For me, the first step to good makeup is to have a good foundation. I'm not talking about foundation in the makeup sense, but foundation in the sense of skin.
There a lot of choices in the market that caters to all types of skins. For reference, I have
combination/dry skin. I am
not acne prone (unless I skimp out on my skincare routine).
It took me a long time to figure out what skincare works for me. When I was in my teens, my routine was simple.
Step 1: Cleanse (Pond's Anti-bacterial Facial Wash)
Step 2: For pimples, any OTC medication that worked (usually Oxy).
And that was it. To be fair, it worked really well for me. I didn't have acne-prone skin. Sure, I had my fair share of pimples and zits and all that jazz but a quick dose of Oxy Cream made it all settle down again.
This part is not related to my review, just my story. Totally skippable =)
It wasn't until December 2007 (yes, I know this review is LONG overdue) that my face started to resemble the Himalayans. No matter what I did (well, to be honest, just no matter how much Oxy I put in my face), my skin just had a never-ending cycle of settling down then breaking out. So while in Hongkong for some holiday shopping, I dropped by the Shu Uemura boutique in Kowloon's Festival Walk in the search of some powder foundation to cover it up (so from 2007 to 2010 my makeup knowledge has increased... zilch), the sweet SA generously gave me samples of their much raved about cleansing oils. Like seriously generous... like practically a month's worth of samples (she probably saw how badly my skin needed it). And that's the day this love affair began...
Story sharing over. Back to review mode
Just a little bit of info on Shu's different cleansing oil from my experience:
They come in
5 6 different kinds, each kind catering to different skin types and concerns. The
five six kinds are (followed by a brief review from the samples I got)
Enriched (Orange) works best for dry skin. This is the thickest/ heaviest cleansing oil in the bunch, and it moisturizes really well. This is my go-to cleanser when during the harshest days of the winter season. On a quick note, this oil has a tomato smell to it (which sucks because I hate tomatoes), making it feel like I'm putting salad dressing on my face. I would use this more often during the colder months but that tomato smell-alike just turns me off. I do believe that this has been (or will be discontinued) by Shu Uemura.
Premium A/I (Yellow) is for sensitive skin. From what I remember about this product, this made my skin feel really really dry instantly after washing so I stopped using it.
Premium A/O (Green) is for those with aging concerns. A/O stands for anti-oxidants. According to my SA, this is the best selling cleansing oil they have, and I can see why. This is the one I liked the most during my initial trial run, and after talking to my SA about my skin and my initial thoughts on the oils, this is the one I got. This had nice tinge of green tea smell to it, which makes washing my face every night heavenly. A more thorough review will follow soon.
Balancing Cleansing Fresh (Pink) is for those with combination, oily, acne-prone skin. I debated between this one and the Premium A/O for a long time before finally deciding on the A/O oil (its claimed anti-aging properties won me over). This oil is the lightest among the bunch, and it left my skin feeling clean and smooth. Since it's very lightweight, I imagine that this works very well for oily skin. This oil has that fresh, flowery smell to it.
White Recovery Brightening Advanced Formula is one of Shu's newest additions to their skincare line. It claims to have brightening effects for dull skin. I recently switched from Premium A/O to try this out and will be doing a more thorough review once I try it out longer.
Update: I just checked the
Shu Uemura website and Enriched (Orange) is no longer available. In addition, Shu Uemura has reformulated their original cleansing oil (which I thought was discontinued a long time ago) to bring us the
High Performance Balancing Cleansing Oil Advanced Formula which according to their website is for all skin types. I never got to try their original cleansing oil, so unfortunately, I do not have any thoughts for this one. (I sense a trip to Shu Uemura to get a sample for this one).
Until then,
M/U Newbie
Enriched (Orange) works best for dry skin. This is the thickest/ heaviest cleansing oil in the bunch, and it moisturizes really well. This is my go-to cleanser when during the harshest days of the winter season. On a quick note, this oil has a tomato smell to it (which sucks because I hate tomatoes), making it feel like I'm putting salad dressing on my face. I would use this more often during the colder months but that tomato smell-alike just turns me off. I do believe that this has been (or will be discontinued) by Shu Uemura.
No comments:
Post a Comment