I'll not do my own research by interviewing all the creator or founder of this company/brand. So, allow me to just copy and paste directly from wikipedia. SK-II is widely used by women and often considered one of the most expensive beauty brands in the world. As the most "trusted" website, so why not we just trust wikipedia to do all the works?
The history of SK-II goes back over 30 years ago when a scientist in Japan noticed the very soft and youthful hands of women working in a Japanese saké brewery. After years of research the scientists were able to isolated the natural, nutrient-rich liquid which they called, Pitera.
In 1980, the Japanese branch of Max Factor acquired rights to the ingredient, and launched the first cosmetic product containing the ingredient: Max Factor Success Key with Pitera. Although only modestly successful, its customer base was very loyal, so Max Factor expanded the range, renaming it Max Factor SK-II.
Max Factor would flip through five different owners, each of whom ignored the SK-II product, until 1995, when current owner Procter and Gamble executive and brand manager A.G. Lafley was sent to Japan to overhaul P&G's declining business in Asia. Lafley made several changes to the company, including several at Max Factor: Lafley discovered Japanese women disliked the brand, so he focused instead on the SK-II cream instead. Within five years, it would become Japan's top prestige cosmetics brand, outselling Shiseido. SK-II has since expanded into several markets, however, products sold outside of Asia do not bear the Max Factor name; the brand it simply called "SK-II". In Japan, and most of Asia, SK-II is a sub-brand of Max Factor, and still bear his name.
