control” the lashes. Plus, the pink and turquoise colors used throughout the commercial (the woman’s clothes, eyeshadow and the texts) allow the women consumers to remember the product design making it easier for them to recognize the product when purchasing.

Keywords Bold, capture, wild, fearless, drama, volumized

35 Megumi Taruta (1M151151-3) Graduation Thesis

36 Megumi Taruta (1M151151-3) Graduation Thesis

Regarding roles of women or in other words, personalities of women, from looking at Maquillage’s commercial and representing Hasegawa as a “lady”, it appears to be that Japanese women have the goal of becoming a “lady”. It can be said that for them, being “cute” (かわいい, kawaii) is incomplete, they feel the necessity to change the “cuteness” into “elegance” and “gracefulness”. The commercial analyzed above shows that Maquillage products can help these women achieve that goal. Consequently, “lady” or women with elegance and sophistication can be considered as one of the ideal characteristics to have for women in the Japanese society. Contrarily, Maybelline New York’s commercial presents DiDonato as being powerful and somewhat dominant which may suggest that the women in the US actually do have such attributes in reality or perhaps some women have the desire to become like such women. This may mean that characteristics such as strength, power and boldness are important and essential for American women. Moreover, it can be noted that the commercial exhibits DiDonato as having the ability to be strong and powerful equally or maybe even more than men - she is unafraid to take control of men and is able to manage them on her own. Furthermore, the women in the US seem to prefer looks that are dramatic and stand out which can also reflect their bold, adventurous personalities. Therefore, from analyzing these two commercials, one can say that how the women are portrayed in the makeup commercials concerning women’s roles or personalities is different in Japan and the US.

37 Megumi Taruta (1M151151-3) Graduation Thesis

6.5 Roles of Women (Lifestyles) Analysis ②：Girls’ Night Out and Finding New Love

Maquillage: Using Beauty Appeal

Diamond Tia Eyeliner & Lip Gloss (Aired: 2005)

Description The commercial starts off with a taxi showing its icon followed by a shot of Tokyo Tower at night. A young woman who seems to be the taxi driver is using the promoting product (lip gloss) and is applying it onto her lips. She then taps her fingers onto the lips to soften the colors. A shot of Tokyo Tower is shown again. The woman then applies the other promoting product (eyeliner) onto her eyelids. She then drives and parks in front of the red carpet. She is presumably attending a party. Next to the taxi, a motorcycle with two people on it can be seen. The two people riding the motorcycle happen to be the woman’s friends and they are doing final touch ups before they enter the party. A close up shot of Tokyo Tower taken from below can be seen next. A man opens the driver’s door of the taxi and the woman looking glamorous and extravagant smiles and gets out of the taxi. It seems that she is excited and ready for the night. A shot of Tokyo Tower focusing on its center part is shown. The woman is now with her friends and they compliment how dazzling and remarkable she looks. The woman begins to worry and asks them if the makeup look is too much. One of the friends then say: “盗まれたり すんのかー?” (You think you are going to get kissed by someone?) and later on she says: “私も盗まれたい！” (I want to get kissed too!). The commercial ends with showing the promoting products (lip gloss and eyeliner) and the brand logo while the woman and her girlfriends smiling and laughing appear as the background. In between these scenes, several texts appear and such texts are noted below in the “What is the narrator saying section.”

Slogan “一瞬にして最強。”(Become supreme in an instant.) In this context, the word “supreme” is referred to extreme attractiveness or attractiveness at its maximum level. The message states that by using these Maquillage products, one can change and can instantly become the most beautiful woman. The word “climax” that is used in one of the phrases of the commercial also strengthens the fact that the products will result in maximum beauty. Presumably, Maquillage is hoping to deliver the message that it is possible change one’s looks and attractiveness and increase one’s confidence through the use of their products and can be done so instantaneously.

Models Chiaki Kuriyama, Ryoko Shinohara and Yuri Ebihara star in the commercial but Kuriyama appears the most. It is clear that they are all getting ready for a party or an event and have the desire to find new love. When Kuriyama is complemented by her friends, she asks them if the makeup is overdone. This shows that she is self-conscious of the ways she looks and cares about how other people especially the men look at her. She wants to look beautiful and exquisite in order to attract the men’s attention and this is why she checks with her friends if the makeup look is acceptable for the occasion. Also, towards

38 Megumi Taruta (1M151151-3) Graduation Thesis

the end, Ebihara says, “私も盗まれたい!” (I want to get kissed too!) after she looks at Kuriyama’s shining lips, as if she is jealous of them. This indicates that Ebihara too wants to get romantically involved with a man and begin a new relationship. It is evident that the three women are hoping to find a new man and love by participating at a night event together and are totally up for starting a new relationship. They hope to achieve this by presenting themselves as beautiful and appealing and increase the likelihood to get noticed by men.

