Shiseido Gift with Purchase September 2019

Where I got it

This gift with purchase started on 4th September in Farmers (online and in-store) and ends on 22nd September. The promotion was for buying two Shiseido products in a single transaction, one being skincare product and there were a couple of exclusions: empty cases; gift sets; value packs & already reduced items – concentrate & moisture mist ranges

I picked up a men’s skincare product for my hubby and one of their latest concealers (self-refreshing liquid concealer) for myself. My purchase came to a total of $118. The gift was a total value of $217.

What I got

There were two options with this GWP, I chose the Bright Lucent version and the other one was the Benefiance version. Besides the one moisturiser product, all other products in the gift are the same. So it came with: a 75ml tube of Benefiance WrinkleResist24 Protective Hand Revitalizer with SPF15, a 40ml bottle of Perfect Cleansing Oil, a 75ml bottle of Treatment Softener Enriched, a 10ml bottle of Ultimune Power Infusing Concentrate, a 4ml tube of ControlledChaos MascaraInk in 01 Black Pulse, and a 15ml jar of White Lucent Brightening Gel Cream. 

How I find it

Shiseido WrinkleResist 24 Protective Hand Revitalizer (75ml full size, RRP$60). Targets age spots, wrinkles and flaking while insulating skin against harmful external aggressors such as UVA/UVB. Absorbs quickly, providing long-lasting moisturizing benefits for smoother, even-toned, younger-looking hands.

This is my first ever hand cream from Shiseido, I had no idea they made hand cream! This is from their Benefiance range which is more in the anti-ageing collection. This is a massive tube at 75ml, my usual hand cream is around 50ml or 50g at the most. The formula has a slight pinky tone to is and it has a pleasant fragrance similar to Shiseido face creams. It has SPF 15 which I think most people don’t really care for but is actually quite handy. SPF15 isn’t a lot so it’s not going to do a lot, but it’s better than nothing right?

It has a slight dry-touch effect so after rubbing your hands together, the hand cream feels absorbed and there is it sticky, or wet feeling like you are going to touch something and it will transfer. The moisturising effect lasts for hours until you either wash it off or it wears off. I love the smell and the feel of my hands after using this so I’m keeping this one close by!

Shiseido Perfect Cleansing Oil (40ml, RRP$71 for 180ml). A comfortable, lightweight cleansing oil with Shiseido’s original Gentle Quick-Removing Technology. It rapidly reaches deep down into the pore to thoroughly remove dirt and makeup, with no sticky feeling. Excellent for all skin types.

Same as most cleansing oils, this one comes with a pump and you are supposed to use this with dry hands and on dry face. I use 2-3 pumps for all over the face and neck. Massage with fingertips on my eyes and lips as well to get all that long-wearing lipstick and waterproof mascara off. Use a little bit of water to emulsify and then rinse off. It effectively cleanses the makeup off and I use a facial cleanser afterwards and my skin is clean and supple. It doesn’t feel stripped or dry at all, also no residue on the face or slippery, slimy feeling.

But. I’m sorry, but I had a look at the ingredients and the first ingredient is mineral oil, and some people find this oil pore-clogging or comedogenic. There isn’t a lot of ingredients in the list, but denatured alcohol and fragrance are amongst it further down the list. It the most impressive list, but if you are worried about mineral oil and fragrance, steer well away.

Shiseido Treatment Softener Enriched (75ml, RRP$95 for 150ml). SHISEIDO Softeners add dimension to Inner Skin Defences. External aggressors are deflected. Signs of ageing meet strong resistance. Skin is plumped. Its surface is smoothed. Moisture is replenished. Fine lines become less noticeable. For refreshed, glowing, younger-looking skin that stays hydrated for 24 hours at a time.

Contains paraben that is in the middle of the ingredients list followed closely by fragrance. There is also alcohol a couple of ingredients after that and it doesn’t really say what type of alcohol because there is good alcohol (fatty alcohols such as benzyl alcohol) and bad alcohol (drying alcohol such as denatured alcohol). So I’m not too sure what we have here, but I’m hoping it is fatty alcohol because this is formulated for dry to very dry skin types, so putting drying alcohol here wouldn’t really make sense.

Anyway, this softener is like a lotion or an essence. Not many brands come out with softeners, and I think this is more of a Japanese thing. Japanese skincare most often replaces a toner with a softener and then you will use a serum, then a lotion and an emulsion. So in this case, you are supposed to use this softener after cleansing, on a cotton pad and wipe gently all over the face.

The texture is lightweight but it does have some viscosity to it. It hydrates the skin temporarily, softened the top most layer and then prepares it for serums or essences. You could probably use this as part of the 7-skins method and layer this on to provide more moisture, but since I’m not too sure what kind of alcohol it contains, I will stick to using it as a toner.

