TOKYO, DAILY RHYTHMS
Haruka Tazaki, makeup artist and beauty director, shapes her days around stillness. Her mornings begin with meditation and incense, a deliberate pause before the city wakes up.
Living between Tokyo and abroad, Haruka finds that returning to the city always brings a new perspective. Leaving and coming back allows her to rediscover its contrasts, traditions and particular sense of beauty.
– “Returning to Tokyo always feels new.”
Her days begin quietly: meditation, cleaning her space and lighting incense to set the atmosphere. She takes walks, sometimes picking up litter along the way as a small act of mindfulness, before moving into work.
There is no single corner of Tokyo she calls her own.
– “Wherever I’m needed becomes my place of belonging.”
When she needs calm, she turns inward through meditation. If she had to choose a physical place, it would be the ocean in Okinawa.
In a city constantly moving forward, she finds inspiration in what remains: traditional craftsmanship, artisans who continue to work with care and intention, and the quiet elegance she finds in the Japanese language.
BEAUTY AS REFINEMENT
As a makeup artist and beauty director, Haruka’s approach to beauty begins with the skin.
– “Skincare is the most essential foundation of makeup.”
For Haruka, the essence of Japanese beauty lies in refinement. Not concealing or dramatically transforming, but gently enhancing what is already there.
It’s an approach that extends beyond makeup. Beauty is also about creating harmony in the mind and in the space around you.
– “True timeless beauty is about finding what suits each individual.”
Like an artwork that continues to resonate across generations, she believes makeup can have a timeless quality when it works with the individual rather than against them.
GLOW FROM WITHIN
Glow, for Haruka, isn’t something created by makeup alone.
– “A true glow is not created through technique or product performance alone.”
It comes from the way we care for ourselves. When skincare and makeup are approached with care, they can create confidence and a sense of happiness that naturally becomes visible on the outside.
Skincare therefore becomes more than a beauty routine.
– “It’s a practice that brings balance to the mind.”
She is drawn to traditional Japanese ingredients such as sake and rice bran, but also to the philosophy of wabi-sabi: finding beauty in imperfection, change and the passage of time rather than trying to resist it.
CARE AS AN EVERYDAY ACT
That same thinking is reflected in hemmate, the intimate care brand Haruka is behind, created with the ambition to change the way feminine care is perceived in Japan.
In a culture where intimate care can still be approached conservatively, she wants caring for the body to become something natural rather than hidden.
– “By consciously caring for our bodies, especially the unseen parts, we cultivate self-love and a deeper sense of fulfillment.”
The ambition is for hemmate to feel as intuitive in everyday life as reaching for a lip balm or fragrance – a small gesture of care that quietly becomes part of a routine.
Everything from formulation to packaging is made in Japan. Delicate craftsmanship and thoughtfulness run through the details, from illustrations created by Haruka herself to softly textured materials reminiscent of washi paper.
A DIFFERENT IDEA OF MODERN BEAUTY
For Haruka, modern beauty is moving away from hiding and correcting. It is about understanding yourself, making intentional choices and allowing beauty to change with you.
– “Not about surface perfection, but about deepening your inner self through an ongoing dialogue with who you are.”
Perhaps that also explains the Japanese expression she returns to: ichigo ichie – a once-in-a-lifetime encounter.
A reminder to pay attention to what is here, now.