What the Phrases: このシーズンになると おしゃれして ドキドキしてカッコつけ narrator is saying て 期待する？しない？どっちでもいいけれど 期待したほうがたのしいよ だって今夜のあなたは 一瞬にして最強。ビューティ・クライマックスはじ

まる Ryoko Shinohara: 光ってるねー！ Chiaki Kuriyama: やりすぎかな？ Yuri Ebihara: 盗まれたりすんのかー? Narrator: 一瞬にして最強。資生堂マキアージュダイヤモンドティア。 Yuri Ebihara: 私も盗まれたい！

Phrases: When this season arrives, you want to dress up, your heart starts racing, and you want to look cool. Are you looking forward to something/ are you hoping for something to happen? Or are you not? It doesn’t matter whichever but it is more fun if you look forward to something. Because in an instant, you’ll look supreme tonight. Beauty climax begins. Ryoko Shinohara: You look dazzling! Chiaki Kuriyama: You think my makeup is too much? Yuri Ebihara: You think you are going to get kissed by someone? Narrator: Become supreme in an instant. Shiseido Maquillage Diamond Tia. Yuri Ebihara: I want to get kissed by someone too! (The women smile and laugh)

Concept There are two concepts that are portrayed in the commercial. Same with the slogan, one is that through the use of Maquillage products, women will immediately look charming and attractive. Women can transform themselves, boost their self-confidence and be able to catch the men’s attention, which possibly may lead to new love. The other concept is the whole idea of searching for new love and wanting to be in a new relationship. The women in the commercial attempt to do this by making themselves look pretty and charming hoping to catch attention from the men with their physical beauty. The phrase used in the commercial: “期待 したほうが楽しいよ” (it is more fun if you look forward to something; “something” refers to finding new love/ new man) also highlights the excitement and the thrill of the process of finding new love or a new relationship. It can also be interpreted as a reminder for the Japanese women that searching for new love is actually fun and stimulating. Therefore, it can be

39 Megumi Taruta (1M151151-3) Graduation Thesis

said that the commercial uses relatively important phrases and display scenes of women looking excited and enthusiastic to make the women consumers want to find love and reinforce the excitement of such process.

Keywords Finding new love, new man, instant effect, beauty appeal, getting ready, dressed up

40 Megumi Taruta (1M151151-3) Graduation Thesis

Maybelline New York: Using Sex Appeal The Falsies Push Up Drama Mascara (Aired: 2015)

Description A young model is sitting in front of her makeup dresser, in black lingerie. She picks up the promoting product (mascara) that is on the dresser and applies it onto her eyelashes. She puts her blonde long hair down and pushes up her chest as she says: “Sometimes I like to push it up”. As she gets ready with her two girlfriends, she uses her hairbrush as a microphone and pretends that she is singing. The women seem to be having fun preparing for the night. Then, the mascara appears with a close up shot of the product name. Next, a scene of New York city in a pink color is shown for a very short time. The model and her girlfriends who are now ready for the night are getting on a taxi. They are in party outfits. A close up shot of the mascara brush is then shown. As the narrator says, “Cups”, the models’ right eye is zoomed in and the model coating her lashes with the mascara can be seen. Then, as the narrator says, “Coats”, the models’ left eye is now zoomed in and similarly, the model coating her lashes with the mascara can be seen again. The model and her friends arrive most probably at a club or a party. They are wearing black, cleavage dresses and seem to look confident and somewhat ambitious. The model is shown on her own and she looks to the left. Her eyes are zoomed in once more. She bumps into a man’s shoulder and the man accidentally spills his drink onto her and himself. The model wipes the alcohol off her arm and her friends stare at the man with disgrace. As the narrator says: “Dare to get the push up effect”, the camera takes a close up shot of the model’s eyes again once more showing her “pushed up” lashes. After the product appears once again, the model takes off her vest so only her undergarments can be seen. The model looks at the man who happens to be smiling at her. She then showers him with water or with some other clear beverage as “revenge”. The man seems to enjoy this. The texts: “Make it dramatic” appear on the screen with the closed up shot of the model’s eyes as the background. The model and the man is now together in a car laughing intimately and seem to be enjoying each other’s company in a sexual way. The commercial ends with a night scene of New York in pink color.

