This has such high ratings that I thought it would be an HG for me, but, unfortunately it isn't. I love it for everyday, but it's for travelling it's not equally good as I absolutely need a primer for this, which also means I need to own another product to go with this one.
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I have dry-normal, sensitive skin that gets oily during the day on forehead, nose, chin. Not flaky. Very little pinkiness. Very even skin texture, but a little bit of hyperpigmentation. In general, I have good skin and could go without foundation, but I really hate my hyperpigmentation.
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I was very happy to find a foundation that is light and yellow enough for my very light yellow NC15 skin - SP30 (I can also use this colour when I'm closing up on NC20). And there are even two colours that are lighter :D The foundation has close to no oxidation, and I believe it wouldn't oxidize more even if you have oily skin. For the consistency, which is very runny, the coverage is good. I could say it gives light-almost full coverage.
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I quite like the packaging - it's very small and lightweight. I have two more foundations with similar packaging: Estee Lauder invisible Fluid and Chanel Vitalumiere. When you shake those and open them, the product just oozes out while you hold the bottle right way up, and it gets messy. Luckily, this foundation is so thin that it doesn't do that, so it's very mess-free.
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This is long lasting - better than most, but it does rub off my chin a little during the day. No biggie though. This doesn't break up or flake off during the day and feels very comfortable even on my sensitive skin. At the end of the day this still looks pretty perfect.
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I can't say much about how transfer free this is as I use so little of it - Shiseido claims it's transfer free, but I have never encountered a foundation that is completely transfer free. The best, I would say is when foundation doesn't transfer onto your fingers of you touch your face, which this doesn't do. If I hug my boyfriend while he's wearing a white T-shirt on the other hand, it transfers a little, even though I don't have much on, but again:I haven't had a foundation that doesn't do this. I don't wear foundation down my neck (I just wear the right colour for me), so I don't know if this transfers onto ones own clothes.
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Many people say this is completely matte. I think it strongly depends on application. If I apply this over a primer, on a dry face or powder over with an oil controlling powder, this will be matte. If I put it over my regular moisturizer, this looks extremely oily. I wouldn't say this foundation had good oil control over a moisturizer, but with the other methods, I don't get much shine during the day.
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I'm not sure why this claims to be very water resistant: when I splash my face with water, I see this lifting (going white). I't looks like it's the sunscreen part of this that washes off. I actually have no clue about how they could state that this is water-resistant for 80 minutes. I don't think I will say any more about this point other than that I think it sounds quite ridiculous to use a foundation as sunscreen that they recommend "reapplying every 80 minutes". I think if you want a water-proof foundation, buy a water proof one - this won't do, but it also doesn't claim it would. For the SPF purpose, you, very likely, won't apply ENOUGH of this for it to work properly as a sunscreen (you need about a teaspoon for your face and neck to get the indicated SPF).
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So many people say this looks super-natural... I found it to not be quite true if I just apply it to my face, but with a silicone primer it looks natural, but it kinda defeats the purpose of a small packaging for this, as I need to have another product with it. I use my Arbonne primer, which I don't think prolongs the wear time of any foundation - rather the slightly (only slightly) opposite, but it makes foundations that usually dry very fast go on much smoother and look invisible. For the application I use a brush: the Real Techniques Expert Face Brush. This brush can apply almost any liquid foundation flawlessly. I could, of course use a sponge for application but, this is a VERY liquid foundation. A sponge would apply this excellently, but it would also waste a lot of product. I find this a small flaw in the formulation, as they actually recommend a sponge.
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In my experience, there are foundations that look like you have nothing on your skin. Most of them are quite silicone loaded, like, for example BB creams. If you want a foundation that looks very close to your skin texture, I would recommend trying on something silicone based. This would especially be true for people with drier skin. If you want to use this foundation, you should NOT have flaky skin and you might need to apply a primer where you have drier areas, or the foundation might look a little gritty over them.
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I'm not sure how economical this foundation is as I have't used a full bottle yet, but will update.
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Would I buy again? I don't know :/ When I buy a foundation, I would like to be able to use it without absolutely needing a primer under. I'm happy that some people love this foundation, but it's not love for me, though it IS very good. I'm a little sad since I bought this for travelling with, and now I'll need to also bring a primer, but if I find that the amount of foundation lasts for a long time, I might repurchase. Would I recommend checking this out? Yes - it's a good foundation.

