Shiseido will be launching a new foundation – the Synchro Skin- and I have been trying it out for the past week, and I will be sharing with you my thoughts on it – spoiler alert, I love it which explains why a review is necessary & timely.
Some technical information about the features of the foundation:
It is a foundation that synchronises (like the name states) with the wearer’s skin type to deliver the most naturally flawless finish. Shiseido imagines a foundation that would appear differently on every face – adapts to each skin tone and recognise skin conditions – makeup that is able to synchronise with the skin’s individual’s qualities, beautifying it instead of covering it up.
The result is the ultimate alliance between makeup and skin. A foundation that draws out the skin’s natural vitality.
The technology is unique
synchronise with skin condition
synchronise with skin tone
texture that comforts – thanks to the airy cushion formula
ingredients that soothe and support the skin
Comes in 12 shades, from cool reddish to neutral to warm tones.
Here’s a swatch of the foundation – I use around 1.5-2 pumps each time for a decent full-ish coverage. I can get away with 1.5 pumps if I want less coverage.
Here’s the application – like most foundations I am testing, I like to apply with my fingers – it is the quickest, most natural and I can really feel the formula and texture of the product.
My thoughts on the foundation –
It has a very smooth liquidy silky formula. This is very apparent immediately when you apply the product to your skin, it is like apply a very silky lightweight cream to your face. It is almost like GA Maestro, but without the slight oily/ silicon feel.
It sets quickly and you have to work fast.
It is very buildable without looking cakey or too much piled on.
The finish is a very smooth almost matte finish. I use the shade neutral 20, which is a good match for my tone.
In terms of synchronising— I can see how the name is appropriate – once applied, I feel like it sinks into my skin, I can’t really see the foundation, but it is there. I can see how it evens out my skintone, without looking really visible.
It has a very natural flawless slightly brightening look.
It is quite long lasting – again, when testing new base, I use it on its own, no primer or whatever to interfere with its performance. On its own, I think it lasts me a good 9 hours, looking relatively fresh throughout the day. I have normal skin, slightly oily T-zone… and it would be interesting to see how this foundation would adapt to people with very oily or very dry skin. But in terms of coverage, finish, and the feel of the foundation, I am quite impressed.
zoom in on these pics, and you can see my sweat moustache, lol. this is foundation applied ten min ago.
foundation applied one hour ago. in a cooler setting, sans sweaty face.
and another selfie, where I look quite pleased with my look. haha. more details below on what else I used.
On the rest of the face, I used –
setting powder – Dior Nude Air Loose Powder
brighten my undereyes – Charlotte Tilbury the retoucher in No1 Fair
blush – rimmel santal rose blush
bronzer/ face warmer – sephora contouring disc (this is GREAT stuff)
brows – ABH brow pomade in Ebony
highlight on fleek – Becca shimmering pressed powder in Opal
lips – stila stay all day liquid lipstick in Dolce or smth? The label was peeled off. 😦 It is a beautiful MLBB warm tone.
eyeliner – TARTE smolderEYES in Dark Brown
That’s all, and I hope you found this quick review of the new Shiseido foundation useful.
This is one of those entries which I have been mentally composing for a few days, and while waiting for my camera battery to be done charging – so that I can take some pics for this entry – I shall start the ramble first. I know some of you do enjoy my rambly posts about random stuff, so without further ado, I shall start! 🙂
This will be a workout themed entry – shudders, I know, and I do want to use the term ‘workout’ loosely because:
I don’t think I am a fanatic
I don’t want to come across as preachy
but I would like to think working out is something that is part of my lifestyle in recent years, I do more when I can, and I don’t beat myself up if I only manage a session or two in a particular lackluster week.
In the past couple of years or so, I have been running – and again by running, my speed is not exactly that fast.. I would say I average around 35-40 min per 5km. I track my runs with my Nike+ app, I don’t really do the whole heartbeat tracking or whatever, I just try my best to clock in 3-4 sessions a week. And with that, comes the workout gear, and if you follow me on my social media – I prefer to wear only NIKE, LULU LEMON and h&m t-shirts. I enjoy the comfort and fitting of all my NIKE flyknit 4.0 shoes and epic run tights, my LULU crops (I like the Wunder Under crops and in the Flow crops), and also my h&m men’s dept grey tees.
I am boring when it comes to colors – all my workout stuff are monochromatic – which is good when I have no time to pack my stuff, I just grab any top and bottom and they won’t clash. It is a frivolous factor to consider, but for me… whatever that gets me motivated to workout, is important enough.
I also started yoga with Mabel (follow her on instagram @mabesyoga for a ton of inspiration!!) late last year. Together with a group of my friends, we began our yoga journey with Mabel who was then undergoing YTT and we were her test students, it was a “win-win-win-win all kinds of win” situation, she got to practice her craft, we got introduced to a new workout with a familiar face, we got to spend quality time working out, the benefits are endless and long-lasting. So much so that we are now committed to re-starting our yoga sessions with her next month, on a more structured programme than before. Seriously, for me, that was my greatest health & well-being discovery last year. I was secretly intimidated by the idea of yoga (I think I am too inflexible, too fat, too weak, too everything) but all the introductions to yoga classes (flow classes at FF with Amy & Kim, and yoga classes with Mabel) last year really opened my mind to trying it out, and now I can say that it is something that I enjoy, I am still getting the hang of everything, and I am not good by any means, but I am proud of my little progress so far, and I am happy to keep going and improving – which is really the most important.
