At the Ma Belle cosmetics counter in a department store, the experienced and charismatic cosmetics expert Takagi Reiko, known as the cosmetics witch, uses her deep knowledge of makeup and skincare to help women transform their appearances and their lives. After her previous assistant graduates, a new recruit named Matsura Anzu joins the counter, full of determination to become a great cosmetics expert like Reiko. The team also includes a clueless male coworker, Hiroka Yukihiro, who took the job because of his crush on Reiko. Across the aisle is the rival Julia Beauty counter run by the flashy Julian Okuda.

The series unfolds in an episodic, omnibus format, with each story centered on a different customer who comes to Ma Belle with personal struggles, insecurities, or relationship troubles. Through personalized makeup consultations, skincare routines, and gentle guidance, Reiko and her staff help these women not only improve their outward appearance but also confront their inner conflicts and move toward self-acceptance and happiness. One of the earliest arcs involves two former friends: the plain but kind Minori, whose fiancé leaves her for the more conventionally attractive Ayaka. Both women end up at Ma Belle for different reasons, and Reiko must navigate the fraught situation to help them each find a genuine path forward. Later arcs explore Reiko’s own mysterious past as she undertakes a quest to find a true celebrity, which reveals a shocking backstory. Other notable storylines include a woman who has lost her confidence due to a lack of bust-line beauty and damage to her reputation; a client who cycles through selfish men and learns to make safer romantic choices through makeup; a handmade skincare segment featuring Reiko’s former protégé Mayumi Mizuno, who returns from New York; a total beauty project that works on both mind and body; and a focus on men’s beauty when Hiroka helps a man who misunderstands masculinity. The series also touches on the power of eye makeup to spark courage and joy, and a climactic story in which Anzu faces a career-changing challenge. Over the course of six volumes, the staff of Ma Belle grow alongside their customers, and the series concludes with a final arc emphasizing that real love and honest self-expression are the true sources of beauty.