Slogan “Dare to get the push up effect” The use of the word “dare” helps to create an adventurous, brave and slightly alluring tone. The slogan indicates that the mascara is not afraid to lift the lashes up and hold them in place like the model is not embarrassed and is brave enough to take her clothes off to the point where she only wears her undergarments. She likes drama and seeks excitement- she simply likes to “push things up”. She wants the men to look at her and grab attention from them with the hopes to start a new romantic or sexual relationship. Basically, the model is using sex appeal or in other words a little “drama” to attract the men and start a new relationship. The words: “push up” has a double meaning. One of them is pushing up and lifting up the lashes and the other is pushing up the chest. This is why there

41 Megumi Taruta (1M151151-3) Graduation Thesis

are several scenes where the model’s chest is zoomed in. Such scenes create sexual and somewhat erotic flavor to the commercial. Moreover, the idea of being confident and brave can also be interpreted as the commercial’s message. One can say that the commercial informs the women consumers that by using the mascara, one will feel more self- assured and courageous like Hadid is in the commercial. Hence, the commercial has an empowering message to some extent.

Models Three women, Gigi Hadid, Cris Urena and Jourdan Dunn appear in this commercial. However, Gigi Hadid appears the most and plays the center role. All of them wear revealing, seductive outfits at the night event to lay emphasis on their “pushed up” chest- the same effect the mascara creates for the lashes. They all seem to look confident and fearless. Towards the end, Gigi Hadid takes off her clothes and only wears her brassiere. This conveys her bold, dramatic personality as she says in the commercial, “I’m not shy. My drama? I totally own it.” It seems that the words “shyness” and “inhibition” are simply not part of her vocabulary and that she is capable of taking control of her own “drama”.

What the Gigi Hadid: Drama? Sometimes I like to push it up. narrator is Narrator: New Push Up Drama Mascara from Maybelline New York. Our first saying brush with cup shaped bristles. Cups, coats, loose lashes for volume so lifted, so dramatic. Dare to get the push up effect. New Push Up Drama from Maybelline. Gigi Hadid: I’m not shy. My drama? I totally own it. Narrator: Make it dramatic. Make it happen. Maybelline New York.

Concept The mascara creates volume and pushes them up to the limit resulting in a dramatic eye look. Not only the lashes will become bold and dramatic but also the users of the mascara will too feel self-assured, bold and fearless. Hadid’s actions and her gestures in the commercial convey that with the application of the mascara, women will increase their confidence and feel that they can do anything; a little bit of drama will not affect them at all. In fact, they will be able to “own the drama” like Hadid does. Of course, Hadid’s bold actions (taking off her clothes), the focus on her chest throughout the commercial and the ending scene of being sexually intimate with a man make the commercial very sexual and provocative.

Keywords Push up, revealing clothes, seductive, sex appeal, drama, bold, getting ready, new relationship

42 Megumi Taruta (1M151151-3) Graduation Thesis

From analyzing the two commercials, it can be said that the women in Maquillage ad are portrayed as being pure, naive women who are attending at a night event in the pursuit of finding new love. They are preparing for the night and getting their makeup done in order to captivate the men and get attention from them, which possibly may lead to a new relationship. Basically, they are trying to attract the men by presenting their beauty. While the lifestyles of getting ready for a party, going out and socializing with girlfriends at night are similar, elements such as revealing clothes and Hadid’s bold, seductive actions from Maybelline New York’s commercial exhibit that women from the Western countries are more likely to use sex appeal in order to attract the men than the

43 Megumi Taruta (1M151151-3) Graduation Thesis

women from Eastern countries to some degree. Moreover, it can be stated that the women featured in Maybelline New York’s ad are represented as being more dramatic, fearless and sexual than the women in Maquillage’s ad and how they try to attract the men is different also. Having said that, both commercials do display the ideas of 1) women having fun with girlfriends at night also known as girls’ night out, 2) women getting ready for the night and 3) women finding or hoping to find new love through such occasion.

44 Megumi Taruta (1M151151-3) Graduation Thesis

7. Implications and Research Limitations 7.1 Implications The analysis of 11 commercials show that there are similarities and differences between the US and Japan regarding definition of beauty and women’s roles which does not completely confirm the initial hypothesis of both countries having totally different perceptions and understanding of beauty ideals and women’s duties. Having said that, more differences were found compared to similarities so the hypothesis can be accepted to a large extent.

The fact that “美白” (bihaku) or beautifully white is regarded as one of the beauty traits in Japan can be justified by the explanation from the hypothesis. “Bihaku” originates from the Nara period and is now a beauty standard in the country (“The Fair Face of Japanese Beauty”, 2013). It appears that “bihaku” is a deep-rooted tradition and the latest trends or makeup look will not affect this tradition so much. Therefore, Japanese women will keep on wanting to achieve such clear white skin. However, for the American people, factors such as looking more healthy and radiant can be possible reasons why they find tanned, bronzed skin to be more attractive than pale skin as mentioned in the Hypothesis section.

