After the Second World War, the American Occupation oversaw the drafting of Japan’s new constitution. It also established American lifestyle as an ideal to be emulated. In 1964 Japan proudly hosted the Olympics in Tokyo, a visible sign of its remarkable postwar economic recovery. In the following decades, American popular culture increasingly dominated Japanese society, which was becoming both more cosmopolitan and—as elsewhere—more youth-oriented.

Cosmetics provided one means for women to reinvent themselves, literally "making themselves up." Red, black, and white—the traditional Japanese makeup colors—were joined by pinks and pastels. Pink was especially popular, both for its contemporary look and for its association with feminine values. Shiseido marketing campaigns—such as "Candy Tone" in 1961, "Cherry Pink" in 1965, and "Pink Pow Wow" in 1969—helped promote a new hip look.

By the late ’60s, Shiseido’s design department was world-renowned. Its ads displayed a wit and nonchalance akin to that of Pop Art. Its art directors and designers manipulated photographic images in unexpected ways, and new technological developments spurred them to employ unusual packaging materials. Shiseido’s television commercials were also on the cutting edge, coupling cinematic devices with up-to-date marketing techniques. Both ads and commercials depicted adventurous women who worked, enjoyed sports, and asserted themselves, while the subsequent hippie and psychedelic subcultures of the 1970s set the stage for a new era of fashion.