Shiseido Spotscover Foundation / Concealer

I love powerful cream concealers! Used a few Japan, Korea and USA pots of them. Among my pot cream concealer favorites are Naturactor Cover Face, Evermore and MAC Studio Finish Concealers. You might be unfamiliar with a few under-raved products I mentioned, but if you are a makeup hunter like me, you will know how well loved they are by professional makeup artists. Came across this product - Shiseido Spotscover Foundation after seeing 2 online reviews from Blogger Bitsdiaries and YouTuber Wu Pei Yu, and decided to give it a try. Although categorized under "Foundation", I use it as a concealer due to its thick, creamy, and completely full coverage high quality texture.

Shiseido Spotscover Concealer comes in 2 shades - S100 (lighter) and S101 (darker). I purchased the shade S100. It contains higher percentage of yellow pigments, but contains a decent amount of pink undertone too. I believe this will suit both warm and cool undertone complexions well.
Content : 20g.

Made in Japan
Product comes carefully boxed, with a user information leaflet in Japanese text. Cream is packed in a light powderish pink colored screw-to-open high quality thick plastic pot, measuring around 4cm in diameter and 2cm in height. I like the packaging a lot. Its solid, mess free and pouch friendly, unlike some concealer containers that leak, damage effortlessly and has a cheap feel.

Product box is printed with primary information in Japanese text, with shade code stated on 2 opposite sides.
Ingredients :
Cyclomethicone, Mineral Oil, Microcrystalline Wax, Talc, Octyldodecanol, Sorbitan, Sesquioleate, Mica, Aluminium Distearate, Tocopherol, Titanium Dioxide, Iron Oxides.
Expiry Date :
5 years from manufactured date.

Do note that the shade featured in my review photos are off accuracy under my lighting. Its pretty impossible to capture a close to exact color photo. As such, I had tried my best to come out with a digital color swatch, as seen attached above. The top darker swatch is how it appears indoor / under dimmer lighting, and the bottom lighter swatch is how it appears under outdoor / brighter lighting.
As you can probably tell, the lighter shade of Shiseido Spotscover Foundation in S100 is a pretty dark pigment. I'm a skin tone Mac NC30-33, a ZA 2-way cake foundation shade 22 and a Revlon Colorstay Liquid Foundation Warm Golden, and this is a perfect shade blend for me. It may appear like a NC40 in my swatch, but it does blend out lighter. :)

Here are some Shiseido Spotscover Foundation/Concealer close up pics.
*Click photos to observe the texture in bigger views.

 This cream foundation/concealer is extremely rich, unbeatably high pigmented, soft and creamy! Unlike MAC Studio Finish and Naturactor Concealers, this is soft cream, not a hard cream cake texture. If you use NYX Cream blush, it is that texture I am talking about.

A small whip like this is enough to cover 1/4 of a face! So be careful not to whip too much to cover a small spot surface.
 

Here's the concealing power. The pigments are so concentrated, a dot of Shiseido Spotscover Foundation/Concealer the size of my mole blends and conceals heavenly, burying my mole out of sight.

My personal review on Shiseido Spotscover Foundation/Concealer:


Pro :
- Great shade for tanner skin tone around NC33 and above.
- Conceals imperfections heavenly without accentuating fine lines, wrinkles or folds.
- Long wear on extremely oily n dry skins.
- Sits under powder foundation very well with beautiful blend.
- No skin irritation. No new breakout.
- No Bismuth Oxychloride, a common skin irritant and acne 'fertilizer' for certain skin types like mine.
- Contains sunscreen Titanium Dioxide and vitamin E Tocopherol.
- Nice and neat packaging, unlike Amazing Cosmetics' messy tube concealer.
- Generous amount as a little is all I need to do concealing.

Con :
- No fairer shades. The fairest is still pretty dark for many.
- Too thick to use as a foundation, but perfect as a concealer.

Where to buy :
This product is not available in Shiseido counters. I purchased mine from a Singapore online beauty product shop seller - Blingalways at a very affordable SGD21.90, excluding her very reasonable postage charge. Do check out her other gorgeous beauty products and enjoy your shopping with her wonderfully friendly customer service.

Have fun experimenting your makeup! ◕‿◕ ❤

Rosette Hello Kitty Hyaluronic Acid Gel Review

I tried Rosette Hello Kitty facial wash and the surprisingly great quality result I got triggered me to try other products from this range.

Being a fan of Dr Ci Labo Aqua Collagen Gel, I usually use this slightly higher end product as my standard measure when testing out other non-greasy base facial moisturizers. It was not an easy competition, but Watsons' drugstore's Rosette Hello Kitty Hyaluronic Acid Gel managed to live up to Dr Ci Labo's standard, at a much smaller fraction of the cost - SGD29!