One similarity found from the analysis was both brands showed that having clear, perfect skin is beautiful. In fact, an article from Business Insider states: “If you were to pick one feature from all of that research that does seem to have some universal value though, that would be skin health” (Letzter, 2017, para. 33). Plus, this statement is supported with scientific research so it is reasonably accurate. This implies that having healthy skin meaning no blemishes, spots or scars and instead having flawless skin can be considered as a beauty trait and attractive universally.

According to the analysis, Japanese women tend to find having “ぷるるるん うるるる ん” (Purururun Urururun, shiny, jelly-feeling effect) lips to be attractive. This can be because Japanese women consider “艶”(tsuya) meaning gloss or polish to be very important when it comes to beauty. As a matter of fact, the word “艶” (tsuya) is used in the Maquillage’s eyeshadow commercial (from the analysis) also. A survey conducted by a Japanese company, Nagase Beauty Care proves this claim of significance of “艶”

45 Megumi Taruta (1M151151-3) Graduation Thesis

(tsuya) for Japanese women. The research was conducted on 500 Japanese working women from ages 20 to 60 (Nagase Beauty Care, 2016). One of the questions was: “What results do you desire when applying makeup?” Results show that women in their 20s find “艶を出したい” (show glossy, shiny effect) to be second most important (out of 10 other choices) and third most important for the women in their 30s and 40s. This signifies that “艶” (tsuya) or gloss is crucial for Japanese women regarding beauty and thus view “ぷるるるん うるるるん” (shiny, jelly-feeling effect) lips to be beautiful and charming.

Looking at the analysis however, American women seem to prefer matte lips. This can be due to psychological reasons. An American cosmetic brand, CoverGirl and Harvard University teamed up and done a research on 1,000 women and results show that women who wear lipstick post twice the amount of selfies per week than women who wear natural looks (Jacques, 2015). From the same study, researchers also discovered that: “women who wear lipstick four or more days of the week had significantly higher confidence levels than those who wear it less” (Jacques, 2015, para. 5). Moreover, an article by Psychologies mentions that with just putting on red lipstick, women will feel empowered (Psychologies, 2011). People are more likely to notice and look at the women’s mouth and thus listen to what they say when they speak (Psychologies, 2011). Such results prove to some extent that wearing lipsticks can lead to an increase in self-confidence, self-esteem and feel more empowered. Therefore, such cognitive factors can be a few of the reasons why American women tend to favor matte, bold lips.

Certainly, there are other possible reasons for having preferences for matte, bold lips including long-lasting effect, not sticky, and the fact that it helps to make a statement (“6 Reasons to Love Matte Lipstick”, 2016).

When looking at the eyeshadow and women’s roles sections from the analysis, overall, women in Maybelline New York’s adverts are portrayed as being bold, brave and powerful which to some degree, confirms the hypothesis of women in Maybelline New York’s ads are more likely to be represented as being more powerful and independent than the women in Maquillage’s commercials.

46 Megumi Taruta (1M151151-3) Graduation Thesis

Furthermore, they wear makeup in a way that suits such personalities. For example, the women in “Lemonade Craze Eyeshadow” commercial wear vibrant, colorful eyeshadows and the women in “One by One Volum’ Express Mascara” and “The Falsies Push Up Drama Mascara” commercials have dramatic, voluminous lashes. On the other hand, women in Maquillage’s commercials are represented as being a lady, sophisticated and somewhat more reserved than the women in Maybelline New York’s advertisements. They seem to wear natural (use minimum colors) and classy makeup looks that match those personalities as well. This difference in makeup looks and characteristics can be explained by Hofstede’s Cultural Dimensions Theory. Hofstede conducted a large-scale study on how culture affects values in workplaces and based on this study, he posits that there are six dimensions of national culture that can affect one’s values and behavior (Hofstede Insights, n.d. b). The six dimensions are: 1. Power Distance 4. Uncertainty Avoidance 2. Individualism 5. Long term Orientation 3. Masculinity 6. Indulgence (Hofstede Insights, n.d. b).

It can be argued that 2. Individualism is causing the differences in the portrayals of women and their makeup looks between the two brands. Individualism measures how much people feel the need to be in a group or belong to a group (Hofstede Insights, n.d. b). Individualistic cultures like the US (individualism score: 91) believe that independence, individual rights, autonomy and uniqueness are essential and are all considered as valuable characteristics (Cherry, 2019; Hofstede Insights, n.d. a). However, collectivistic cultures such as Japan (individualism score: 46) regard that community needs, group harmony and selflessness are vital and anything that stands out of the group are not advocated (Cherry, 2018; Hofstede Insights, n.d. a).

