Japanese service is awesome. The cashier at the Kokumin pharmacy near my apartment made an error by overcharging my credit card for my purchase. After correcting the transaction and many apologies later, they also gave me two samples as a token gift.

The boyfriend’s mum actually loves Shiseido Elixir beauty products and asks me to help her stock up whenever I visit Sydney or if she is in Tokyo. Their skin care products smell lovely and the kangaroo’s mum swears they are perfect for dry skin.

This shade suited me very well and it gave moderate to heavy coverage. I was going out to dinner that night and was in the mood to dress up a little bit more, so this foundation helped me achieve a more finished look, as opposed to the sheer Clinique Super Balanced liquid foundation I usually use.

I do understand that this Shiseido range is targeted at mature women but I’m not so concerned about brand image as long as it caters to my needs. My skin is probably classified as oily/combination but this foundation didn’t feel too cakey and had good staying power.

It’s priced over 3,500JPY for a compact, which is reasonable. Would I buy this again? Yes, if I’m not traveling through any duty-free shops in airports.

And how was the Pond’s cleansing oil? Not good, as it doesn’t take off all traces of makeup. After I swiped my face with a cotton pad soaked with toner, the cotton pad removed quite a bit of foundation left on my skin.

Related posts:

1. Ma Cherie Review: Smells nice but…
2. A deconstruction of Japanese shampoos Part One
3. What’s in a Japanese beauty magazine? Part II