Shiseido Synchro Skin Lasting Liquid Foundation

Where I got it

I happen to stumble into the Westfield Manukau Life Pharmacy and they were doing 30% off pretty much all of the Shiseido foundations. The lady told me she was the only one doing the offer, and it was not available in all Life Pharmacy locations. My local Life Pharmacy in Botany doesn’t even have Shiseido. This is RRP$69, but after the discount, it was $48.30, which is a very good price for Shiseido products.

 

 

What I got

This is the Shiseido Synchro Skin Long Lasting Liquid Foundation SPF20 (30ml). Formulated with advanced sensing technology, it creates a dynamic synchronisation with your skin and maintains a beautiful look even as skin conditions change. Medium/buildable coverage with a semi-matte/ natural finish that is suitable for all skin types. Ultra-smooth, weightless sensation with mother of Thyme extract to help prevent skin damage caused by oxidation, and Hypericum Perforatum Extract helps prevent skin roughness.

Comes in 16 shades from 3 different skin tones – rose (1-5), natural (1-5) and golden (1-6). Not the best shade range, but I think Shiseido is more geared towards Asian skin tones or Asian skin types so I’m not mad at the shade match for me. I picked up the shade Golden 3 to best match my neck.

How I find it

I have previously tried a bit of this foundation before in a small sample-sized bottle and I really liked it. At $69, it was a little expensive for me, so I have forgotten about it. $48 was a pretty ok price IMO so I picked it up. I was shade matched at the store by the lady and she recommended golden 3 if I wanted the best math my neck for a natural look. My face would’ve been Golden 2, but my neck is slightly darker so Golden 3 was my end choice.

This is a long-wear foundation suitable for more oilier or combination skin. The Synchro Skin Foundation range also has a glow version which provides a more dewy finish to the skin. It has a lid and a pump which is very convenient but the pump mechanism looks a little old fashion, but the frosted bottle made it look very sophisticated at the same time. One pump is enough for my entire face and another half a pump would cover my neck easily with a little extra for my problem areas (cheeks and jawline).

I like to use my fingers to dot on the foundation around my face. Then blend it out using a dense kabuki brush. I would also use a damp beauty sponge to blend the foundation for a more diffused and natural look (aka sheer coverage). I would say this is more of a medium coverage foundation with a natural finish. It provides a bit of oil control, so my oiliness shone through by around the 4th-hour mark which is not too bad. If I wear this for any longer than 8 hours, it would definitely fade and moved all over my face and would have transferred if I touched it.

Overall

The shade match seems to be pretty spot on, it has a good undertone suitable for my Asian skintone and while it looks quite pale when I applied, once it is blended out, it looks seamless on the skin. The medium coverage and natural finish feels pretty good on the skin. It tends to lean more on the mattifying side so it might be a little drying for dry skin types. It is still winter in New Zealand (but the weather is changing soon) and currently the humidity is pretty good, but I do need to make sure I moisturise and hydrate my skin well before I use a long-lasting foundation because they tend to be a bit drying on the skin.

The foundation does last pretty well, but as usual, with my combination-oily skin, it wears out by about the 5th hour mark around my nose and t-zone area and around my chin where I touch quite a lot during the day. Otherwise, in my cheeks, they stayed on pretty well, despite some going around the sides of my nose.