The name Shiseido comes from a passage in the Chinese classic I Ching (Book of Changes) meaning "praise the virtues of the earth which nurtures new life and brings forth significant values".

After Shinzō's experience traveling to Europe and the United States, he became interested in advertising as a large selling point for Shiseido which lead him to dedicate extensive resources to the company's design, much of which can be seen from product packaging and magazines from this time.

The more contemporary images showed women with hair swept up rather than cascading back and incorporated trendy art nouveau style block scripts.

[10] This shift in imagery coincided with increasing Western influence in Japan, allowing Shiseido to capitalize on this cultural change.

Since Shiseido did not want to tarnish their deluxe brand image their designs and advertisements continued to incorporate highly stylized luxurious motifs.

Despite an adherence to these motifs, Shiseido advertisements explicitly emphasized the utilitarian aspects of their products over their luxury, for instance toothpaste was endorsed for keeping teeth and gums healthy (rather than for making them beautifully white).

[10] Shiseido's public relations magazines are aimed at “inspiring a life of beauty and culture,” following the company's stated corporate ideal.

[24] In November 2023, Shiseido cut their profit forecast and suffered a 14% decline in stock price, the largest drop in a single day since October 2008.

Shiseido cited dropping demand in the Chinese market due to the release of treated wastewater from the Fukushima Daiichi reactor into the Pacific Ocean, after approval by the IAEA.

The politicized domestic reporting of this decision drove Chinese customers to boycott or avoid Japanese cosmetics brands.

[27] On January 18, 2017, Shiseido acquired Palo Alto, California-based, digital tech company MATCHCo, a startup described by co-founder and former professional skateboarder, Andy Howell, as "AI for beauty.

"[28] The MATCHCo technology was rebranded by Shiseido as MADE-2-FIT, a bareMinerals iPhone app which offered "precise skin tone analysis via a set of simple user scans, with the help of a virtual makeup artist with voice guidance.

[31] Shiseido produces a line of cosmetics simply called "The Makeup" that provide a full range of products including: lip products, powder eye shadows, eye liner pencils, mascara, fluid and compact foundations, concealers, and powder blushes.

[33] The beauty consumers liked to apply up to seven different colors of face powder including ‘’ white, yellow, flesh, rose, peony, green and purple’’ to match their skin tone.

In defense of its decision, the company stated "We have decided to make NARS available in China because we feel it is important to bring our vision of beauty and artistry to fans in the region.