Shiseido Integrate Mineral Foundation in OC 30

I finally have a review of a Japanese cosmetic brand!

I'm happy to get back to the track I blog the most about. Although I consider myself to be a multi-flexible blogger, I often like to review beautyproducts that do not get that much love in the English language, but are still noteworthy...And...getting more popular as well in the so-called Western world: NY times has even published an article about it (here), featuring the most popular 'Westies' blogging about Japanese cosmetics...Kathi from Lotuspalace and Muse from MusingsofaMuse.

Fab thing is that the Western cosmetic brands learn and 'borrow' from Japanese brands. The foam hair dye brands is one of the most popular examples, but the Western version often gets lower reviews so, yeh, L'oreal and the likes just have to perfect their bubble dyes a bit more.

Oh, and BB cream is a funny one. Almost everyone knows they started making BB in Germany for post-operation people, and it gotten really popular in Korea (afterwards the whole Eastern part of Asia) and now it is getting popular in the West again.

Sticking to the subject: my review. Mineral foundations are another thing that has been popular in the West for a couple of years, starting out with Bare Escentuals and transferring into a million of etailer brands and larger drugstore versions.

So some Japanese brands jumped upon this bandwagon as well. Kanebo Kate has issued a Mineral powder, and Integrate suprised me with a fluid mineral foundation.



Shiseido Integrate Mineral Foundation in OC 30: 'be happy with the power of mineral'

I often prefer fluid versions over the loose powder forms. It is claimed that powder versions are often more pure and with less additives, but I like the fluidity and control you can get with fluid foundations. Oh, and they often add more moisture to dehydrated skin.

Most Japanese brand add their SPF's in their foundation these days. This foundation has a SPF 23. The PA ++ is added too.

The bottle is a squeezable plastic one and has a little opening. No pump:

 

I picked colour no. OC 30 ---> the darkest one. It starts with OC 00, OC 10, OC 20. I picked the darkest colour for when having a (self)tan.

To my suprise, it is quite a dark tone! My colouring was a NC 30 to 35 after a couple of self-tan sessions. The formula was quite the match. Normally, a Japanese OC 30...for example the Lunasol Water Gel Foundation in OC 30 (one I still have to review!), is so much lighter.

On NC30-ish skin:

LOL, it looks like a weird omelet my skin and the swatch like this!

As you probably can see, the formula is quite runny, if not watery. a little dot like this blends out quite a large part of the skin:


Shiseido Integrate Mineral foundation in OC 30- red line is line between bare skin & foundation



The arm is even more tan...ugh, I am not getting that tan again, but you can see the contrast.

For such a lightweight product, it really covers up a bit of imperfection.

It is not a glowy foundation like Lunasol Water Cream Foundation. It is quite a matte one.

That makes it a more suitable foundation for the oily and combination skintypes.

For me, a notorious shiny t-zone-y person during warmer seasons, I had about 3 hours of longer matte-ness compared to a non-oil controlling foundation (even with Jurlique Rose powder, which is not that great agaisnt the oilies, afteral). Quite reasonable, I believe.

Scent: none! Always a plus for the scent-sensitive and less-tolerant skintypes.

Summing up:

The positives:

* Colour range goes up to mid-tone or NC 30/35.

* Scent-free

* Mineral foundation

* Little bit covers quite some area

* fluid texture (might be a negative to some people...I'm quite neutral about it, but in the summer month I love a lighter texture)

* slight yellow undertone covers little bit of redness (also a negative if you are really cooltoned)

* Mattifying

* portable little bottle in not-easy-to break plastic

* mid-range price

* No personal breakouts and skin reacted tolerant

The negatives:

* Perhaps too matte for some people, which brings me to the next:

* not really moisturizing

* limited colour range, and not really suitable for cool toned skins

* not a real luxury level with the packaging that you will get with, e.g. Jill Stuart or Lunasol Water Cream    Jar

* Difficult to track down the totality of ingredients in English.

I bought it over (here) at adambeauty for $19.

Glossy posse: Kanebo Lavshuca Balloon RD-1

Today I would like to take a closer look to one of my newest lipglosses. I absolutely have no shortage in lipglosses, and I even doubt if I have ever finished a lipgloss entirely. Still, these glossy babies tempt me to reach for my credit card, especially when they promise me my-lips- but-better glow.

Kanebo's little sister Lavshuca is consequent in releasing regular collections throughout the seasons, and they often have a new formula of an eye or lip-product in their new line up. Their Balloon line had a couple of natural shades that the Japanese cosmetic makers are often so skillful of. The name Balloon also sounds tempting for the volume-challenged pucker that I have.

The gloss comes in a neutral, partly see-through box. The colour and number is written down on the sides of the box.

The gloss looks like a pen in its size. The application system is quite new. You have to press a button on the side, and eventually, some lipgloss will appear out of the plastic tube. It took me lots of patience and clicking before any gloss came out. I am not sure if you have to press in the button for the whole time, or click rhythmically.

It works quite differently than another penlike system I have from Integrate (beneath the next picture), which is an easy twist-and-gloss tube.

The colour was, although it looks quite rosy in the picture, a bit too brown for me. I also found it a bit too sticky for my liking. Normally that would not be the biggest problem for me, as I like the sticky Mac Lipglass as well. But in this case I found that the pigment did not spread evenly because of the stickiness. It resulted in an uneven coat of lipgloss and colour on my mouth.

My lips did not ballooned into huge porportions either. I could not detect any plumping effects. It functions, in my opinion, just as the standard lipgloss as far as volumizing the pout.

