Welcome to the world of beautiful makeup and beautiful skin at Shu Uemura. Now located on Fillmore Street, the second American retail store named after famed Japanese makeup artist Shu Uemura opened this May. Never heard of Shu Uemura? Like Max Factor before him, Uemura got his start in cosmetics in Hollywood for the entertainment industry before moving on to beautify the cognoscenti.

Long a cosmetics pioneer in Japan, Shu Uemura, which has stores in New York, as well as in Europe and Asia, comes full circle with a store in California. The shop is cool and modern, well lit and with plenty of room to wander. In contrast to the black and white interior is the large, colorful contemporary anime-meets-traditional-Japanese mural -- designed especially for the space by Japanese artist Ai Yamaguchi -- which graces the length of the boutique. Yamaguchi's designs can also be found on the some of the product packaging and the shopping bags. -- Amy Sherman