The ceremony company Kose (Headquarters: Chuo-ku, Tokyo; President: Kazutoshi Kobayashi) has demonstrated both an increase in well-being indicators representing “happiness” and an increase in positive emotions by simply using one makeup item to relieve skin problems, as men currently not wearing makeup are increasing. In response to these results, starting this early summer, we will be incorporating the “1 item 1 minute makeup technique” into customer service and makeup lessons at stores as one of our makeup proposals. This technique can be used regardless of gender. While lowering the hurdles to makeup for men, we aim to create a makeup culture where everyone, regardless of gender, can easily incorporate makeup into their lives while widely disseminating the power of makeup, such as a sense of emotional fulfillment and happiness.
※ This is an increase in well-being indicators.

In recent years, opportunities to look back at themselves have increased due to the COVID-19 pandemic, so there is a growing trend for men to incorporate not only skin care but also makeup on a daily basis. While we respect the diverse values of our customers and make proposals that meet the needs of each person regardless of gender, we provide makeup techniques to our customers through storefront customer service for men who want to incorporate makeup for the purpose of grooming themselves.
At our company, in addition to being fun, we believe that makeup has the power to cover skin problems and give confidence, and we would like to provide that power to many people regardless of gender, so that they can spend every day in a more positive way. Therefore, this time, we examined ways to further lower makeup hurdles for people who have never adopted makeup because “makeup has multiple steps,” etc., and examined whether reducing the number of items used and steps in terms of technique to a minimum would lead to a positive change in mind.

Investigation of changes in well-being and positive emotions due to the use of one makeup item
55 “men suffering from acne scars and currently not wearing makeup” were asked to use only 1 BB cream for 1 month at the desired frequency in order to verify whether a positive change in the user's mind can occur even when only 1 makeup item is used. Changes in well-being indicators and positive emotions were investigated through questionnaires before and after use. Since the area and extent of the problem differs from person to person even with the same acne scar, individual makeup lessons were conducted before the investigation began, and simple usage was conveyed according to each target person.

■Target audience: 55 men in their 20s (50 people) and men in their 30s (5 people) with acne scar problems

■Items used: KOSE Cosmeport “Manifique BB Cream”〈Daytime Face Color Cream〉

■Survey period: From 2023/11/23 to 2024/1/16, participants were divided into multiple groups and lessons were conducted, and a questionnaire survey was conducted

■Survey method: Conduct a “wellbeing evaluation questionnaire*1” and “positive emotion frequency questionnaire*2” before and after use
*1 Subjective Happiness Scale and Coordinated Happiness Scale are used as wellbeing evaluation indicators
*2 Use The Positive and Negative Affect Schedule (PANAS) as a positive emotion frequency index

■Results: According to questionnaire results one month after the lesson, over 92% of participants used BB cream several times a month or more or every day. Among them, with regard to well-being indicators, the subjective happiness scale consisting of “is your current life happy compared to the past” improved for 69% of the target subjects, and the cooperative happiness scale consisting of “I think you are making your loved ones happy” improved for 61% of the subjects. Also, the frequency of occurrence of positive feelings such as “fired up” increased in 71% of the target audience.

About “1 Product 1 Minute Makeup Technique”
Based on the above results, we plan to incorporate the “1 product 1 minute makeup technique” into storefront customer service and makeup lessons starting early summer of this year as one of our makeup proposals. In the first place, base makeup is often used by combining processes such as makeup base, foundation, and concealer, etc., but this technique of applying only one product directly to bare skin is easy to incorporate even for people who have felt that using multiple makeup items until now is a high hurdle, and makeup can be completed in a short time. In addition to BB cream, we will select items according to each person's skin concerns, such as 1 face powder and 1 concealer, and suggest ways to use them according to the skin condition.

[Example of a “1 product 1 minute makeup technique” that uses 1 makeup item for skin suffering from acne scars]

(extensive acne scars)
① Apply BB cream to the acne scars you are concerned about with your fingers.
② Blend in by tapping gently with your finger.
(partial acne scars)
① Pinpoint the concealer onto only the acne scars you are concerned about.
② Use fingers without concealer to blend in the contours.
Supervised by Kose Beauty Creation Unit

About “3G” to create new customers
In “VISION2026,” we use “3G,” which takes the respective initials of global (global), gender (gender), and generation (generation), as a new expansion area for “customer development” in the future, and we are working to create customers while being close to as many customers as possible, considering a wider range of people regardless of gender or age. Of these, “gender,” in order to respond to male makeup needs that have increased in recent years, unique techniques etc. are once again disseminated internally and externally, and incorporated into beauty consultant education so that they can also be introduced at stores. Furthermore, we continue to hold men's makeup lessons at our directly managed stores “Maison KOSÉ Ginza” and “Maison KOSÉ Omotesando,” and online seminars have also been held since 2024.