As a foundation, I would give this a 3. As a concealer, I would give this a 5. So, I split the difference.

About My Skin: Combination - The area on and around my nose is moderately oily, my cheeks are incredibly dry, and everywhere else is pretty normal.

Coverage: Not entirely full coverage in one thin layer, but pretty close. If using all over your face as a foundation, I wouldn't recommend more than a single thin layer as it will look obvious. However, using as a concealer in small areas (with a brush), I can use two... even three layers and it looks great (leaving about 30 seconds to dry in between layers). I have yet to have a blemish that I couldn't completely cover with this (I don't get outbreaks very often, but when I do, they're quite bad).

Wear Length: INSANE! At least 12 hrs with no fading.... probably longer if needed. I have problems with most foundations & concealers melting and wearing away quickly in the Florida summer heat and humidity, but not this one! It really is waterproof too... I've swam with it in a spring and came out with 95% of it still on.

Finish: Personally, I would call this matte. When using all over the face as foundation, I find it to look a bit unnatural and heavy (but then again, I feel that way about ALL full coverage foundations)

Texture: A rather thin water-based liquid. Unfortunately, it's very drying and accentuates flaky skin, which is it's major draw back for me. Doesn't bother me when using as a concealer though because the areas I need extra coverage in aren't dry or flaky (usually just underneath eyes and on the occasional blemish). It also dries very fast, which is GREAT if using it as a concealer in small areas (only have to wait 30 seconds in between layers). However, if using as an all over foundation you'll have to work fast to get it to blend well.

Packaging: A little messy (the foundation tends to squeeze out the top leaving the inside of the cap and the top of the bottle covered in dried foundation)

Bottom Line: HG Concealer! Truly Waterproof! I don't recommend using as as foundation though unless you have normal to oily skin with no dry patches or flakes at all.

Officially obsessed with this foundation. I was skeptical at first because of the price. But I went to my local Nordstrom counter and got a sample first. I am a pale asian and have yellow AND pink undertones. My color is SP50 (I was surprised too but it actually matches very well). I have oily skin during the day and my makeup "melts" off easily. However I haven't ran into any issues with this foundation at all. The area around my nose gets very very red (I have bad allergies) and the redness becomes more obvious during the day with other foundations. I've been pleasantly surprised with this Shiseido one. I only have to touch up concealer around my nose area once. No powder needed at all. It is matte but not cakey. The only downside is that I think I use more product due to the liquid consistency (I really like the consistency of it by the way). It's also a little pricey so I recommend getting color matches and grabbing a sample to try before purchasing. I would also like to point out that I have sensitive acne prone skin and I haven't bad any issues with breaking out. IMPORTANT: Be sure to use an oil cleanser in addition to your regular cleanser to remove this foundation. It's long wearing so you don't want it getting stuck in your pores due to poor cleansing. I use Shiseido's Perfect Oil followed by Perfect Whip and they work effortlessly to remove all the foundation residue. Anyways, I would definitely repurchase again! THE SPF IS GREAT, and that in itself is worth it!

I have been putting off this review because I wanted so badly to write a good one, so i just keep trying the product. But I just don't like it.

I do think it is good for my oily skin and it dosent break me out but I just cant seem to get it blend nicely into my skin and i don't find it has amazing coverage however i am still going to keep using it, just probably wont re-purchase it.

This product does not offer much coverage, and does not stay on very long, yet there is still something that makes me love it. Maybe it's just my unexplainable passion for Shiseido products. Anyways, I like this foundation, but I can understand why most people wont.

This was first high end sun screen product, which I admit it's an excellent for oily/dry combination skin. It's a milky substance that doesn't have that strong sun screen smell. The product goes on smooth and is easily absorbed by the skin to leave a dewy feel and doesn't leave a white tint on the skin. It's doesn't have that sweaty feeling on the skin and you do need to reapply every two hours to maximize the sun screen properties. It doesn't clog the pores like most products do and it's blends in with the makeup.

It's a bit pricey but if you are looking for a good product for oily/dry combo skin, give this a try.

