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Unique Quality Testing
SHISEIDO never compromises on safety and quality and this commitment to our customers is why we have developed unique quality tests for every point in the production process. Every single production process we undertake is intricately thought out to maintain continuity of quality. Once a product is produced, SHISEIDO’s products undergo final, unique sensory and quality inspection phases.
Sensory Panelist
This last inspection phase detects properties such as color and smells that cannot be gauged by machinery and is conducted by inspectors called “sensory panelists,” who possess capabilities that they have gained through constant effort and discipline. These capabilities, as accurate as precision equipment, ensure the inimitable quality of our cosmetics.
Each panelist engages in six months of rigorous training to fully utilize their five senses when inspecting their products. After training they know how to spot a slight shade difference in a color and inspect scents at a level that cannot be done with a machine. They meticulously sterilize their hands before and after work, and strictly manage their health in their personal time to ensure they do not catch a cold. In fact, there are some sensory panelists in one factory in Japan that have not visited a doctor for illness in more than 10 years.
There are only 11 sensory panelists out of the approximately 1,000 employees in SHISEIDO’s Kamakura, Japan-based factory who inspect as many as 200 types of cosmetics per day. These special “gatekeepers” boast of highly keen sensory capabilities, and are highly regarded within SHISEIDO for their invaluable contributions.
Durability
Beyond the lab, we conduct a number of tests based on contact points between our products and our customers to test the durability of each product. These unique tests cover a wide range of situations that our customer would face in a normal or hectic day.
In a “drop test” products are dropped from different heights according to possible situations that would occur in a day along with the characteristics of the products. This test helps us determine whether or not the product can withstand repeated falls from different angles, including erect, inverted, and lateral angles. Other unique tests include:
A “wiper test” checks the durability of SHISEIDO lipsticks by repeatedly swiping the lipstick back and forth, mimicking the motion and speed that a consumer would use when applying lipstick on a daily basis. This test helps ensure that the lipstick can be used to the very end.
Other unique testing includes a “tube compression test” to make sure the contents do not change when repeatedly used tubed products, a “temparature stability test” that confirms the stability of the ingredients when exposed to sunlight, “temperature stability test” to check that extreme heat or cold do not effective the product, and a “transportation test” to guarantee that the shock of shipping does not effect the product.