So I would like to compare the size with my Shiseido Integrate Soft Jelly Rouge in PK 702. The Integrate is the top one; the Lavshuca balloon is on the bottom. Obviously, the Lavshuca is the one in a thinner pen.

I prefer the Integrate over the Lavshuca, as Integrate is non-sticky and spreads the pigment out easily and equally. Nevertheless, the colour can be a bit too cool, sometimes. The swatch picture next shows the Integrate on the left and the browner Lavshuca on the right. Both have these lovely sparkles that are subtle enough for the more mature woman.

So I did my customizing blending of the two, and concocted the perfect MLBB (my lips but better) gloss. As far as the stickiness, now it is just a tad sticky. Together, they are a wonderful match.

That saved my glossy posse for today...

For a more positive review on the Kanebo Lavshuca Balloon lipgloss and more swatches of different colours, check out Lotuspalace.

Springtastic

I have been having a haul-modest week, I think. The weather has been sweet and I have been exploring my large stash of happy coloured lipsticks to match the weather. I have been loving my Nars Niagara lipstick a lot: which is a bit dry compared to the smoothness of several Japanese brands, but it is opaque enough for the vividness of the corally pink to shine through.

Another sunny haul that arrived was my silknaturals.com products. I blog a lot about Japanese and Korean cosmetics, but I still love the small mineral makeup companies in the US.

Silknaturals is one of my favourites, as they make wonderful lipsticks that flatter even the strangest skintones (mine, for example). And their pigments are often Mac dupes, but of a more natural quality, which my sensitive skin likes. And her shipping is really fast, especially for international girlies, so my cosmetic craving takes often less than a week to satisfy...


I ordered a small haul which consisted of the two latest lipsticks in Mirabelle and Whirlwind, 2 blush samples in Drama (MAC emote clone) and Gemini (NARS orgasm-like) and received a free eyeshadow in Pink Twink (the fun thing is that EVERYONE receives a free sample if you purchase over $10, which is such a lovely deal).


I also threw in a couple of skin serums in Oatmeal and Rose, which are both suitable for a sensitive skin. I am always on the lookout for good samples for my ...(fill in any age)...-something skin.

The Pink Twink looks more brownish than pink, but Silknaturals prides themselves for making age-friendly makeup which looks flattering and not clashing. It makes a wonderful colour for on the lid.

The Gemini blush looks really vivid. The glitters are a bit too much for me, but I think it would be a dream for lots of bloggers to wear a colour like this, especially when you enjoy several NARS colours. I think it is really pretty, but I would love to see this in a lipstick instead of on my cheeks. It looks lovely applied with a light hand, and having buffed away the glitters.

I haven't tried the original Mac Emote yet, but I am adoring the Drama colour. I was 'blessed with an enormous 'bump' on the side of my nose after eating too much bad food, and after concealing I removed the redness but still had the bump. Drama limited the 'drama' of having an extra nose (which is how my boyfriend called it...há) by concealing its 'bumpiness'. So, I have to buy this in full-size, or I have to visit the mac counter for the real thing...

Whirlwind lipstick is supposed to be a clone of the discontinued Mary Kay Pink Pout lipstick. I am not familiar with Mary Kay but the colour itself was supposed to be a cult colour. It was described as a 'rosey mauve with hints of brown' which suited my preference...

Mirabelle is descibed as a 'true warm peach shade'. It looked like a stunning pinky coral in the swatches at silknaturals, so I threw it in my cart as well. They retail for $4.50 which is a steal for such lovely lipbalms.

The swatches look different on my skin than seen at their site. The Mirabelle looks really warm, which is a bit of a pity. It is still a lovely lipbalm, though.

Continuing to springtastic talk: these little fellow have been my street buddies in the neighbourhood. They are sooo tiny, and so cute! I think they are siblings, as they stick with the same mother. Mother was quite protective when I took pictures of them.

I love this about spring, all the cute baby animals and flowers and vivid colours...

Hello Kitty Eggs; House of Worship birdies and Adam-haul

After a day of contemplation and some rest I think it is time to post something positive. So I said to myself: "stop the sulking and get back to business". Thank you to all the sweet bloggers who gave me a soft pat on the back....♥ ♥ ♥ ♥♥ ...

I saw a couple of children's chocolate eggs in the Hello Kitty form: They are so cute and they contain small Hello Kitty Dolls inside: I have four of the tiny Hello Kitty dolls now...

He he, how childish of me. The chocolate is really good of those eggs...

I received glowchaser's gorgeous creation today! It arrived in a sweet tin and in the cutest foil, that was decorated with strawberry stickers. She has added a professional touch by printing a thank you letter, with jewellery care tips, on writing paper that is decorated in the layout of her webpage worship@thehouseofblues .

I already posted her picture of the birdies, but here is my version....soooo pretty and delicate!

Her latest designs are flying out of the shop (my birds did, LOL), so be fast with ordering if you are interested!

From Adambeauty I bought a second one of the Kose Happy Bathday hand emulsion. I finally finished my first version I bought in Autumn 2008, and I needed a new one.

I also ordered a Shiseido Integrate Accent eyes palette in the green version: GR760. (Oh come on, how could I just order the hand serum alone)

I haven't swatched them yet, but I love the mix of brown and green colours...very earthy and beautiful:

The instructions on the back are included, as often with Japanese eyeshadows....

That were the wonderful items that flew (sorry for the bird-pun) in my mailbox today. I love all the items I received as they are original and wonderful. I will post swatches of the Integrate palette in the near future, but I am not sure when yet.

Let me wish everybody who reads my blog a wonderful Eastern Weekend in advance! I hope your weekend will be filled with bliss and positivity! ♥Birkster♥