SK-II STUDIO, a film studio owned by the global skincare brand SK-II, has released a new animated anthology series entitled VS in collaboration with the world’s top athletes. It features six stories with athletes taking on pressures that threaten to dictate their destiny in order to #CHANGEDESTINY.

The Animations

‘VS Trolls’ featuring Simone Biles

‘VS Obsession’ featuring Liu Xiang

‘VS Pressure’ featuring Kasumi Ishikawa

‘VS Rules’ featuring Mahina Maeda

‘VS Limitations’ featuring Hinotori Nippon

‘VS Machines’ featuring Ayaka Takahashi and Misaki Matsutomo

SK-II STUDIO’s VS series is a collection of six animated films based on the life experiences of six Olympic athletes: Simone Biles, the gymnast who has won the most medals worldwide; LiuXiang, a world-record swimmer; Ishikawa Kasumi, table tennis player and two-time Olympic medalist; Ayaka Takahashi and Misaki Matsutomo, badminton duo and Olympic gold medalists; Mahina Maeda, surfer; and Hinotori Nippon, the Japan women’s national volleyball team. Each athlete explores what it means to take destiny in their own hands, overcoming societal expectations that dictate how perfect we should look and act.

Each short film explores a different societal pressure experience by women: online trolls, pressure from those around us, looks, rules on what’s considered beautiful, limitations imposed by others, and seeking perfection like machines. Each is represented as a ‘kaiju,’ a form of giant monster seen in Japanese movies.

The VR series combines animation with live-action woven together through multiple genres like sci-fi, action, sports, and more. It invites award-winning studios on board including Imaginary Forces, Passion Pictures, Platige Image, and C3, as well as original music by guest artists John Legend, Lexie Liu, and others.

The animated series released worldwide on May 1, 2021 on SK-II’s official  YouTube channel. A virtual premiere was also held on the brand’s Twitter page, and an in-person premiere took place in Hainan, China with a pop-up store at Haitang Bay Duty Free Shopping Centre in Sanya in partnership with China Duty Free Group. It also saw the opening of SK-II City, a virtual city built by SK-II where visitors can watch all six films in a the virtual SK-II Cinema. It’s also home to the SK-II Mall where users can buy products, and they can also enjoy a backstage tour of SK-II STUDIO.

SK-II STUDIO was established in March this year in an effort to further promote SK-II’s #CHANGEDESTINY campaign to support female empowerment over social pressures. The VR series comes as part of this with a string of positive messages.

Global skincare brand SK-II launched three ‘Street Art Limited Edition’ versions of their Facial Treatment Essence on October 21, 2020 and released a commercial to promote them.

SK-II is a Japanese cosmetics brand which launched 40 years ago. Since its establishment, it has been enjoyed by women the world over for its range of high quality skin care products, including Pitera™, the brand’s award-winning facial treatment essence. This same essence is being released once again in three limited-edition versions featuring street art packaging.

The promotional video for the item stars Japanese actress Haruka Ayase, American actress Chloë Grace Moretz, and Chinese singer-songwriter Leah Dou. The video was directed by Grammy-nominated director Andrew Thomas Huang who has directed music video for such talent as Bjork and Thomas Yorke. The three stars in the video each sing Fantasy by Mariah Carey in their respective languages: Japanese, English, and Chinese.

Facial Treatment Essence Street Art Limited Edition (Red/Yellow/White) | ¥22,000 Each (Before Tax)

The packaging designs for the limited-edition product feature a combination of the Japanese furoshiki wrapping cloth style and street art.

Global skincare brand SK-II launched a new video series on YouTube on June 19 titled “Pitera™ Masterclass.” Featuring comedian and fashion designer Naomi Watanabe, English actor, comedian and talk show host James Corden, multi award-winning American singer-songwriter John Legend and Chinese actress and SK-II ambassador Tang Wei, the series is the new edition to their first beauty entertainment series #BareSkinChat.

The first video is a trailer for the new series and showcases what’s to come as the four of them work to uncover the secrets of Pitera™. The video also showcases the first ever SK-II original rap song entitled Oh Pitera™.

Pitera™ is a cosmetic award-winning facial treatment essence enjoyed for its ability to leave skin clear, radiant and glowing. The secret to how it’s made and how it’s able to make skin event with the deepest wrinkles smooth and beautiful has been kept under wraps since it was first released.

Speaking about the new video series, Naomi Watanaba comments: “It’s a completely mystery that it was me who was placed amongst the other members [of the video series], but I’m extremely happy that I was able to convey the wonder of Pitera together with the most amazing time. It was fun. Everyone was really bright and cheery on set. Me and James are both comedians so we had that in common. We both got constantly carried away but I think that also helped us to better and more easily convey what’s good about Pitera. John Legend’s Oh Pitera was insatiable, it gave me chills. Look forward to seeing me challenging myself to have a conversation in English for the first time too.”

SK-II continues to revolutionise the way customers experience shopping for skincare productcs as it announces SK-II Future X, an upcoming limited-time event that will run from April 24 to 30 on the first floor of Isetan Shinjuku.