As the US is an individualistic culture, women are perhaps displayed as being bold, dramatic and powerful in Maybelline New York’s commercials. They are unafraid and unshy to stand out and believe that they have equal power, strength and ability as men. Conversely, as Japan is a collectivistic culture, women are possibly portrayed as being calm, sophisticated and reserved in Maquillage’s commercials. There wear natural makeup looks with not so many colors so that they would not stand out and look “odd” in

47 Megumi Taruta (1M151151-3) Graduation Thesis

the community. Consequently, the makeup looks and representations of women’s personalities in the two brands are dissimilar probably because of cultural differences in individualism and collectivism.

Overall, as reasons mentioned above, historical factors, looking healthy, cultural characteristics and what women prioritize and demand whether it is psychological effects (feel empowered and confident) or physical effects (“艶” (tsuya), gloss) can explain why beauty ideals and women’s roles portrayed in the commercials are different between the two brands.

Obviously, there are other alternative explanations but points written above could be some of the reasons why definition of beauty and roles of women in beauty ads are different in Japan and the US.

From the analysis, it appears that women going out at night, socializing and interacting with their girlfriends are part of women’s lifestyles and seem to be universal and common no matter the country. However, more in depth research is required to be done in order to discover the reasons behind this.

7.2 Other Interesting Results found from the Analysis 1. Maybelline New York’s “”Dream Wonder” Liquid Foundation” and “Lemonade Craze Eyeshadow” commercials feature models with different skin tones and backgrounds (nationality). Also, according to the “”Dream Wonder” Liquid Foundation” ad, the foundation offers 12 different shades, which means that the brand provides a wide range of colors of foundation for women from all over the world. This proves to some extent that Maybelline New York celebrates the cultural diversity of people especially women and accepts all women no matter the nationality, ethnicity or background. This remarkable attitude and belief can be linked to their brand mission of offering beauty as well as empowerment for all women as stated in the Brand Description section above. 2. For all Maybelline New York and Maquillage’s commercials, the music used in the commercials match each concept and theme of the commercial. Generally, the music played in Maybelline New York’s commercials tend to be upbeat, have

48 Megumi Taruta (1M151151-3) Graduation Thesis

quick tempo and have lively, energetic melody. On the other hand, music featured in Maquillage’s commercials appear to be calm and have elegant, smooth melodies. From looking at the analysis, it can be said that the music plays a crucial role in the commercial, as it helps to create a particular mood or effect and permits to emphasize the concept and the message of the commercial.

7.3 Research Limitations One of the limitations of the research is the restricted use of number of brands for each country. As the paper only looks at two brands (one for each country), it would have been better if there was analysis of a wider range of ads and campaigns by other well-known US and Japanese cosmetic brands. This will enable us to obtain a more accurate and reliable results (analysis) and attain a more interesting comparison.

Another weakness of the study is the fact that the research is only based on analysis of TV commercials due to the purpose of easier comparison and fairer methodology with using one type of media. However, as the world is becoming more digital and social media is becoming a huge part of people’s lifestyles, it is crucial to analyze other types of media, especially social media and online advertisements. This will allow us to discover the differences and compare definition of beauty and women’s roles in the US and Japan at the current moment. Also, with using other forms of media other than TV commercials, it enables us to gain a deeper understanding of the topic.

49 Megumi Taruta (1M151151-3) Graduation Thesis

8. Conclusion To conclude, this thesis was written in order to find out 1) the extent to which the definition of “beauty” is similar in contemporary Japan and the US and 2) how the representations of women regarding their roles and lifestyles in recent beauty advertisements (within the last two decades) differ depending on different countries.

The study looked at one brand for each country (Maybelline New York and Maquillage) and analyzed 11 TV commercials in total. The analysis proves to some extent that there are both similarities and differences in perception of beauty and female’s roles between the US and Japan. In terms of definition of beauty, both countries consider having perfect, flawless skin is beautiful but when it comes to ideal skin tone, it is different between the two countries. Japan regards having white, pale skin also known as 美白 (bihaku) as attractive while, the US considers having tanned, sun-kissed skin as appealing. Moreover, regarding the lips, Japan finds that having ぷるるるん うるるる ん (Purururun Urururun) meaning jelly feeling, shiny effect lips to be one of the attributes of beauty whereas matte, bold lips are concerned as one of the beauty ideals in the US. Furthermore, the analysis shows that the Japanese women tend to have preferences for wearing natural, minimum number of colors when applying eyeshadows and American women tend to choose vibrant, dramatic colors.

