Shiseido has updated the Braille and large-print versions of its skincare and makeup manuals and the Braille labels on its products, to make its cosmetic and skincare lines easier to use for those with sight-related disabilities.
The beauty manuals were previously issued in separate Braille and large-print versions, but these have now been consolidated into two manuals (one for skincare and one for makeup) that can be used both by the totally blind and those with weak eyesight. When designing the manuals, brightness, color and illustrations were carefully utilized to make them as easy as possible to read.
The manuals contain the very latest in beauty-related information, including detailed information about makeup color, the aspect of beauty that most interests those with impaired sight. Easy-to-understand Braille pictures have been included to explain makeup-application techniques.
Shiseido will distribute the manuals through its Daily Beauty Care Seminars that it offers at schools for the blind, homes for the elderly and other welfare institutions throughout Japan.
The new Braille labels on products have been enlarged and give information about how the product should be applied.
Today, there are approximately 305,000 people throughout Japan with sight-related disabilities, 80 percent of whom have weak eyesight. Shiseido's policy of offering beauty-related information to customers with sight and other disabilities dates back to 1984, when it first began producing its Braille skincare manual and Braille product labels.
The company has also produced a quarterly beauty- and fashion-related information cassette tape, "Stylish Interlude," for 100 Braille lending libraries since 1987. The tapes are used by approximately 4,000 people per year.