When asked to tell “what they want out of lipstick”, about 500 women in their 20s to 50s surveyed by Shiseido in April 2008, indicated a high awareness regarding such matters as “lips that look full and plump” and “less noticeable lip wrinkles and lines ” in addition to matters related to “texture and colour.”

However, according to Shiseido, existing lipstick pigments cannot address brightness and wrinkle concealing simultaneously. Indeed, existing pearlizing agents that are widely used in lipstick have a plate-like shape, which gives them a vivid colour tone, excellent brilliance and lustre, but tend to emphasize the difference in brightness of uneven areas, thereby making wrinkles and lines more easily noticeable.

Shiseido therefore changed the pigment’s shape and developed a new spherical substance.

Spherical pigments are not unknown in cosmetology. They are formulated in foundations for such purposes as correcting skin unevenness, but are not effective enough in oil based lipsticks and other cosmetic products.

The Japanese cosmetics giant had to develop en entire new ingredient, using innovative technologies to coat high-refractive-index powder with high light-diffusing properties as a pearlizing.

Shiseido says the new spherical pigment makes light reflect evenly, giving lips a radiant shine and making lip wrinkles and lines less noticeable. The company should apply this technology to future lipstick products very soon.