Monday 23 September 2013

Shiseido Sheer and Perfect Foundation Review

I received a sample of the new Shiseido Sheer & Perfect Foundation SPF17 PA++ at my local counter recently. This oil-free foundation promises long-lasting wear with all day hydration, a silky-smooth texture without shine or stickiness. It also contains 3 types of optical powder complex to cancel out uneven coloration: green powder for canceling redness and blemishes, blue for canceling dark spots and circles and white for visible pores.

It is already available in Singapore where it retails at S$56 for 30ml. In the US, it is US$35 and there are a whopping 18 shades available, versus only 6 shades in Japan where it retails at 4200yen. In Switzerland, it's around CH64, with I20 Natural Light Ivory being the lightest of the six shades available. Although it's a Japanese brand, this is made in the USA.

I20 is quite a bit darker than I00 Very Light Ivory. It is a tad dark for my skintone.

I found the texture quite similar to Perfect Refining Foundation. Both feel very lightweight on the skin with a soft matte finish. After Sheer & Perfect sets, my skin feels very soft, ultra smooth and cool to touch, without any discernible powderiness or greasiness. Applied using the Shiseido Perfect Foundation Brush, it glides over the skin easily, although it still needs some blending with the fingers to vanish the brush stroke marks.

It looks very natural, allowing the skin's natural radiance to show through and can be layered in areas that need more coverage. It offers at best medium coverage, so a separate concealer is still needed for the under-eye area and darker pigmentation/acne spots. It does reduce the appearance of pores and tones down the redness in my cheeks and the nose area. However, if you have dry patches or skin flakes, this can emphasise those.

In terms of oil control, this was not the best with my T-zone showing shine in less than two hours. I expect my skin would have gotten oily even faster if I was in Singapore's hot humid climate instead of the cool Swiss autumn weather over here. Blotting is required every couple of hours but if you have normal skin and do not need that much coverage, this would probably work better for you.

Below is the list of ingredients, which contains silicones and alcohol.

Application how-to video by Shiseido.

1 comment:

ナミ♥わん子ッ said...

I was considering buying this but seems like the oil-control isn't that great since I have REALLY oily face. ;_____;
very helpful review! :D