Photo/Illutration Kikue Fukuhara, 99, holds the Guinness World Records certificate as oldest beauty adviser at a ceremony in Hiroshima on Oct. 1. At her left is Yoshikazu Yokote, president of Pola Inc. (Manae Narita)

HIROSHIMA—A woman who survived the atomic bombing of Hiroshima and has lived by the motto “try it myself” was certified by Guinness World Records as the oldest beauty adviser.

“It is unbelievable and an honor to receive the certificate,” Kikue Fukuhara, 99, said at a ceremony held here on Oct. 1. “It is all thanks to the support of my customers and family.”

Fukuhara was 1.3 kilometers north of Ground Zero when the U.S. atomic bomb detonated over Hiroshima on Aug. 6, 1945. But she suffered only a mild injury.

She later married, and the couple moved to an apartment run by the husband’s company. A sales representative from major cosmetics maker Pola Inc. visited the apartment and asked Fukuhara if she was interested in working as a home-visit saleswoman.

Fukuhara started working as a Pola representative in 1960.

Nearly 60 years later, she currently visits her customers as a beauty director to provide advice on how to use cosmetics while promoting and selling the company’s products.

Fukuhara makes around 10 sales a month.

One of her other mottoes is: “Never force customers to buy products.” She has been careful in selecting and recommending what her customers really need.

“Even when sales increase, it means nothing unless products make your customers more beautiful,” Fukuhara said.

But it is now difficult for Fukuhara to walk without her cane or an assistant, so her son drives her to her customers’ homes or she uses a taxi.

Some clients call her for help for skin problems. Her oldest customer has turned 96.

Fukuhara has increased her client list by reaching out to members of a “nagauta” traditional song club to which she belongs.

“Customers are like friends to me,” Fukuhara said.

She often chats over tea and snacks with her clients, and many of them tell her that they are looking forward to seeing her again.

Asked how she can keep working so energetically, Fukuhara cited “meat” as the source of her vitality. She has nine grandchildren in their 30s and 40s, and she usually eats grilled meat and “shabu-shabu” boiled meat at their birthday parties with other family members.

“I will continue working as long as customers await me,” Fukuhara said.

Pola sales representatives work under freelance contracts, so they do not have to retire at a certain age.

Pola has had so many long-term beauty directors that a book titled “Bibaden” (Story of beautiful old women) was published by Kodansha Ltd. in 2012, introducing Fukuhara and 10 other saleswomen aged 90 or older.