This foundation looks very natural and doesn't look cakey at all. It has a high SPF and gives a matte finish all day long. Doesn't setlle into lines or pores. I mix it up with a bit of moisturizer because it dries up very fast and apply with my fingers.I definitely recommend.

This really doesn't cover too well and doesn't feel good when I have it on. It doesn't match my skin TOO well but it's not incredibly noticeable when I have it on. It emphasizes dry patches! I dont think the product itself aggravates acne but it stays on so well that washing it with oil cleansers VERY thoroughly still leaves residue :( I was warned this and made sure I washed it very well but I STILL ended up with 2 cystic pimples -__- and mind you, I rarely break out. UGH going to return this and find something else.

After reading reviews, I really wanted to try this foundation. I am sure it has many great properties, but it just didn't work for me. For starters, it dries very quickly. Tried to apply it with a sponge, then a flat brush and the 3 rd time I tried with my fingers. None seemed to really blend very easily, but I didn't really try too much harder because the color selection is awful. I am a NC25-30 and I purchased the SP40. The color was too light and the step up is too dark and pink. This bummed me out after reading all the reviews how blendable and natural it looked. This also photographs horribly due to the high SPF content. I will be returning this.

So, of course when I finally find a foundation I LOVE it immediately becomes discontinued! No, not this Shiseido foundation, but rather Boots No7 Lifting and Firming Foundation.


There I was, in a hurry, as usual, but knowing how simple it was going to be to just pop into my local Target and pick up a bottle of foundation. I knew that I needed to go one shade lighter, because, at this point it was February, and I was having to carry the Blonde shade I was currently wearing down my neck, which I dislike having to do. My usual goal is to wear a foundation that is a good compromise between my face (which I religiously wear a strong sun block on) and my chest/decollete which gets spf 15 or 20 throughout the summer "sun" months.


Imagine my dismay and confusion when I make a beeline to the Boots shelves in the cosmetics section of Target, only to find EMPTY shelves! Really? I looked around the department for a minute, thinking they were rearranging the store, which they just had done the previous year, and I was irritated. First Target had to rearrange everything, then my favorite grocery store, and now Target was doing it again??... no... no Boots cosmetics anywhere. I went back to the shelves where the makeup had been, and noticed a small sign stating that Boots was getting a "new look" to be on shelves Spring of 2013. "Spring"??? how vague is that! and I needed foundation then, right then in February, not months down the road.


Once again I needed to find a foundation I loved.


It finally happened—after several attempts.


At first I wasn't completely on a genuine hunt, because I (wrongly) assumed my foundation would be back on the shelves, after Boots had its little makeover. Then, I saw on MUA that it was discontinued! So, my search began in earnest.


I won't bore you with all of the foundations I sampled. Suffice it to say, I tried a LOT! I ended my search with this Shiseido gem. and am very happy with it so far. It does darken slightly when it dries, I wouldn't really call it oxidation, because I always equate oxidation with that awful orange shade some foundations can unfortunately turn, but, as it is a "low transfer. long wear" type foundation, it does darken when dry.


I have dry skin, and have had no problems with it accentuating it, or wrinkles. It wears extremely well, and has a high enough sunblock to where I have actually worn it without sunblock under it, and have not gotten any color after being outside for several hours in the sun, So far, after only a couple of weeks of wear, I love it very much. It isn't too matte, I don't have that dead flat look to my skin. A big plus is that it doesn't get my cell phone all smeary. It lasts all day til I take it off, and basically, so far its all good.


BTW, I will add a couple of separate reviews for some of the foundations I tried before settling on this Shiseido, I don't know that I"m going to get around to it tonight, but will try to get them in soon.

Tips on applying... Well I've not used it long enough to have that much of an opinion, but, I do like to apply with fingers, and have a damp sponge ready to touch up any areas that look a bit thick, or whatever. There is a sponge that is sold with the foundation, and even though I own a beautyblender sponge, I've not used it with it so far, as I'm quite happy with how it looks with just my fingers.

It does need to be shaken well before applying.


I am adding two photos comparing several brands of foundations in similar shade swatches. One photo is foundation on a white paper towel, the other swatched on inside of my arm, which is a bit pink from running the hairdryer on it trying to hurry up the drying process for foundations, so it is a bit skewed due to that, but, it still should give a good idea how SP50 in this foundation compares, color wise to a few other brands that I had at home.