Shiseido

Hello From Tokyo! Shiseido Online Skin Care (and Tote Gift With Purchase) Available Now Through August 27th

August 18th, 2017 by Karen 4 Comments

“Hello from Tokyo!” says my tote bag.

Um…I wish I was saying hello to you from Tokyo. Instead, I’m waving to you over the interwebz from my cluttered hallway while holding this Shiseido Hello Toyko tote.

The cute characters in the print remind me of those gummy candies at the Asian store.

Ooh! — what if the tote came with peach gummy rings!? That would be awesome.

It’s an online exclusive gift-with-purchase available now on the Shiseido website, and you get it, along with a skin care sampler set with extra big sample sizes, with any $75 purchase (excluding gift sets).

There are four skin care sets to choose from, too (but only the one tote). There’s one set for fine lines, another for brightening, one for fading dark spots, and a set for clear skin.

Most of Shiseido’s products are available on their website, so there’s a lot to choose from. One thing I use and love is their Ibuki Quick Fix Mist ($25). It’s a setting spray to keep greasy skin in check.

I also love their face and body sunscreen — the one in the blue bottle. It’s lightweight, isn’t sticky, and it photographs well.

I think their lash curler is pretty good, too.

The Ibuki Smart Filtering Smoother ($23), Synchro Skin Foundation in Golden 5 ($45) and Facial Cottono ($10)

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The 3 Best Makeup Setting Sprays to Stop Your Face From Melting Off in the Heat

June 21st, 2017 by Karen 27 Comments

The best setting sprays for hella hot weather!

It’s hot today in the North Bay (or, as we say in the Bay Area, it’s “HELLA hot here right now”). It’s a heat wave.

Weirdly, it’s been way hotter here in Novato than it was in Hawaii last week.

Super hot and super sweaty. Currently, my house is like an armpit, so baby and I are going to escape to air-conditioned pastures in a bit, but before we go, let’s talk makeup setting sprays…

When it’s hot like this, they’re a must for me, and here are a few I love.

1. Make Up For Ever Mist & Fix O2 ($30)

The best all-rounder. You can probably guess that this one’s my fave because — look, there’s only a teeny bit left in the bottle! 🙂 It doesn’t matter what type of finish I’m wearing (matte, dewy, glittery, shimmery, whatever!), it holds on to everything and keeps it in place.

I can sweat like crazy — even rub at my eyes or touch my face — and it keeps whatever I’m wearing from melting off or disappearing.

make up for ever mist fix — Note to self: restock this soon,
as in almost immediately

Also, I think Mist & Fix is the best spray for applying shimmer eyeshadows, glitter shadows and/or loose pigments with a wet brush because it’s almost like a lightweight liquid glue. It doesn’t leave your lids or your face feeling tacky or anything like that, and yet somehow binds those shimmery or glittery particles to the skin.

2. Urban Decay Chill ($31)

The best for dewy skin looks, and you know I’m all about that dewy skin. 🙂 I think Chill is the best spray for that type of look.

It’s weird, but there’s a very fine line between dewy skin and skin that looks oily, right? A little shine is good — great, even! — but too much shine starts to look greasy. Chill walks that line without crossing it, and it feels fab, too. There’s a slight cooling sensation, so when you spray it on a hot day, ah… It’s so refreshing.

Did I mention that it creates the finest mist ever? The droplets are finer than those of the other the sprays I use, and it’s a wide mist. A single spritz covers a lot of area.

3. Shiseido Ibuki Quick Fix Mist ($25)

The best for keeping shine in check. I use this spray when I do matte looks or when my combo skin is oilier than usual. It has what Shiseido calls an “Anti-Shine Complex” to keep greasy spots in check, and dang if doesn’t werk! When I use this, I feel like my skin looks like it did in the ’90s (from what I remember, haha) — uber-matte, with no shine whatsoever.

The mist kinda bugs me, though… Sometimes big droplets hit my face in random spots, but other than that, it’s good stuff.