Shiseido Ultimune Power Infusing Concentrate (10ml, RRP$129 for 30ml). Ultimune’s new formula generates inner skin defences continuously and maintains them at a high level. This keeps skin in a protected state, even in harsh environments. A rich, dewy texture absorbs immediately and feels like an invisible veil of protection. Skin becomes healthy immediately, and even healthier over time. It contains a combination of soothing fragrance ingredients which help relieve stress and offering a calming effect.

Not my first time using this concentrate and this is Shiseido’s best-selling or holy grail serum product (similar to EL’s ANR and Dior’s One Essentiel Serum, etc.). The concentrate doesn’t really have much of a sophisticated texture but it does go on the skin smoothly and provides hydration and moisture to make the skin feel soft and supple. However, the effect doesn’t last very long and I will definitely need to put a moisturiser on top to seal that all in.

As for the ingredients, I am disappointed, but not surprised to see denatured alcohol is second on the list right after water. Disappointed because I would expect a serum or concentrate would not have so much drying alcohol, but not surprised because I can literally smell it as soon as I slap it on my face. This also has methylparaben about a third of the way down, followed by fragrance again. I’m not fussy about fragrance, but with denatured alcohol so high up in the list, I’m not quite sure I would like to use this on a daily basis.

Shiseido ControlledChaos MascaraInk Mascara in Black Pulse (RRP$61 for???). Volumizing, high-impact mascara that offers perfect precision and control. This exclusive formula and innovative brush design volumizes, lifts and saturates lashes. Flake-proof, smudge-resistant, clump resistant. Available in four graphic shades.

This mascara has a rather large wand/brush head whatever you call it. The packaging is totally chic with that signature black and red colour scheme. The formula is volumizing and lifting, it also separates the lashes. The formula is on the drier side so it dries quite fast without feeling sticky. That being said, it doesn’t mean that the product applies difficult, it swipes onto lashes easily. Even on my soft, short lashes.

I suffer from mascara-always-runs syndrome and even waterproof mascara doesn’t stay put, I would need to use tubing mascaras to be 100% confident that it won’t move or smudge (been using Kevyn Aucoin The Volume or The Curling mascara pretty much daily).

Wearing this for the first time to work, I kept checking for smudging and transfer, which I wasn’t able to see at all. By around the 6th-hour mark, I started to see some transfer to my lower eye area. There appears to be no major crumbling and no flaking, just a little bit of melting. My lashes are still pointing upwards just like how I curled them in the morning.  I will probably pass this onto my sisters.

Shiseido White Lucent Brightening Gel Cream (15ml, RRP$121 for 50ml). Focus on the neuroscience of your skin’s senses. With this refreshing moisture cream, ReNeura Technology+ directs internal sensory signals, to make skin optimally responsive to the age-defying benefits of skincare. It intensively brightens, diminishes the look of dark spots and unevenness, moisturizes and smoothes lines. Illuminating you.

The White Lucent range has been a long-going range after they discontinued the UV White range which I really loved back in the days. This brightening gel cream is really lightweight and does have the fresh texture of a gel and the moisturising effects of the cream. This one is more suited for combination-oily or combination normal skin and is suitable for use day and night.

Unfortunately, when I looked into the ingredients list, denatured alcohol is 5th in the list and fragrance is also is the middle of the list. There are a couple of palm oil ingredients so I’m not too sure how sustainable the process was to obtain these palm oil. Also, similar theory with the denatured alcohol in the Ultimune concentrate, I do understand that some skincare products put in denatured alcohol so that ingredients like vitamin C and retinol can penetrate the skin more effectively, but if it dries my skin out at the same time, I’d rather shop somewhere else.

Overall

Lately, I’ve been interested in looking into the ingredients in my skincare products (not makeup yet, I need more research) and to my disappointment, Shiseido does use a couple of undesirable ingredients (drying alcohols and parabens). Many of these classic higher-end brands (Estee Lauder, Clarins, Shiseido, Elizabeth Arden, Dior, Lancome, etc.) has their signature fragrance for years and years. Back then, before all the new cult brands, clean-beauty brands came along, everyone loved a good-smelling cream on their face. If you have sensitive skin, it is probably best to steer away from things like drying alcohol, parabens, fragrances, etc. even natural ingredients like lavender oils can be irritating to sensitive skin.

Personally, I don’t have much sensitivity issues, but I do like to stay away from parabens and drying alcohols because being 35, my skin is losing collagen and soon my skin will become drier. Overall, I think this gift with purchase is pretty good value if you are into skincare. There isn’t enough for a full skincare routine because it is missing a proper cleanser, but it does have a travel size of their latest mascara!