New Shiseido makeup washes off with warm water alone

Japanese cosmetics brand Shiseido has launched its Fullmake Washable Base, which can be washed off with nothing more than warm water.

Makeup users often spend just as long taking off their makeup as they do putting it on. Those with busy schedules, as well as people whose skin suffers from the repeated effects of makeup remover, will be happy to hear about Shiseido's innovation.

Inspired by the Japanese phenomenon of asakatsu, or morning activities, the brand has seen customers with "increased interest in achieving optimum work-life balance or making effective use of the morning hours by getting up earlier." This new product might just win them a few minutes in the evening.

According to the brand, the Fullmake Washable Base uses a "Veil Action Polymer" that is hydrophobic to cold water but hydrophilic to warm water. This means the product doesn't react to cold water (so you're safe in a rainstorm) but washes off the face easily when mixed with warm water, removing any makeup on top of it too.

Shiseido claims the product also "helps smooth out unevenness and fine wrinkles, helps foundation, eye color, and lipstick adhere tightly to the skin and lips, and illuminates the skin with a natural glow."

The brand is also claiming that the product will help to save water, as each time the makeup is removed the face doesn't need to be rinsed a second time to remove traces of face-cleaning products. Using one 35g tube of the Fullmake product should require 90 liters less water than a traditional product, according to the brand's calculations.

The product appeared for pre-order in December on Shiseido's Japanese-language companion beauty website "watashi+" and will be sold at Shiseido stores from March 2013 for 1,050 yen ($12).

Shiseido Fullmake Washable Base