Stay cool in the heat, babe!

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

The Surratt Beauty Relevée Lash Curler or the Shiseido Eyelash Curler?

May 17th, 2017 by Karen 12 Comments

I got these two curlers during the Sephora VIB sale last month because I needed to replace my ancient, much-loved Shu Uemura curler.

Yup, my little trooper finally broke (RIP). 🙁

I’d heard that they’re similar to Shu’s curler and read some rave reviews, and so, in typical Karen fashion, since I couldn’t decide between them…I grabbed both.

They’re similarly shaped and flatter than many lash curlers (like the ones by Tarte, Urban Decay and MAC), and I like this shape a lot because it fits my eyes better than most.

The Troy Surratt Relevée Lash Curler (which is $30) is just a teensy bit wider than the Shiseido one (which is $20), and when I place my lashes into it (the Surratt one) and press down, there’s no pinching at all, whereas I feel a little bit of pinching on my outer lashes with the Shiseido curler if I hit them at certain angles or get too close to the lash base.

With the Troy Surratt curler, I can really get up in there.

I also like the lash look I get with the Surratt curler a bit more. The curl is more pronounced, and I just think it looks more natural and better.

The Shiseido one definitely has its advantages, though. It costs $10 less and comes with an extra silicone pad. I mean, I like the curl (although it’s more of a crimp) I get when I use it, and I think it’s pretty.

Oh! — also, because the Surratt is wider, I can easily fit false lashes into it (on those rare occasions when I wear falsies and want them to curl with my natural lashes).

Honestly, though, I don’t think you’d go really wrong with either one. Both are solid choices. It mostly depends on whether you want the extra width.

In order, I like the…

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

Some Weekday Glitter Featuring the New Shiseido Synchro Skin Foundation

March 14th, 2016 by Anna Oh 23 Comments

anna oh art beauty illustration fashion gold glitter — It’s all about the eyes! Glitter eyes

Hi everyone!

The other day I was having coffee with a few girlfriends — probably the BEST time to get makeup inspiration — and I fell in love with one of my friends’ pretty glittery eyeliner. I tried it out myself and found it to be an awesome way to pull off a little glitter during the day. I call it a “weekday glitter” look, and I hope you’ll be into it as much as I’ve been!

One of the key components to this look is nice and even skin tone. I used the new Shiseido Synchro Skin Foundation ($45 for 1oz) in a custom mixture of Golden 2 and Neutral 3. The foundation comes in Golden, Neutral, and Rose undertones ranging between 1 and 5. For some reason, the range isn’t complete, but we will probably find more colors coming with demand.

shiseido synchro skin foundation swatches — Shiseido Synchro Skin Foundation in Golden 2 and Neutral 3

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These Fresh and Luminous Shiseido Shimmering Cream Eye Colors Don’t Have Time for Fine Lines

August 28th, 2014 by Karen 11 Comments

Shiseido Shimmering Cream Eye Colors in YE216 Lemoncello and BL620 Esmaralda, $25 each

Creative trick.

To start this post, I gazed at Shiseido’s $25 Shimmering Cream Eye Colors and asked myself, “Self, what are the first two words you think of when you look at these?”

And I answered…myself. I said, “fresh and luminous!”

See, the trick is to ask yourself questions when you can’t think of something to say. 🙂

Anywho!

These potted cream eyeshadows come in a bunch of colors that, gloriously, do not settle into my fine lines, and since they aren’t fully opaque, some of my natural skin color peeks through when I wear ’em, which sort of gives them a casual effect like, “Yes, I did spend the day relaxing and reading on a sunny park bench.”

I like to wear Esmaralda (the teal one) or Lemoncello (the golden yellow) on top of NARS Pro-Prime Smudge Proof Eyeshadow Base. With Pro-Prime, I get 8-9 hours of wear.

You can find both of these shades, along with about a zillion others, now at Shiseido counters and online.