At SK-II Future X, shoppers will be able to remove the stress from looking for skin care products in an environment that combines the physical with the digital―and they are free to come and go as they please. This exciting experience will provide plenty of interactive ways of shopping.

“Magic Scan” is the name of Japan’s first piece of AI technology that can measure one’s skin, and it will be used at this event. All you have to do is stand in front of a mirror for about 3 minutes. The tech will determine the condition of your skin, its age, and recommend the right skin care products for you. It does this by paying attention to tremors in the skin.

The SK-II Facial Treatment Essence will also be sold at the event with a limited edition design. This beautifying essence contains over 90% Pitera™, a multiple award-winning naturally-derived ingredient. Shoppers can also enjoy pre-sales of their Facial Treatment Essence Spring Red Limited Edition which isn’t set to go on sale in Japan until May 10. Purchasing these products gets you a go on the Pitera™ Vending Machine which will change the design of your bottle.

Other services will include a 180° selfie booth, an AR wall where you can learn some of the secrets behind Pitera™, and more. If you’re wanting to find out ways to care for your skin then be sure to visit.

Global skincare brand SK-Ⅱ will release the first episode of the new beauty entertainment series called “Suppin Suhada Talk” on 25th March. The official trailer was released on 20th March.

One of the participants in the talk series includes Naomi Watanabe, a famous Japanese comedian who is known is the “Japanese Beyoncé” and has also performed overseas. Another other is James Corden; the host from the American TV show “The Late Late Show”, who is also famous for his carpool karaoke hosting. This will be  James’ and Naomi’s first ever time to take part in the video series! The two comedians will suddenly appear in the bathrooms of famous actresses Kasumi Arimura and Chloë Grace Moretz. Throughout the series, the viewers and comedians will then uncover beauty secrets from the actresses that everyone is dying to know.

From the other side of the closed door, one by one, the four participants burst into a charming or silly pose that they have never shown anyone before. With all their might, Arimura Takahashi and Chloe Moretz challenge themselves to everything from beatboxing to dancing to ASMR. They will also reveal their beauty secrets and try out the SK-II PiteraTM * Essence (facial treatment) which is “just like liquid foundation”.

The first episode of the “Suppin Suhada Talk” series will be released worldwide on 25th March at the same time. After that, a new episode will be released every two weeks to form a sequel. Gradually, the secrets of beauty will be unravelled!

Statements from the participants:

Kasumi Arimura

For this series, I was given the role of explaining the amazing qualities of Pitera™ to Naomi Watanabe ー it’s a pretty heavy role and before the shoot I was nervous thinking about it but after the shoot I felt completely different ー I was relaxed and really enjoyed myself! I was not sure how Watanabe would react during the shoot so I just acted natural and interacted with her in a fun way! I’ll be very happy if everyone watching also feels just as enthusiastic about Pitera™!

Naomi Watanabe

This is a brand I have always adored, so when I first heard the news about being part of the series I was so happy. As a comedian, I had fun interacting with Arimura and incorporating comedy into the introduction of the product ー I think it is a very original idea and made the shoot really fun! Whilst being given the freedom to steer the show, I could really feel Arimura’s enthusiasm to spread the news about Pitera™. It was fun and I learned a lot about SK- II. I say this in the video too but… I think this is something that a god would even purchases!

Chloë Grace Moretz

The video shoot was really fun and the set was overflowing with laughter. I’m pretty sure viewers at home will also be able to sense the fun. There are times when you don’t want to be thinking too seriously about skincare but would rather just have fun!

James Corden

Me being associated with a skincare brand is nothing to be surprised about. I have always been a big fan. Nowadays, SK-II is essential to support my skin every morning and afternoon and evening.

Japanese cosmetics brand SK-II has opened a pop-up shop called SK-II Wonderland at CASE B in Harajuku, Tokyo.

The store lets customers use an AR application that combines Google’s latest AR technology “AR Core” with SK-II’s accumulated knowledge on skin to create skin and skin care themed digital art.

Upon entering the shop you are transported into the colourful world seen on the bottle of the SK-II KARAN Limited Edition Facial Treatment Essence which was made in collaboration with KARAN, an artist from the Netherlands. This artwork comes to life when using the AR app, which is available in English, Japanese and Chinese.

The first floor of the building houses three rooms each with different designs inspired by the limited edition bottles. Using the app opens up the room to a whole world of colours. There are 26 different things to interact with via the app while in the rooms.

You can even find out the age of your skin up at the second floor booth. This is done by taking a photo of  your skin which will be compared to other skin types in SK-II’s information-packed database.

It can be a little nerve-wracking to do it, but my skin is 9 years younger than my actual age, and my cameraman was also 5 years younger, so we were super relieved.

You will also find the “Pitera Table” at the shop which reacts to the KARAN limited edition bottle and people’s movements. It can tell you all about SK-II’s miracle Pitera ingredient.

Of course, there are things to buy at the pop-up shop too, so if you’re in Harajuku before to stop by SK-II Wonderland to enjoy some digital art while finding out the actual age of your skin.