2014-03-05

Shiseido Ibuki Refining Moisturizer Review

Hi beautifuls,

Hope all of you are enjoying your days! Today, I am here to share another skin care purchase from the brand Shiseido.  I had been looking for a decent day moisturizer when I stumbled upon Shiseido’s skin care range Ibuki. While testing it out at the store, I was quite impressed and convinced to get it, though it slightly failed to live up to my expectations later! So, please read on further to know more about Shiseido Ibuki Refining Moisturizer.



Price:

$45 for 2.5 Fl Oz (75 ml), exclusive of taxes and shipping.

Ingredients:

PhytoResist Complex: Supports cells’ natural resistance to external stressors.  Glycylglycine: Decreases the appearance of visible pores and roughness.  Peony Root Extract: Minimizes the appearance of breakouts and blemishes. Witch Hazel Extract: Provides powerful antioxidants.



Water, Glycerin, Butylene Glycol, Dipropylene Glycol, Hydrogenated Polydecene, Triethylhexanoin, Hdi/Trimethylol Hexyllactone Crosspolymer, Dimethicone, Glyceryl Stearate Se, Trehalose, Peg-5 Glyceryl Stearate, Behenyl Alcohol, Phenoxyethanol, Stearic Acid, Isostearic Acid, Behenic Acid, Alcohol, Carbomer, Aminopropyl Dimethicone, Betaine, Fragrance, Silica, Potassium Hydroxide, Glycyl Glycine, Sodium Metabisulfite, Disodium Edta, Limonene, Hexyl Cinnamal, Butylphenyl Methylpropional, Benzyl Benzoate, Linalool, Paeonia Albiflora Root Extract, Witch Hazel Leaf Extract, Lamium Album Flower Extract, Citrus Junos Seed Extract, Tocopherol, Zingiber Aromaticus Extract, Benzoic Acid.

Product Description:

This multi-action formula intensively corrects the appearance of unevenness such as visible pores, breakouts/ blemish marks and skin roughness. It renews the skin’s surface, revealing an incredibly smooth, uniform texture, while keeping skin hydrated all day long.

Packaging:

This white watery fluid comes in a classy off white bottle packaging with pump dispenser and safety cap. It has a very strong musky perfume which really bothers me; however, it does fade away after half an hour, but I don’t like such strong fragrances in skin care products.  Overall, it’s a travel friendly and attractive packaging, but the fragrance is going to be a big turn off for sensitive noses including me.



My Experience with Shiseido Ibuki Refining Moisturizer:

This is my first skin care purchase from Shiseido and probably the last I believe Blame my oily and acne-prone skin which is sensitive to many skin care products and Shiseido’s musky strong fragrance, which disappointed me and I am refraining myself from trying their skin care stuff now! I picked this refining moisturizer for my day time routine as the weather here is harsh and cool and I wanted a multipurpose moisturizer which would work for all my concerns like oily skin, open pores, uneven skin texture and dry patches as well. Moreover, the SA in the store totally convinced me to buy it as she said it’s bestseller stuff and an all-in-one product, especially for oily gals. I must say, if you look at the texture, you will love it.

It’s watery and really light on the skin. It immediately sinks into my skin, but the issue is that it does not treat my blemishes (I do get zits and their scars very often), it does not even control oil as it claims.  I can notice oily skin within an hour of using it. I also feel suspicious about such strong musky scent in this moisturizer which is just not acceptable in my skin care regimen, it seems as if I sprayed on a musky perfume.

After using it for more than a month, I can hardly see any visible difference in my oily skin and open pores.  My skin rather looks more oily within an hour. However, it does heal dry patches slowly with time and my skin feels touchably smooth, but with oil, I don’t feel like touching my skin some times. Now, I just use it at home, can’t even think of using it as a night cream for it is more or less formulated with alcohol and chemicals which is not suitable for night time skin care regimen. Moreover, if I use acid peel or AHA cleanser, then I really fear to use it for most of the times it is mentioned that we should not use products containing alcohol prior or post alpha beta facial peel.

Moreover, considering its high-end price, I was expecting it to give me a matte finish like a toner, soft nourished skin like a moisturizer and even out my skin tone adding charm to my face, but it hardly lives up to my expectations! Thankfully, in these 5-6 weeks, it never caused any skin irritation or breakouts.

It did treat the dry patches on my cheeks with time, but my skin looks oily all the time and I hardly see any freshness or charm on my face thereafter :( I cannot recommend it to oily skin gals for it won’t help us; it might not even help dry skin beauties for it takes hell of lot of time to show results that too when my skin is really oily. I wonder if it could help combination skin gals preferably in winters! I don’t think I would ever consider Shiseido in my skin care regimen, not Ibuki for sure

Let’s sum up the pros and cons:

Pros of Shiseido Ibuki Refining Moisturizer:

A lightweight multi-action formula that claims to target uneven skin tone, blemishes, visible pores and skin roughness.

It does treat dry and chapped skin with regular use.

Infused with goodness of witch hazel extract, phyto resist complex.

It may suit combination skin.

Does make skin touchably smooth.

Formulated without parabens, sulfates, and phthalates.

Cons of Shiseido Ibuki Refining Moisturizer:

It hardly lives up to its claims of clearing blemishes, visible pores, skin roughness, skin tone.

Makes face oily/greasy within an hour of using it on my skin.

It has a strong musky smell which could have been avoided.

It is more or less formulated with chemicals and alcohol, hence not suitable for sensitive skin especially if you are using acid peels.

Considering it is a high-end product, it’s really not worth trying or even worth having in our skin care regimen as we do get a number of genuine options in drugstore and other relatively great brands at affordable prices.

Overall, I would suggest to try the mini sample (if you are still interested to get it ) first and then proceed for the full-sized version because it may screw your savings and budget unexpectedly Hope this review helps :))

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