Additionally, the analysis indicates that there is a similarity between the US and Japan in terms of females’ roles as well. Commercials of both brands portray women 1)going out at night with their girlfriends or in other words “girls’ night out”, 2) women preparing for the night and 3) women finding or hoping to find new love or a man through such event. However, the way women try to find new love is different. For Maybelline New York’s commercial, the woman (Gigi Hadid) uses her sex- appeal to captivate the man whereas the women in Maquillage’s commercial use their beauty appeal in order to catch the men’s attention, which may possibly lead to new love. Plus, how each brand represents women’s personalities and characteristics is different also. Maybelline New York’s ads portray the woman (Emily DiDonato) as powerful, courageous and somewhat wild. However, the woman (Jun Hasegawa) from Maquillage’s commercial is portrayed as a “lady”- full of sophistication, elegance and gracefulness.

50 Megumi Taruta (1M151151-3) Graduation Thesis

These differences in beauty perceptions and female’s roles can be explained by historical, health and cultural factors as well as what women prioritize in beauty whether it is physical or psychological benefits.

Having said that, according to the analysis, there are some attributes that are considered to be beautiful universally and that there are some aspects of women’s lifestyles that are similar no matter the country they live in. Further research is necessary to discover whether it is universal and similar throughout the world due to the same reasons or not and it would be interesting to know whether there were more similarities in terms of beauty ideals and women’s roles in the past than it is now and has gradually changed over time.

Perception of beauty and women’s roles are very complex and difficult topics that are connected with different, various factors. However, because they are so complex, it is crucial to do more research on such topics, which will enable us to discover compelling, interesting results and thus lead us to have a better understanding of the topics.

51 Megumi Taruta (1M151151-3) Graduation Thesis

9. Works Cited Primary Sources

Commercials:

Definition of Beauty Analysis ①: Perfect Skin + Ideal Skin Tone 資生堂 Snow Beauty 2018「7 つの雪の魔法」篇 [Shiseido Snow Beauty 2018 “7 Snow’s Magic” Version] [Advertisement]. (2018). Retrieved June 6, 2019, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bFpR-hNBE54

Maybelline "Dream Wonder" Liquid Foundation TV Commercial (Fall 2014) [Advertisement]. (2014). Retrieved December 7, 2018, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O6lSk0O0-tk

Emily DiDonato for Maybelline City Bronzer (2018) [Advertisement]. (2018). Retrieved June 6, 2019, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jEv1XDwgjGU

Analysis ②: Lips 武井咲 CM 資生堂 マキアージュ CHU-NEW-LIP 篇 15sec. [Emi Takei CM Shiseido Maquillage CHU-NEW-LIP Version 15 sec] [Advertisement]. (2011). Retrieved June 6, 2019, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7OFxVKNAwYc

Discover New Creamy Mattes Color Sensational Lipsticks From Maybelline New York. [Advertisement]. (2016). Retrieved June 6, 2019, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oj6H8FBIkzo

Analysis ③: Eyes マキアージュ ドラマティックスタイリングアイズ D「運命のブラウン。-艶の新色-」 篇｜資生堂 [Maquillage Dramatic Styling Eyes D “Fate Brown. -Glossy New Colors-” Version｜Shiseido] [Advertisement]. (2018). Retrieved June 6, 2019, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Q2BTXzigc4

52 Megumi Taruta (1M151151-3) Graduation Thesis

Lemonade Craze Eyeshadow Palette | Maybelline New York [Advertisement]. (2018). Retrieved June 6, 2019, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9rtDhwXik9M

Roles of Women Analysis ①: Lady vs. Wild Girl 資生堂 マキアージュ ブランド広告 「レディにしあがれ宣言」篇 15 秒 | 資生堂 [Shiseido Maquillage Brand Advertisement “Announcement: Become a Lady” Version 15 sec | Shiseido] [Advertisement]. (2014). Retrieved June 6, 2019, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=plG2acq72IM&list=PLAeW7D2lL7xKgbCf2CWyJfU 2EsLYOUYQP&index=37

One by One VolumExpress Mascara TV commercial from Maybelline New York [Advertisement]. (2011). Retrieved June 6, 2019, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LmRvYhj56M4

Analysis ②: Girls’ Night Out and Finding New Love 蛯原友里 篠原涼子 栗山千明 資生堂 MAQUILLAGE CM / Yuri Ebihara SHISEIDO [Yuri Ebihara Ryoko Shinohara Chiaki Kuriyama MAQUILLAGE CM / Yuri Ebihara SHISEIDO] [Advertisement]. (2010). Retrieved June 6, 2019, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=is84yeEfC9E

Maybelline The Falsies - "Push Up Drama" Mascara TV Commercial (Fall 2015) [Advertisement]. (2015). Retrieved June 6, 2019, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vjhT6kE7XUE

Official Brands’ Websites: Maquillage: MAQuillAGE | 資生堂. (n.d.). Retrieved June 12, 2019, from https://maquillage.shiseido.co.jp/