First off, let's look at the mad cute packaging.

I don't know what the chubby cat is doing but she looks so 'careful', silly & ADORABLE!

Product is packaged in a great quality solid hard plastic container, with typical trustworthy Japanese's perfectionist finishing standard. The high quality printing from the outer plastic box to the jar/tub are flawlessly done up. Printing on the plastic tub is smooth and sealed, unlike those 'chippable' cheaply printed paint that you can feel when running your fingers across the surface. In short, you can't really scratch the paint off. A pretty 'deep' jar that holds a lot of contents too. If you are considering keeping the container, or giving this entire skincare as a gift, you need not worry about its packaging condition. I give this product packaging quality 5/5 stars! When you get a great packaging that you can and will recycle, you contribute to eco-friendly project.

At the back of this packaging is a Japanese translated product information in English. I had attached a large and clear photo here for your reading. Do click for a bigger and clearer view. :)

For a wallet and budget friendly SGD29 made in Japan's Hyaluronic Acid Gel, Rosette thoughtfully included a second lid to further seal its freshness, complete with a great quality smooth finishing solid plastic spatula. This inner lid comes attached with a ring tab for easy lifting, and to sandwich the spatula for a more secured hold. And again, nothing made here is in cheap quality!

 

Inner lid is easily lifted, minimizing the risk of toppling the bottom jar while removing.

See how aqua thick greaseless jelly this looks! Non runny and concentrated!

Beautifully designed and crafted soft smooth finishing solid high quality plastic spatula scoops precise amount of gel you desire so easily, you don't have to worry about mess and wastage trapped in unnecessary hidden  corners and edges. A hygienically designed simple cute scooping tool.

Hyaluronic Acid Gel clings firmly on the tip of the spatula. Again, look at its non runny concentrated jelly smooth non greasy consistency.

With just 1 easy scoop, the pearl neatly sits without threatening to fall off while the whip makes its journey from the jar to your face or fingertips.

Alright, so here comes my personal review on the pros and cons!

Pros :
(Note : Reviews based on the results I get when I wake up if I were to wear this to sleep. Also, do note that I have very oily / combi skin.)

• Moisturizing and non greasy.
  
• Like Dr Ci Labo Aqua Collagen gel, it contains no fragrance.
  
• Works best when I get enough sleep and drink enough water.
  
• Delivers healthy glowy skin.
  
• Helps even out skin color to a good extend.
  
• No skin irritation. It does nothing to my pimples too.
  
• Seals, locks and retains moisture in skin.
  
• BEST OF ALL, plumps and irons out my facial fine lines (especially my very deep creased long frown lines) in just after a couple of days!! Attached below is the "AFTER" pic! Pardon my naked unsightly complexion, but for review sake, I have to produce the real deal! Click on my pic for a better bigger view if you need.
  
  
• If this works on my oily skin, I believe it should probably work better for dryer skin types.
  
• If Dr Ci Labo Aqua Collagen Gel is 10 stars, I rate this 9! To be honest, they feel, smell and deliver way too identical! A jar like this will last up to approx 3-4mths on a 1 pearl size application per night usage.

Cons :

• Pretty sticky. Feels like collagen gel. I don't recommend this as an outdoor moisturizer. It will attract dirt and other skin-ruining pollutants to stick and cling on your face till your next wash. But due to its stickiness, it might be a great product to use in dry, air-conditioned room.

==========

My preferred directions. You can use your own preferred method. :
(Note : I ONLY apply moisturizer immediately on dampened, soggy pat-dry toweled freshly cleansed face. It helps to deep penetrates in moisturizer better, and reduces pulling and tugging of my skin during the spreading and massaging-in step. Also, I'll only need a way lesser amount of moisturizer to work on my dampened face as compared to a completely evaporated and dry surface.)

1. With a pearl of Rosette Hello Kitty Hyaluronic Acid Gel on a finger tip, distribute it on parts of your face in dots (eg. 1 on forehead, nose, chin, each eyebag, cheek, and side of the face).
   
   
2. Using finger tips, spread and massage them in in circular motions, inward out, working the gel into the skin, excluding the ones on the eyebags. You might feel a short little warming effect which might turn your face slightly pinkish, but it will fade away soon.
   
   
3. Using the ring (4th) fingers, spread the gel on the eyebags and gently massage in in circular motions all the way up to the eyelids.
   
