Review: KATE mineral powder foundation spf15

The powder foundation has a light to medium coverage and can be built up ( but not to full coverage). The powder is smooth and silky. It has SPF 15 in it.

I am very fond of this product because the performance is average among Japanese powder foundation.

It's not cheap. It costs around $15 USD for refill only.  I can find better choices with a cheaper price.

Review: Clarins Daily Energizer WakeUp Booster

(photo credit to thebay.com)

Toners have many nicknames. Cosmetic companies call them lotion, softener, and booster......

This wakeup booster is supposed to be a morning toner. But of course I do not use it in the morning only.

It claims to enhance skin radiance. Since the toner is hydrating, it makes me feel that my complexion is radiant and luminous.

 

Clarins is famous for plant extracts ingredients, and this is no exception. I am not sure if there's any natural ingredients there, but I can be sure that there's artificial smell in almost all Clarins' products.

 

I prefer fragrance free products in general. But this smell does not bother me that much.  It does not break me out but make my skin healthy and hydrating.

 

This is a rather cheaper department store toner. It retails at $15 CAD plus tax for 125 ml. Very good value. Because some drugstore toner can cost this much or even more ( if you buy toners at shoppers.) ......

 

Review: Lunasol FUSING POWDER FOUNDATION spf 20

(photo from adambeauty.com)
It's one of my favourite powder foundation. Sadly it's only available in Asia.

Lunasol is a department store brand, it belongs to Kanebo's higher end products.

This powder foundation has a very creamy and silky texture. When I apply it on I do not feel it's powder on my face. The powder does not suck the moisture or oil out from my skin, instead, it keeps the moisture inside of it. So it's best for dryer skin types.

The coverage is superb. Really good coverage, yet the face does not look flat after applying it on.

The shade I use is yo02, it matches my skin tone perfectly.

The longer I apply it on, the more beautiful my skin looks.

It has a similar finish as Albion's powder foundation, but the lunasol powder stays longer and better on me.

I wish there's kanebo counter available here.

Review: SHISEIDO Revital Cream Science AA Ex

(photo from thebay.com)

This cream retails at $260 CAD plus tax for only 40 ml!!

One of the most expensive creams I have ever had.

It works as it claims--filling skin with rich moisture. It supposed to make you look younger. It's targeted at 30+ customers. I am in my mid- to- late 20s so I do not know if it boost the collagen ( I know we lost it everyday). But it does work wonderful as a moisturising night cream.

I do feel the texture better than bio-performance ones. So do the scent. The packaging is as elegant as most Japanese skin care products.

However I do not think it's worth the money to buy a night cream for such high price.  Benefiance wrinkleresist 24 works the same way and is about 4 times cheaper!

What I dislike about the cosmetic companies

I dislike when some companies:

1. Do not state a cream contains sunscreen ingredients. Rather, the sales lady always tell you that you can use all kinds of cream day and night. But I do not use cream with SPF in the night. Why companies do not say it clearly on their packaging that a cream is supposed to be used in day time only because it contains some ingredients to protect the UV rays?

2.  Some powder foundations are with SPF while in Canada there's no SPF on it. I found that anything with SPF comes with expiry date. Maybe some companies do not want to let their products to be destroyed because of the expiry date?

Review: SHISEIDO White Lucent Brightening Serum for Neck and Decolletage

(photo from thebay.com)


This serum retails at $75 CAD plus tax with 75 ml.

For me it's a waste of money to buy this serum. It does nothing like it claimed.

It clams to reduce the apperance of age and sun spots, but it does not. It does not even even out skin

It claims to provide generous moisture. No, it does not do it at all. After applying the serum, my neck and palms start feel dry.

Actually I doubt if it's skin care. To me it's more like makeup than a skincare product because it has some sparkle in the serum (they call it as 'light diffusing properties' ). I mean it's better to put this serum before going out for party.

However, I cannot even use it as a makeup primer because it does dry out my skin.

Thoughts on Japanese toner (softener, lotion) and other higher end toners

Japanese toners are more than toners.

Most toners work as a cleansing lotion after washing face, but Japanese toners seem to be doing more than that.

Most of the Japanese toner I have tried are very hydrating. Some of them are in light serum consistency such as Shiseido nutriperfect and future solution softeners.

The toners I have tried with serum feel are Lancome tonique confort, Estee lauder re-nutriv softening lotion and Estee lauder nutritious energy lotion.

Review: SHISEIDO Future Solution LX Concentrated Balancing Softener

(photo credit to thebay.com)

This softener is more than a softener.

It feels like a light serum. I normally apply it without cotton pads. It's very hydrating. In summer time I do not even need a moisturiser afterwards.

However it has a very strong scent. Though I do not hate this smell, I do not enjoy it either.

