Makeup artist Rie Shiihira's new book "When You Understand the Why, Your Makeup Changes. Your Life Changes, Too: Finding Your Own Makeup Through Bone Structure" will be released as an Amazon Kindle edition by Office Seike BOOKS Co., Ltd. on August 26, 2026.
Shiihira has 29 years of makeup experience and has worked with about 40,000 faces so far. Rather than being a collection of mere makeup techniques, the book aims to change how readers see themselves through her original "Skeletal Analysis Pentagon Makeup®."
Discovering "Your Own Beauty" Through Bone Structure
With a long career behind her, Shiihira worked as a beauty advisor for a foreign-owned makeup brand and gained experience in a wide range of settings, including Tokyo Collection, fashion shows, magazines and television.
However, she hit the wall of being unable to explain the "why" of makeup in words, and from there began researching the reasons behind makeup.
The Original "Skeletal Analysis Pentagon Makeup®"
What Shiihira values is an approach that does not look at just one specific part of the face, but analyzes "why it looks that way" all the way back to the bone structure.
This way of thinking was systematized as the registered trademark "Skeletal Analysis Pentagon Makeup®" (Trademark No. 6339613).
Characteristics of the facial bones and muscles are derived from 25 points, and by connecting them with lines, the invisible skeleton is "visualized." This makes it possible to analyze each person's natural dimensionality and left-right differences and work out a makeup method tailored to the individual.
A Makeup Theory That Overturns Conventional Wisdom
The book also introduces Shiihira's "reverse thinking" about makeup, drawn from her many years of experience and research.
For example, a common way to make a long face look shorter is to add horizontal light or shadow, but she explains that when you analyze the bone structure, some areas are in fact short, and adding horizontal lines there can emphasize the longer parts.
For this reason, she says that for some people, adding "vertical" light or shadow to the short areas can make the face look naturally shorter. The book also introduces ways of thinking that use optical illusions, such as "showing your forehead makes the middle of your face look shorter than hiding it with bangs."
What Makeup Changes Is "Self-Perception and Confidence"
The book conveys more than mere makeup techniques. Having once been called a "charismatic beauty advisor" while still lacking confidence in herself, Shiihira shares the idea that "what makeup really changes is not your face, but your self-perception and confidence."
Shiihira says that by knowing your own bone structure and features and understanding "why this suits me," you no longer need to compare yourself with others, and the way you see yourself changes.
Shiihira's Life Story and How It Led to Her Method
The book contains not only makeup theory but also Shiihira's life story.
She grew up in the mountains of Tokushima Prefecture and went on to a beauty vocational school. She was part of the first generation of staff when a foreign-owned makeup brand entered Japan, working on the front lines of beauty.
After giving birth, she went through the hardships of raising a child and her own illness, and then went independent. She put her last monthly salary into investing in herself and started working as a freelancer in April 2019. On May 11, 2020, she established the Japan Skeletal Analysis Makeup Association (a general incorporated association), and today nearly 100 students have taken its school courses.
Looking back, she says that experiences that seemed like detours at the time have led to her current method.
In the book, Shiihira writes: "You are you, and you cannot become someone else. Know yourself and enjoy yourself. As long as you want to be someone else, you will not become beautiful. There is always a beauty that is yours alone."
What the book hopes to deliver is not a "right answer for makeup" but an opportunity to know yourself. When your makeup changes, your heart changes. When your heart changes, your expression changes. When your expression changes, even the people you meet change. This is a book filled with such thoughts.
Book Information
Title: "When You Understand the Why, Your Makeup Changes. Your Life Changes, Too."
Subtitle: Finding Your Own Makeup Through Bone Structure
Author: Rie Shiihira
Release date: August 26, 2026
Sold at: Amazon Kindle
Book purchase URL: Not yet public
About the Author
Rie Shiihira is a makeup artist, the founder of Skeletal Analysis Pentagon Makeup®, the head of Office RIE and the head of the Japan Skeletal Analysis Makeup Association (a general incorporated association).
With 29 years of makeup experience and over 17 years as an instructor, she has worked on about 40,000 people and trained more than 200 professionals.
She established her original method, "Skeletal Analysis Pentagon Makeup®" (Trademark No. 6339613), which blends skeletal analysis with her interest in Eastern medicine (the Five Elements) and more.
In 2024 she was selected for the official hair and makeup team of the IFBB World Championships, and she now runs programs including Pentagon Makeup analyst training, a professional development course and makeup lessons for the general public.