   
4. After all the gel are evenly resting on your face, use 3 fingers (index, mid and ring fingers) and gently pat your 'marinated' complexion repeatedly to further activate the skin cells to penetrate the moisturizer deeper. I don't know how true this is scientifically proven, but I practice this step when I moisturize and I love it. Use your ring finger to do the tapping around your delicate eye areas. 
   *Please be extra gentle with the skin around your eyes. Treat them like tofu. They are extremely delicate and any pull might surprise you with a permanent line one unlucky day. The skin around our eyes are one of the first few areas on our face other than the saggy jawlines to give way and betray our age.
   
   
5. With the much leftover gel on fingers, spread them on your jawlines and neck in downward up direction. Its so important to moisturize the jawlines and neck. If they are left dry and un-moisturized, they will stretch and pull your facial skin down when you tilt and turn your head, resulting in speeding up facial sagging.

==========

Will I repurchase? HELL YES!

URL :
http://rosette.jp/products/detail.php?code=443

Price comparison :

Dr Ci Labo Aqua Collagen Gel 120g - SGD123 Retail price, SGD105 Gmarket Sg
Rosette Hello Kitty Hyaluronic Acid Gel 80g - SGD29+ Watsons. (ie, ~SGD45 for 120g)

Kao Biore Marshmallow Whip Collagen Enriched Facial Wash

Smells and works decent like any other Japanese facial washes. The only fun thing bout this is its foam dispense. Helps to lather faster, without tugging face to lather up. Leaves skin squeaky clean but no tight stretchy threatening feeling. 1 pump is rich and concentrate enough for the entire face. I was skeptical that foam dispense facial wash will give a diluted quality at first, but nope it is surprisingly thick yet light. For all skin types I think although the packaging did not state, or maybe it did in Jap *shrug*. I have oily and combi skin and it works well for me when I thought it was more meant for dry skin type. If you are bored with your normal drugstore Japanese facial washes, you might want to give this a try.

Price SGD 13+ from Guardian Pharmacy

Marshmallow Whip Collagen Enriched Facial Wash :
http://www.kao.com/jp/biore/bio_washfoam_whip_00.html

FYI :

Marshmallow Whip Serum Enriched Facial Wash (with Honey Scent ):
http://www.kao.com/jp/biore/bio_washfoam_whip_rich_00.html

Marshmallow Whip Acne Mild Care Moisture Facial Wash :
http://www.kao.com/tw/biore/bio_acnemoisture_00.html

Marshmallow Whip Acne Mild Care Oil Control Facial Wash :
http://www.kao.com/tw/biore/bio_acnemildoil_00.html

Marshmallow Whip Whitening Facial Wash :
http://www.kao.com/cn/biore/bio_facialfoam_whitening_00.html

Hello Kitty 2009 35th Anniversary - Poh Heng Special

Haul Photo Review!

And so, after 10 months of procrastination, I decided to purchase myself a Hello Kitty gold pendant from Poh Heng! Yay!! 

There is not much online review on this item so I shall try my best to do a few thorough photo reviews here. U may click on the photos for a bigger clearer view. For those who are keen, hope U enjoy and find this helpful~ ಠ‿ಠ

So here is the full set of what you will receive. ಠ‿ಠ

(Excluding the chain. Its a separate purchase.)

Ow, and I love Poh Heng sales assistants! Their extremely friendly services are so far excellent! ❤

 Overall, the packaging is solid heavy! 

Packaging presentation. Looks like a confectionery cake box. Love how the puffy pendant pops and puffs like a fresh perfectly baked biscuit in frosted gold and baby pink~ Sweeter than any desserts.. Heart melt~❤ 

The very thick and solid heavy stainless steel tin box is carefully crafted, even on its bottom. Nice embossed label engravement. Looks like a stamp. I appreciate great packaging design and am impress with the quality of this tin box. It doesn't feel anything close to cheap. Not the common thin aluminium or thin stainless steel types we usually get. ಠ‿ಠ 

 Pink crystals studded ribbon. Sweet~❤ 

 Back of the cardboard box.

Looking like a biscuit! Love it so much~
Pendant measures around 1.5cm wide. Rolo-link gold chain not included. I added in my own chain for presentation. Look at the beautiful pink gold (not rose gold).

 Back of pendant. Label-engraved with Poh Heng and Sanrio company names. The ring loop on top of the pendant is label-engraved with Poh Heng and 916. 
The shell back design creates a sweet light bell jingle sound if you play with it on your chain.

Me modelling for U guys! Looks like I'm wearing a golden Hello Kitty biscuit pendant huh? Too cute! Hehe. Ok it looks kinda big on me cos I'm petite. The advantage of being small size! LOL!

 
Ok! Wish list item strike off! Whee~! (,ಠ‿ಠ),~❤