And with yoga, comes another round of workout gear browsing, suddenly, tanks and longer tights came on my radar, and now I can almost never leave Lulu Lemon without buying something. I like to check out their sale rack every once so often, cos I get to save $20-30 off a pair of long tights… I am just glad that I only stick to my monochrome colour scheme, so there are only so many options available to me. Also, I only prefer a certain type of fabric.. those which are rather thick and stretchy (not those smooth Lycra type..) you got to feel them to appreciate them. My fave style of tights are the Wunder Under high waist/foldover – those cinch in your tummy and waist, make you feel compact and fit. I also tend to wear long tights for yoga because I like how my legs are ‘hugged’ and it feels better when I do my stretches and downward dog. The crops are better for running because I just need my thighs to be ‘hugged’ during movement while the long ones might get too warm. And because mine are all so grey and chic (lol) I don’t feel weird wearing them out, throw a sweater over and they can also double up as comfy warm travel outfit. My friends and I can go on and on discussing about our workout clothes.. and shopping together with them can be a dangerous thing… cos we will come up with the most ‘reasonable’ reasons to buy something new. And dare I say, I am more excited getting a new workout clothing than getting something from Zara or Sephora.
[disclaimer though] I don’t think anyone needs to spend a bomb on workout gear. The gear is just the gear. What matters most is your desire and discipline to KEEP DOING IT. No point in buying fancy shiz and only have the interest fade away after a couple of sessions and/or letting lame excuses take over your life. Anyone can start working out/ exercising in whatever suitable comfy gear they like.
One of my go-to bags, Festival Bag, I have it in the striped pattern too, but I cannot pass on this one with the neon strap. I am thinking I need a plain black one too!
Of course spending all that moolah on workout gear is not all just for that one single session of yoga a week for me. These days, my running frequency has dropped to about 1-3 times a week. But I am increasing my yoga frequency to about 3 -4 times a week. Twice on weekday evenings, Twice on weekend mornings. Because I now have some basic idea of yoga, I signed up for K-Fit (again, thanks to Mabel for introducing it to us), I paid a flat sum each month, and I have access to 2000 over workout sessions, ranging from gym facilities to yoga/ Pilates to kickboxing classes. But I only stick to yoga sessions, and I think after trying out 3-4 places, I think I have found a good mix to rotate and practice for each month.
As I am still quite new to the practice, I stick to the basic classes available on K-fit, and also some of the gentle flow classes. These are good to keep me practicing, while I will have my regular session with Mabel to work in a more precise and focused manner. Overall, I find this a good balance of practice and learning. Clearly, I am not sponsored in anyway, and you know me long enough, I just really want to share what really works for me, not because I am trying to promote XYZ fitness programme just because I am paid to (like some bloggers out there, you don’t see them working out, and all of a sudden, they are paid to mention some gym, or appear on some show, or endorse some event…. it is sooo zzzzz cos it is soooo not them, but they have to say it cos they are #sp #paidtoblogaboutit bullshit). It is totally fake, totally fail, and totally insulting to those people who really take fitness seriously, if you ask me. Again, I digress….
So, this whole K-fit thing is really quite legit.. I think there are similar fitness apps like K-fit (passport? guava pass?) so do consider these as they give you some flexibility and also options to explore. Or like me, not sure where to start and not sure if you are ready to commit to one place.
So just to sum up my current fitness ‘routine’
yoga: 3-4 times a week (mon, tues, thurs, sat and/or sunday)
running 5-10km: 2 times a week (usually wed and/or sunday evenings)
eating: I try to eat clean 70% of the time
massage & accu: yes I am still continuing! I go on Sunday mornings.
juicing: yes! I try to go a juice cleanse every 3 months? These are pricy, but a good kickstart to my system.
FRIDAYS are FATDAYS… I mean… TGIF…so I just have a good time on Fridays.
Again, I just want to stress that I am no fitness guru, I am just a normal girl trying to get my ass moving, I have blah days when I just want to lie in my bed and do absolutely nothing, the struggle is VERY REAL. I hope that my sharing is useful…I am going for my first mass run (shock horror, and I guess that’s why they say never say never) but it is just a 6km run (and truth be told, because I am signing up with my sister as a pair and the race pack is too cute). I highly doubt I would take part in future mass runs. The idea of waking up at unearthly hours, slap on a running tag, and jostle for space to move forward really isn’t my idea of fun. I reckon I am still anti-social when it comes to running.
I have a few beauty entries coming up soon, a foundie entry, and maybe a round of current faves to share with you.
That’s all I have for this entry, I think… and thank you for reading! Do share your fitness tips and stories with me in the comments below!
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