SERUM | Shiseido Vital Perfection LiftDefine serum

The pump gets residue from the serum which they can definitely improve on

Wow it’s been a minute since I used Shiseido products. One of my friends who has great skin recommended this to me. Ofc we all know at this point skincare is probably 80% genetics, but we can always try to look slightly better!

This serum has a very nice scent which is against all skincare education that is popular right now, the serum itself is pretty moisturizing and I use it every morning. Haven’t noticed a huge difference but at least this was on sale at Costco. I think if you don’t currently use a serum this might make a minor difference – for me I notice the most difference when using a salicylic acid cleanser, clay mask, a retinol and my red light treatments!

Price: $154.99 for 2.7 oz at Costco ($225 retail otherwise)

Ingredients

Water (Aqua/Eau), Dipropylene Glycol, Dimethicone, Glycerin, Butylene Glycol, Behenyl Alcohol, Maltitol, Triethylhexanoin, Potassium Methoxysalicylate, Polyvinyl Alcohol, Peg/Ppg-14/7 Dimethyl Ether, Phenoxyethanol, Trimethylsiloxysilicate, Batyl Alcohol, Behenic Acid, Peg-60 Glyceryl Isostearate, Peg-10 Dimethicone, Fragrance (Parfum), Phytosteryl/Octyldodecyl Lauroyl Glutamate, Disodium Edta, Myristyl Myristate, Tocopheryl Acetate, Rosa Damascena Flower Water, Potassium Hydroxide, Sodium Citrate, 2-O-Ethyl Ascorbic Acid, Alcohol, Caffeine, Citric Acid, Lavandula Angustifolia (Lavender) Oil, Sodium Metaphosphate, Ppg-3 Dipivalate, Limonene, Hexyl Cinnamal, Linalool, Tocopherol, Glucosamine Hcl, Citronellol, Lilium Candidum Bulb Extract, Sodium Metabisulfite, Angelica Acutiloba Root Extract, Angelica Keiskei Leaf/Stem Extract, Olea Europaea (Olive) Leaf Extract, Lamium Album Flower/Leaf/Stem Extract, Camellia Sinensis Leaf Extract, Inositol, Carthamus Tinctorius (Safflower) Flower Extract, Iron Oxides (Ci 77492), Ziziphus Jujuba Fruit Extract, Iron Oxides (Ci 77491), Rosmarinus Officinalis (Rosemary) Leaf Extract (Rosmarinus Officinalis Leaf Extract), Cellulose, Nasturtium Officinale Leaf/Stem Extract, Cinnamomum Cassia Bark Extract, Bupleurum Falcatum Root Extract

Do you have a favorite anti-aging serum? I have been eyeing the La Prairie one but I feel like anything over $300 you might as well get skin treatments in Korea or Taiwan.

SPF | Shiseido Urban Environment SPF 42

Ingredients

-Peony Root Extract: Visibly minimizes pores.
-Sebum-Absorbing Powder: Removes excess oil.

SPF Filters: Homosalate 5.0%, Octisalate 5.0%, Octocrylene 5.0%, Zinc Oxide 9.7%,

Water, Isododecane, Dimethicone, SD Alcohol 40-B, Dipropylene Glycol, Ethylhexyl Palmitate, PEG-10 Dimethicone, Glycerin, Polymethylsilsesquioxane, Vinyl Dimethicone/Methicone Silsesquioxane Crosspolymer, Polybutylene Glycol/PPG-9/1 Copolymer, Xylitol, Silica, Methyl Methacrylate Crosspolymer, Thiotaurine, Scutellaria Baicalensis Root Extract, Paeonia Albiflora Root Extract, Ononis Spinosaroot Extract, Ectoin, Lauryl PEG-9 Polydimethylsiloxyethyl Dimethicone, Hydrogen Dimethicone, Butylene Glycol, Disodium EDTA, Disteardimonium Hectorite, Tocopherol, Aluminum Hydroxide, Triethoxycaprylylsilane, Sodium Metabisulfite, Syzygium Jambos Leaf Extract, Phenoxyethanol, Benzoic Acid, Fragrance, Titanium Dioxide, Mica.