Maybelline: Makeup Products, Makeup Tips and Fashion Trends- Maybelline New YorK. (n.d.). Retrieved June 12, 2019, from https://www.maybelline.com/

53 Megumi Taruta (1M151151-3) Graduation Thesis

Other Companies’/ Brands’ Materials:

L’Oréal Group. (n.d. a). Brands - L'Oréal Group. Retrieved July 3, 2018, from https://www.loreal.com/brand

L’Oréal Group. (n.d. b). Consumer Products Division - L'Oréal Group. Retrieved July 3, 2018, from https://www.loreal.com/brand/consumer

L’Oréal Group. (n.d. c). Maybelline New-York: Makeup, mascara, lipstick - L'Oréal Group. Retrieved July 3, 2018, from https://www.loreal.com/brand/consumer-products-division/maybelline-new-york

L'Oréal Group. (2017). L'Oréal 2017 Annual Report. Retrieved July 3, 2018, from https://www.loreal-finance.com/en/annual-report-2017/key-figures

Maybelline New York. (n.d.). Make It Happen Movement - Makeup Inspiration. Retrieved July 3, 2018, from https://www.maybelline.com/make-it-happen

Maybelline New York. (2014). About Maybelline. Retrieved July 3, 2018, from https://www.maybelline-me.com/about-maybelline.aspx

Shiseido Co., Ltd. (n.d. a). Business Overview. Retrieved July 3, 2018, from http://www.shiseidogroup.com/company/business/

Shiseido Co., Ltd. (n.d. b). History. Retrieved July 3, 2018, from https://www.shiseidogroup.com/company/past/history/

Shiseido Co., Ltd. (2005). Annual Report 2005. Retrieved July 3, 2018, from https://www.shiseidogroup.com/ir/annual/2005/pdf/anu00001.pdf

Shiseido Co., Ltd. (2006). Annual Report 2006. Retrieved July 3, 2018, from https://www.shiseidogroup.com/ir/annual/2006/pdf/anu00001.pdf

Shiseido Co., Ltd. (2014). Shiseido News Release: Maquillage. Retrieved from www.shiseidogroup.jp/ir/pdf/ir20140910_926.pdf

54 Megumi Taruta (1M151151-3) Graduation Thesis

Shiseido Co., Ltd. (2017). Shiseido at a Glance. Retrieved July 3, 2018, from http://www.shiseidogroup.com/company/glance/

Shiseido plans new cosmetics line. (2005, July 23). Retrieved July 3, 2018, from https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2005/07/23/business/shiseido-plans-new-cosmet ics-line/#.WztZODPN2gQ

Secondary Sources

Research Reports (Surveys/ Interviews) and Statistics:

Beauty and personal care: U.S. market value 2013-2018 | Statistic. (n.d.). Retrieved December 7, 2018, from https://www.statista.com/statistics/491255/beauty-and-personal-care-united-states- market-value/

Duncan, E. (n.d. a). Topic: Beauty industry in Japan. Retrieved December 7, 2018, from https://www.statista.com/topics/4661/beauty-industry-in-japan/

Duncan, E. (n.d. b). Topic: Cosmetics Industry in the U.S. Retrieved December 7, 2018, from https://www.statista.com/topics/1008/cosmetics-industry/

How Much Is Your Face Worth? Woman's Daily Worth Value 2017 Survey - SkinStore. (2017, March 08). Retrieved December 7, 2018, from https://www.skinstore.com/blog/skincare/womens-face-worth-survey-2017/

Japanese Ministry of Affairs and Communications. (2017, January 30). 労働力調査（基 本集計）平成 29 年（ 2017 年）平均（速報）結果の要約 [Summary of results of Labor Force Survey in 2017 ]. Retrieved from www.stat.go.jp/data/roudou/rireki/nen/ft/pdf/2017.pdf

McCann Worldgroup. (2012). The Truth About Beauty. Retrieved July 3, 2018, from www.mccannworldgroup.de/.../mrm-mccann/.../pdf/McCann_Truth_About_Beauty.

