As I was running out of my Clinique 'Superdefense SPF25 Age Defense Moisturizer' and the 'Clarifying Lotion 2' I decided to try a new skincare range as I was worried about using an anti-ageing product at the age of 20. Many people have said that you shouldn't use and don't need to use anti-ageing products until your late 30s as it can cause your skin more damage in the long-term however the other side of the arguement says that the younger you start to use anti-ageing the better. I've tried researching if there is any difference between ageing-prevention and anti-wrinkle/anti-ageing but I gave up. I found it is much easier to just buy something else.
My cousin went to Hong Kong so I took this opportunity and asked him to get me 3 Shiseido Pureness products which are MUCH cheaper in Hong Kong then in the UK. I went onto House of Fraser and John Lewis websites' to see how much the whole range would be from the Shiseido 'Deep Cleansing Foam', 'Balancing Softener', 'Moisturizing Gel-Cream' and the 'Pore Minimizing Cooling Essence' and it came up to about £95? But my cousin got 3 of the products (minus the cleanser as I'm still using my Clinique one) for £45! By the way I have combination skin.
First up is the balancing softener. I found that one pump was enough for my face and it left my skin feeling really soft. The smell reminds me of baby wipes which may not be for everyone. I don't think this product is for me as my face doesn't really feel clean enough after using it and I'm not too sure about it balancing blemish-prone skin as my skin seems to have gotten worse but then I am use to using much more harsh toners.
The second product is the moisturizing gel-cream which is suppose to be for combination-normal skin types. Now my skin was getting really dry for some reason and this was exactly what I needed! A little goes a long-way, I use it at night and it hydrates my skin perfectly. Initially I loved this product however I have found that a couple of red bumps that develops into spots have popped up on my face >_< They are horrible! At first I thought my skin was getting worse due to my hormones and it being that time of the month but now I think it is the cream. I have been using this cream for 2 weeks and I've gotten more red bumps!
The last product is the pore-minimizing cooling essence. When I tested it out on the back of my hands it left my skin cool and matte so I thought it'd work great but having used it morning and night for a couple of days I found that it made my pores even worse. I thought I owed it a real chance so I done a real test by steaming my face and releasing all my pores on my nose, cleaned it with cold water to close the pores then I used the essence... When the essence had dried I found that it had filled up all my pores again! Now it is sitting on my desk useless.
Overall I won't be repurchasing any of the products in this range. The Pureness range is suppose to deal with shine, imperfections and dryness, I think they have the dryness and shine part nailed down but in terms of imperfections it is nowhere near. I am seriously contemplating buying Clinique's 'Superdefense SPF25 Age Defense Moisturizer' again because whenever my skin is acting up I always go back to Clinique... I like using this moisturizer because I find it moisturises my skin without it making it too oily and it also keeps my blemish-prone skin under control, the fact that it is an anti-ageing product is my downfall. What made me ignore that fact was that it had SPF25 in which I thought great! It's protecting my skin aswell but then I found this video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=swftzB3O9iU
Yeah.. So after more research my next venture will be Benefit's b.right! Radiant range.