I’ve been eyeing this SPF for quite some time but I kept buying other ones. Influenster sent this to me recently for a review, which I am surprised at bc I thought this was the best selling SPF at Sephora at one point. The bottle requires shaking, this formula dries matte and gives a slight white cast, which is ok if you wear makeup – it does fade a bit over time. Since it dries matte it can be a good base for makeup. There is a fragrance which a lot of Shiseido products carry, which I don’t mind. I also have the blue bottle version from Shiseido which is still expensive but better value, but that one has a dewy finish and is a chemical sunscreen, as opposed to a chemical/mineral hybrid which this one is.

Price: $35 for 1 oz / 30 ml, or $48 for 1.7 oz. As an SPF connoisseur I actually think this is a bit overpriced, you have to apply an ample amount of sunscreen to get full protection and I can see this bottle going super quickly if you reapply. However, Shiseido is considered a higher end brand… so it really depends on what you want to spend your money on! Get it here on Amazon.

MASCARA | Shiseido ImperialLash MascaraInk waterproof

This brush looks really promising right? But my lashes are slightly clumped in twos

Bare lashes | one coat | 2 coats
It’s very defining but not separating

If you have thin lashes like me, you can probably skip this mascara. I suspect the wand doesn’t deposit enough product, so the regular black spoolies might actually be a better option. The wand kind of reminds me of CoverGirl LashBlast, defining but not super volumnizing which I want. I am a little disappointed in Shiseido as it is a Japanese brand, I would expect a really good mascara for thin lashes

Price: $25 for 0.29 oz / 8.5 g – the packaging has a nice weight to it

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TINTED MOISTURIZER | Shiseido Waso Color Smart SPF 30

One thing to PLEASE NOTE: tinted SPF are usually not as effective as regular sunblock. 1) because people don’t apply liberally to avoid looking cakey and 2) the UV filters are often not as strong to make the formula easier to blend. Case and point: based on just Octinoxate and Titanium Dioxide there is minimal UVA coverage. I’d definitely use an SPF underneath as long as it’s not too heavy or oily feeling.

Kind of a long ingredients list – per ush Shiseido products are fragranced. This has a pleasant floral fragrance

As you can see, when you first start blending it looks a bit orange. The after looks ok on camera but I see an orange tint in real life

The texture is pretty lightweight, I enjoy it

Straight out of the tube

I found this product thru Susan Yara from Mixed Makeup on Youtube. Her skin tone is a bit darker so I think the color suits her better. This tinted moisturizer definitely helps a bit with pores and redness. I am not sure I want to keep it due to the orange tint… but I like the color correcting effect. Might be nice for light makeup days (tbh before shelter in place, I went thru a long period of not wearing any make up to work due to laziness).

Price: $38 for 1.9 oz / 50 ml – I noticed Shiseido always write 1.9 or 2 oz even though 50ml should be 1.7 oz. I got it on sale at Sephora for $29 (still kinda pricy if you think about it). Get it on Amazon

This is the first Waso product I tried from Shiseido. From their regular line, I used to have the blue shaky waterproof SPF (photo below) and recall it being a bit oily for face, but it seems they reformulate their SPF every now and then. The Urban SPF 42 (white shaky bottle, photo below) is very popular at Sephora but it always seemed too expensive to me for a small bottle (1 oz). After having a bad experience with the tinted sports SPF (review here), I hesitate with tinted SPF now. But it seems like brands under the Shiseido umbrella available in Japan have a more sophisticated SPF formula, like the Elixir line (review here and here) which is also expensive.