55 Megumi Taruta (1M151151-3) Graduation Thesis

Nagase Beauty Care Co., Ltd. (2016, September). 働く女性の「メイク」に関する意識 調査 [Research Report on Working Women’s Beauty Awareness]. Retrieved May 30, 2019, from https://www.nagase.co.jp/assetfiles/news/20160912.pdf

POLA Research Institute of Beauty and Culture. (2017, October 25 a). 女性の化粧行 動・意 識 に 関 す る 実 態 調 査 ２ ０ １ ７ 化 粧 品 情 報 収 集 と SNS の関連 [Research Report on Women‘s Beauty Awareness and Actions 2017 Related to Collecting Cosmetic Information and SNS]. Retrieved December 7, 2018, from https://www.po-holdings.co.jp/csr/culture/bunken/report/pdf/20171025sns.html

POLA Research Institute of Beauty and Culture. (2017, November 20 b). 女性の化粧行 動・意識に関する実態調査２０１７メーク篇 [Research Report on Women‘s Beauty Awareness and Actions 2017 Makeup Version]. Retrieved December 7, 2018, from https://www.po-holdings.co.jp/csr/culture/bunken/report/pdf/20171120make2017.ht ml

TesTee Lab. (2018, September 14). 若年層のメイク事情を徹底調査！[Thorough Research on Makeup Information of young generation!]. Retrieved December 7, 2018, from https://lab.testee.co/teens-cosme

UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF LABOR. (n.d.). Women of Working Age. Retrieved July 3, 2018, from https://www.dol.gov/wb/stats/NEWSTATS/latest/demographics.htm#three

化粧品業界の現状、動向、ランキング＆シェアなどを掲載。[Current situation, Trend of Makeup Industry, including ranking and shares]. (n.d.). Retrieved December 7, 2018, from https://gyokai-search.com/3-kesyo.htm

Articles and Websites:

6 Reasons to Love Matte Lipstick. (2016, May 04). Retrieved June 12, 2019, from https://www.makeup.com/why-we-love-matte-lipstick

56 Megumi Taruta (1M151151-3) Graduation Thesis

AdverTimes. (2015, September 15). [Image: Shiseido Maquillage: "Become a lady"]. Retrieved June 12, 2019, from https://www.advertimes.com/20150915/article203493/

Chaipraditkul, N. (2013). Thailand: Beauty and globalized self-identity through cosmetic therapy and skin lightening. Ethics in Science and Environmental Politics,13(1), 27-37. doi:10.3354/esep00134

Cherry, K. (2018, October 31). Understanding Collectivist Cultures. Retrieved May 30, 2019, from https://www.verywellmind.com/what-are-collectivistic-cultures-2794962

Cherry, K. (2019, May 06). How Do Individualistic Cultures Influence Behavior? Retrieved May 30, 2019, from https://www.verywellmind.com/what-are-individualistic-cultures-2795273

Chung, V. Q., Gordon, J. S., Veledar, E., & Chen, S. C. (2010, November). Hot or not--evaluating the effect of artificial tanning on the public's perception of attractiveness. Retrieved December 25, 2018, from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20961347

Cosmetic Meaning in the Cambridge English Dictionary. (n.d.). Retrieved July 3, 2018, from https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/cosmetic

The Economist. (2017, November 18). Japanese women are working more, but few are getting ahead. Retrieved June 1, 2019, from https://www.economist.com/asia/2017/11/18/japanese-women-are-working-more-bu t-few-are-getting-ahead

The Fair Face of Japanese Beauty. (2013, October 31). Retrieved December 25, 2018, from https://www.nippon.com/en/views/b02602/

Hofstede Insights. (n.d. a). Compare countries. Retrieved May 30, 2019, from https://www.hofstede-insights.com/product/compare-countries/

57 Megumi Taruta (1M151151-3) Graduation Thesis

Hofstede Insights. (n.d. b). National Culture. Retrieved May 30, 2019, from https://www.hofstede-insights.com/models/national-culture/

Jacques, R. (2015, December 8). 4 Scientifically Proven Reasons You Should Wear Red Lipstick All the Time. Retrieved May 30, 2019, from https://www.allure.com/story/red-lipstick-at-work?mbid=social_twitter

Letzter, R. (2017, May 06). 9 science-backed ways to appear more attractive. Retrieved June 1, 2019, from https://www.businessinsider.com/ways-to-look-more-attractive-2017-5#be-nice-7

Nicolaou, A., & Keane, A. (2018, May 07). Retail: Is the beauty industry 'Amazon-proof'? Retrieved December 7, 2018, from https://www.ft.com/content/acfe1924-4de9-11e8-8a8e-22951a2d8493

Nikkei Staff Writers. (2018, January 27). Japan's cosmetics industry coming off another bumper year. Retrieved December 7, 2018, from https://asia.nikkei.com/Economy/Japan-s-cosmetics-industry-coming-off-another-bu mper-year

Psychologies. (2011, October 6). The Power of Red Lipstick. Retrieved May 30, 2019, from https://www.psychologies.co.uk/body/the-power-of-red-lipstick.html

Saad, G. (2011, June 13). Are Tanned People Perceived As More Attractive? Retrieved from https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/homo-consumericus/201106/are-tanned- people-perceived-more-attractive

58