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The Reluctant Stylista is a fashion and lifestyle blog written by Alex Lapa--a once tomboyish girl who suddenly discovered the joys and perks of dressing up. Original illustrations by Paolo Lazatin.
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The Reluctant Stylista is proud to be a finalist and winner for two categories at The Philippine Blog Awards 2010: Best Beauty and Fashion Blog and Best Blog Design. Thank you to all who rooted for us!
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I just realized I'll be home for Style Origin ATC lang before I fly off again to Davao. x_x #dedz
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Networks and Affiliates
What they say on Shiseido’s website about Shiseido The Makeup Dual Balancing Foundation:
Coverage: Medium
Finish: Semi-matte
Skin Type: Normal and CombinationIngredients:
Water, cyclomethicone, polymethylsilsesequioxane, glycerin, butylene glycol, dimethicone, dimethicone/vinyl dimethicone crosspolymer, dimethicone copolyol, ethylhexyl methoxycinnamate, bis-butyldimethicone polyglycerol 3, sorbitan sesquisostearate, disteardimonium hectorite, sodium glutamate, PEG/PPG 14/7 dimethyl ether, sodium hyaluronate, aluminum hydroxide, aluminum distearate, triethoxycaprylylsilane, polysilicone-2, barium sulfate, BHT, alumina, tocopherol, phenoxyethanol, sodium dehydroacetate, fragrance, titanium dioxide, iron oxides, mica.
A long-lasting liquid foundation that responds to skin’s specific needs. Increases moisture in dry areas. Minimizes shine for a soft matte look. Promotes optimal beauty and balance.
･Prismatic Nanopowder evens out skin tone and keeps makeup looking just-applied flawless and bright all day long.
･Glides on smoothly and stays crease-free.
･Oil-free.
･non-comedogenic.
･dermatologist-tested.
Shiseido The Makeup Dual Balancing Foundation. And yes, that is a bottle of True Blood in the background!
I fell in love with this foundation when I encountered it on my mom’s bureau as I sometimes borrow her make-up stuff when I’m home in Las Piñas. And this is the reason why, despite the fact that I have oily to combination skin, I am seriously addicted to liquid foundation. It’s now my favorite (and I’ve always been using liquid foundation if not tinted moisturizer). The coverage is fantastic; it helps keep up the illusion of flawlessness. It looks like it was applied with an airbrush instead of my fingertips! Although it claims to have a soft-matte finish, I find it to be more dewy.
The nice thing about liquid foundations, especially this one, is that they’re pretty flexible with their shades. My mom, sister and I all use the same foundation in the exact same shade (Natural Deep Ochre) even though my mom is the lightest, then me, then my sister. It suits all three of us!
I’ve always liked Shiseido as a brand, and they have some of the best make-up stuff around especially for Asian skin. The problem is, they’re usually very expensive locally. I got it for P2150 in SM Mall of Asia’s Marionnaud, but it actually sells for P3150 in Greenbelt and Glorietta. I was told by the attendant in Marionnaud that Shiseido was really planning on hiking up their prices by the end of the month, and Marionnaud was only lagging behind a bit with the changes. If she was telling the truth, good for me then! If she weren’t, well then maybe you can still check out Marionnaud and see if they’re still selling it at that price.
How it looks when applied. I actually had the beginnings of a pimple on my left cheek when this picture was taken, yet you can hardly spot it here. I am wearing shade 060 Natural Deep Ochre.
They say Shiseido Dual Balancing Foundation is recommended for those with oily skin, but I still tend to oil up in my T-zone. It’s nothing a little loose powder can’t fix, though. And this is best applied with a primer. In the picture above, I was just wearing Skin Hour’s mattifying cream. I wasn’t wearing any loose powder or concealer. The sides of my nose and lips are usually dry, but this foundation evens them out.
It’s unfortunate, though, that in Asia the SPF is only 15. In the US, they have it in SPF 17. I’m pretty okay with it, though!
Another thing I don’t like about it: the packaging. It comes in a bottle with a pretty wide opening through which you can probably dip a brush or two. I wish it’d just come in a pump bottle since it’s more sanitary and you can control the amount of product you want to use. I tend to just shake the bottle and use the product that’s left on the cap instead of poking my finger through the bottle.
Related posts:
Is it unscented? Shiseido is a Japanese brand right? I like Japanese brands because it suits our skin. I use Kanebo ; )
xoxo
MrsM
Totally off but, WHERE DID YOU GET THAT BOTTLE OF TRUEBLOOD??
MrsMartinez – it smells a bit like alcohol, I think…but it doesn’t really have any cloying smell.
Kira – It was a Christmas gift from a friend and it was bought online from the US. xD Not from HBO site, though, from another reseller. I sorta lost the address already along with the box. =/ I only have one bottle left, haha! It tastes like orange soda!
Tip: wait for the ABCI sales. That’s the company that carries Guerlain, YSL, Shiseido etc to the Philippines (I think ha! someone correct me if im wrong). I caught their before-christmas warehouse sale last year (think it was sometime oct-novemeber) and this foundation was selling for less than P600. I got my Shiseido concealer there for P300 while the tinted moisturizer was only 600. Crazy prices. According to the SAs they’re not selling the soon-to-be expired stuff. supposedly its the stuff that should have been distributed as testers, but went unused. i agree, i saw stickers on the brown boxes saying so.
no one knows the exact dates for these sales, but just always check Girltalk at around that time.
Liz – wow, that’s worth researching…those are really crazy prices as you said! And I love Shiseido! I hope they’re selling Shu Uemura, too, as I really love their cleanser.
Wow absolutely stunning! The finish is translucent and dewy at the same time without looking oily. Gorgeous lex!
Kristine – Thanks!
Exactly, it’s translucent but the coverage is pretty damn good, imo.
PLS tip me ASAP when you get hold of the ABdI sale date. Was planning to get another bottle of this product as well as night repair cream in marionnaud but was too lazy to drive further so just stopped by the Face Shop in Newport (after Ate Joy’s birthday lunch) to pick new interesting items there. Am still trying new products after parting with Clarins. Will show you later…..:)
Love this brand. But I think I might settle for the powder when I run out of this.
love the hair. great review ^_^
Thanks! ^^
I love the glowing effect (dewy finish). Is it because of the foundation or because of a bronzer? I don’t know how to achieve this. Please advice. hehe.
All I know is its’ because of the highlighter/skin illuminator. Thank you.
It was just Skin Hour day cream and Shiseido foundation. It’s really good makeup, but I do get oily with it after a while so you’ll need a good mattifier for it. But yeah, usually a highlighter or illuminator can do that. I don’t buy or use them though since I’m a lazy makeup user and I’m not a professional make up artist anyway, so if I can’t finish the bottle before it expires, it’s just going to waste.
Thanks again!
Hmmm…Now I am thinking to buy a mattifier. I just hope I will be able to find a good dupe of Shiseido foundation. hehe.
After much trial and error of foundations, My HG #1 all time foundation is this one!! Has anyone found a dup to it? Sometimes it would be fun to have a different bottle, brand, but the consistency/coverage/color is superb!