CLEANSERS | Shiseido Senka Perfect

Foam cleanser vs Perfect Gel

Makeup removing gel – it works well actually but it leaves a film on the skin

Perfect foaming cleansing ingredients

Perfect Gel Makeup removing gel

The Senka foaming cleanser is a wildly popular brand in Asia, if you have Asian supermarkets near you you’ve likely seen it as well. It is very affordable around the $7 mark and VERY foamy with a tiniest bit of product and the foam is very rich. Truthfully, it is a bit drying if you have normal to dry skin – it gives that squeaky clean feel that cleansers with soap may give. If that is your thing, I would recommend as it’s another brand under the Shiseido umbrella in Japan and I suspect a lot of their high end and drugstore cleansers are very similar formulas (e.g. the Shiseido White Lucent, review here, sold in the US which I own, also foams a ton with a tiny amount of cleanser and will likely last you like 1-2 years).

Get it on Amazon

The ‘Perfect Gel’ makeup removing gel isn’t my favorite because I think it requires a washcloth to remove from your skin after you melt the makeup. It is ok but I prefer cleansers that emulsify and only require water to wash off.

SPF | Anessa Whitening UV gel

Info from the Japan Anessa website

Ingredient list from Ratzillacosme

After using this for a few days I noticed my face looked a little paler than before. I enjoy the “citrus soap” scent and find this gel refreshing for summer. I wouldn’t say it’s moisturizing without lotion layered underneath, but it doesn’t feel dry. I have quite large pores near my nose and I noticed this SPF kind of exacerbated them. For that reason I have discontinued use on my face and uses it primarily for my neck or my cheekbones (where I get the most freckles).

Price: $30+ for 3 oz / 90 g – one good thing about the gel sunblocks from Anessa is you get 1 oz (30 g) more for about the same price

Get it on Amazon

If you are not familiar with Anessa, it is a mid-priced brand under Shiseido in Japan (Shiseido has a lot of other brands under their umbrella in Asia, like Integrate, Benefique, Aqua Label, some other brands I’m not familiar with as they are more Asia exclusive. Anessa is primarily known for their sunblock, which claim to have 50% skincare products. There are different ranges in different countries. Their most famous ones are the “white out” type that you have to shake. If you’re interested in Anessa SPF products, I personally like the gold SPF more (link here, photo below). It is their best selling waterproof version, which is good for sports and is supposed to have some kind of technology that still protects your skin even with sweat. This formula is updated every year so the bottle may look different if you’re reading this in the distant future.

CLEANSER | Shiseido White Lucent Brightening Cleansing Foam

Ingredient list:

Water, Myristic Acid, Glycerin, Stearic Acid, Potassium Hydroxide, Sorbitol, Dipropylene Glycol, Lauric Acid, Peg-60 Glyceryl Isostearate, Peg-6, Peg-32, Glycol Distearate, Glyceryl Stearate Se, Sodium Methyl Cocoyl Taurate, Fragrance, Disodium Edta, Limonene, Magnesium Aluminum Silicate, Serine, Tocopherol.

If you look at ingredient lists often, you might notice myristic acid and stearic acid are common in Japanese foaming cleansers, they’re apparently related to soap which is why your skin is left with a “clean” feeling after. Someone I used to watch on YT said this combined with other Shiseido white label products made their skin look more translucent. It might be a placebo effect but it is doing something

I purchased this cleanser years ago and gave it to my mom. Recently I purchased it again bc my friend had a discount. If you follow Citrine (link here) she used to love this living in Texas then she moved and it became too drying. I think I feel the same way about it. It feels nice while you’re washing your face, but now that I’m 27 and it’s winter and California isn’t especially humid… My face feels kinda dry after. I think I will try to use this up since it was so expensive but it’s better to use hydrating cleansers. I am excited to try either the Krave matcha hemp cleanser or the La Roche Posay hydrating cleanser (I recently saw people saying it’s actually hydrating yet cleanses).

Price: $40 for 4.7 oz / 139ml – I have to say for this cleanse you literally need 1 milimeter and you can foam enough to wash your entire face so, I can see it lasting a long time.

FOUNDATION | Shiseido Synchro Skin SPF 30

Happy New Year! I got a foundation during the Sephora sale in November and I’ve been using it every time I feel like I need more coverage.

Dimethicone is the 1st ingredient

Before | After

Good coverage but can you tell that it’s kind of floating on my skin? That happens when you don’t exfoliate well.