It retails at $98 CAD plus tax for 150ml. If you use it as a serum, it cost less than other moisturising serums. However you can find a dupe for it. Shiseido Benefiance nutriperfect softener has the same function, cost a lot less and with less scent.

The body shop all in one face base

The body shop is famous for its body care products. However I found its makeup lines more interesting.

There are wide selections of shades. I found the colour 045 is very similar to my diorskin 021 linen.

The coverage is great, it covers up everything without feeling heavy at all. It does not accentuate fine line under my eyes.

It's not dry for my skin even apply it in the winter time.

The staying power is great, it can hold up to 8 hours without touch ups.

It comes with a mirror and sponge, and the refill is store in a portable round case.

The only one downside is that  there's no sunscreen in it.

Otherwise it's a perfect powder foundation!

The body shop nutriganics softening cleansing gel-dupe for clinique take the day off

This is probably one of my favourite the body shop skin care products.

The cleansing gel is with thick gel consistency. When I am lazy to use eye makeup remover, I use only this to remove everything on my face. It works wonders.

It can be the best dupe for clinique take the day off cleansing balm. The only problem is that I use up this very fast, while clinique cleansing balm stays long with me.

Shiseido Ultra Sun protection Lotion spf 50

(photo credit to thebay.com)

I wish I could like this sunscreen, because it's so affordable comparing to other higher end sunscreens, it retails at $49 CAD plus tax for 100 ml!

The sunscreen is like it claims, very water resistant. Except being affordable and water resistant, I cannot find other pros in it.

First, the scent is so overpowering that I can still feel it before I remove my makeup at the end of the day. I do not mind some smell in cosmetics when I apply it on my face. But I do not want to feel it whole day. The scent makes me feel sick.

Second, it seems not compatible with any of my powder foundations. I normally do not use makeup base. I apply sunscreen and powder as my everyday base makeup. If I apply any powder foundation right after this sunscreen, the powder foundation becomes cakey and not easy to blend; if I apply powder foundation sometime after apply this sunscreen, it makes my foundation look a lot more thick than it should be.

So the best way to use this sunscreen, is to apply it alone on the body instead of face (or neck).

I really wish to like this sunscreen, because it has bigger size than other (department store) sunscreens. But it always makes problem for me when I apply it on my face. Otherwise it has such good value and sometimes I can get bonus with buying it.

Review: Olay complete spf 30 daily moisturizer

This is a sunscreen with very good value. It's around $16 CAD plus tax at walmart for 75ml.

I use it mostly in winter time. I would not use it in strong sunlight. Because of its hydrating and very affordable price. I think it's the best dupe for the new Estee Lauder day wear SPF 50.

Clarins uv plus hp multi-protection spf 40--dupe for Chanel sunscreen

(photo credit to thebay.com)

It's the dupe for Chanel sunscreen. A lot cheaper than other department sunscreens who have only 30ml available. Not the cheapest choice of course. It retails at $40 CAD plus tax for 50 ml.

It's a very light liquid sunscreen, much lighter than Chanel's. It reminds me some Japanese sunscreens. I cannot say it's not hydrating in the winter time, but it can be slightly dry for me in very cold days. So I always put a lot of cream before applying for this sunscreen. But it works wonders in the summer time.

To my surprise, it holds my powder foundation as good as Chanel's sun screen. The powder foundations stay very well over 6 hours without touch ups.

Though it has scent in it, it never breaks me out.  I have been using more than 5 bottles of this sunscreen and will keep using it until I find a better and cheaper dupe--a sunscreen that can protect my skin from UV rays and hold my powder foundation well.

Chanel UV essentiel spf 50

This sunscreen retails at $57 CAD plus tax for 30 ml only, it is probably the most expensive sunscreen I have ever had.

The sunscreen is in a light liquid formula, yet not drying for my skin. I can wear it in the winter time without feeling uncomfortable. It has the most beautiful scent in it. It's with white cast, but once I put powder over it, it's disappears.

I like the feeling with this sunscreen on my skin. But it's too expensive. Clarins UV plus is the dupe for it.

Estee lauder day wear bb multi-perfecting beauty benefit cream spf 35

(photo credit to thebay.com)

This cream retails at $45 CAD plus tax for only 30 ml, quite expensive!

I normally do not use liquid foundation or BB cream as my makeup. I use this cream as a sunscreen.

This cream has a slight cucumber scent, which I am not fond of. But the cream is more hydrating than other sunscreens. I use it in cold winter, and it does not make my skin dry or tight. SPF 35 is more than enough to protect our skin from UV rays in winter time--if you do not ski.

I got the cream in light colour, which is the lightest shade available. However the shade is slightly darker than my skin tone (nc20). The coverage is quite good, it evens out skin and covers some imperfections.

All in all, it's a nice sunscreen for dry skin. It's for people want to skip the foundation step while having some coverage on the skin. I wish it could be fragrance-free and have one shade lighter available.