After 10 hours. The dry skin starts floating here

130 is a perfect match for my skin fair neutral skin (good job on the description Sephora) although I noticed recently it seems to be a bit paler than my natural skin. When you first apply, the foundation has great coverage but still looks natural (I have a lot of acne scars and sun freckles on my cheeks). I don’t think it’s especially long lasting, but it’s pretty great for 8 hours. For reference I have combination skin that’s now on the drier side (age 25+ changes) and I use the Tatcha SPF which is usually a great makeup base.

The packaging is interesting, you can twist it to lock and dispense – just make sure to clean the nozzle if you’re traveling with this product

$47 for 1 oz / 30 ml – the texture of this is creamier so you don’t need as much as you might with a more watery foundation. I also learned recently that a creamier foundation is better at hiding your pores than a watery one. Interesting, right?

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Empties Review | Shiseido White Lucent Anti Dark Circles Eye Cream

Happy Thanksgiving Eve! I am almost out of this eye cream so I thought I’d review it before I’m completely out.

I only use eye cream at night so it took me nearly 1.5 years to use this up. If you’ve used Shiseido eye creams before, you know that they also tend to have a thicker texture. I personally haven’t seen a difference in undereye in terms of brightening but I also don’t have really dark undereyes. If I use it twice a day (this winter I noticed) I actually start to get a little milia, which makes sense bc the 2nd ingredient is dimethicone (smh shiseido, smh). I will not be repurchasing bc this was a just there product.

Price: $63 for 0.5 oz / 15 ml – standard eye cream size. I realized this actually has pretty bad/average reviews on Sephora but I think I got it from Costco for like $40 if not less

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My mom has used the Benefiance eye cream for years (I remember they used to be like $50, now it’s $70 retail). The ingredients list there is quite a bit different

SPF | Shiseido SPF38 PA++

Can you tell I like to buy a lot of sunblock? Lol. Usually the ones that don’t work out for my face will be used for my neck, or if it’s old and forgotten I keep it in my car for my hands or emergencies (I’ve read that it’s less effective once exposed to heat, but if it’s older it’s probably not as effective anyway so I don’t mind)

Active ingredients
OCTINOXATE 4.9% OCTOCRYLENE 3.0%
ZINC OXIDE 12.5%

Inactive ingredients
CYCLOMETHICONE, WATER, DIPROPYLENE GLYCOL, DIMETHICONE, SD ALCOHOL 40-B, TALC, POLYBUTYLENE GLYCOL/PPG-9/1 COPOLYMER, TRIMETHYLSILOXYSILICATE, GLYCERIN, PEG-9 POLYDIMETHYLSILOXYETHYL DIMETHICONE, XYLITOL, METHYL GLUCETH-10, SCUTELLARIA BAICALENSIS ROOT EXTRACT, ECTOIN, ISOSTEARIC ACID, TRIETHOXYCAPRYLYLSILANE, DISTEARDIMONIUM HECTORITE, ALUMINUM HYDROXIDE, BUTYLENE GLYCOL, CALCIUM STEARATE, STEARIC ACID, TRISODIUM EDTA, BHT, SYZYGIUM JAMBOS LEAF EXTRACT, PHENOXYETHANOL, FRAGRANCE, TITANIUM DIOXIDE

Did anyone used to watch a Youtuber named xteeener? (link here, she doesn’t make videos anymore unfortunately) I remember she used this in a lot of her videos as a makeup primer bc it controls her oiliness, so I of course had to try it.

This SPF cream leaves a slight white cast (I’m guessing due to the zinc oxide), and once absorbed I do think it helps to keep your skin less oily and will feel a little dry if you don’t moisturize properly. The texture of it after drying makes me think it is very waterproof, but I don’t swim a lot so I can’t attest to that. It might feel a bit heavy in the summer if it’s humid but I believe more waterproof SPFs tend to be like that. It has a standard Shiseido skincare fragrance, which I like – but if you have very sensitive skin or smell you might not.

I got it for $34 from Sephora but it seems like only Macy’s sells it now. Idk how 50ml is 2 oz but that’s what it says on the packaging (round up much?)