First off, I am very wary of any foundation/bb cream/tinted moisturizer, because I have endured 2 years of terrible acne, and now that my skin is doing better, I don't want to screw it up. That being said, this foundation does not irritate my sensitive skin. Which is a huge priority of mine, therefore, this foundation is already worth it's 38 or so dollars.

It is also pale enough for me. Chanel failed me, which was a surprise, as did Nars and Stila. And don't get me started on Bobbi Brown's BS of endless yellow in their products. Urgh. Shiseido, however, as it is a Japanese brand, carries very light foundations. I have this in 00, which fits my NW 15 skin tone (using MAC terms here) perfectly. It has the usual consistency of a foundation, meaning it doesn't sink into my skin and pores as nicely as some of my bb creams, yet it doesn't feel sticky whatsoever. This I accredit to its matte finish. My bb creams all had dewy finishes, so this was my first success with a matte foundation. I have normal to dry skin, and it works fine.

The packaging is very elegant and simple, very fittingly Japanese, yet the lack of a nice hygienic pump is a downside. I generally just shake the foundation, and then dip my ring finger into the clinging residue on the inside of the cap itself, which does cover my complete face. The coverage is sheer to medium, but I'd say this is for someone who has more redness than true acne. This isn't MAC, it's not heavy duty full coverage, but it's friendlier to your skin as a result. I think pin point concealing with a concealer is a better technique anyway.

I would repurchase, simply because of the color, and that it's not damaged my skin. But I'm always on the lookout for new things:)

I adore this foundation. I have been using it for a year now, it provides medium coverage and does not look cakey as liquid foundation sometimes can. It does not break me out and it evens out my skin tone perfectly. My only advice to people would be to make sure you moisturizer well prior to applying, it helps the blending process. Also, I do wish they would change the packaging to a pump.

On the one hand, I love this foundation. On the other hand, I'm a slight bit frustrated by it.

First, let me say that Shiseido has produced some excellent skincare and makeup products for decades. IMHO, this is one of their better foundations. It is smooth, covers well, feels fairly lightweight, doesn't cause me to breakout, and adjusts to the varying oily/dry patches on my face.

It addresses most of the items I expect a foundation to handle: evening out my combination, sensitive skin, minimizes signs of aging, covers blemishes and breakouts,and hides redness. It doesn't fall into lines or create dry patches around the sides of the nose. The product would seem to address all my issues.

Except one. Certain foundations tend to flatten out Asian features, looking best if two complementary shades are worn to contour the face. This line is so good that I would be happy to use two shades. Except that I can only find one shade that matches me. It is a bit frustrating that such a good foundations works around my eyes and lighter face areas but is significantly off my cheeks, forehead, nose and chin. So I wear it on half my face and use Revlon ColorStay with it.

LOVE THIS!! I so love this foundation. I wear this with Shiseido's WrinkleResist24 Night Emulsion (very light night lotion) underneath (because the wrinkleresist24 day emulsion with SPF makes me look shiny) and the finish is so nice! The combination of these two products REALLY diminishes the look of my fine lines. The fine lines on the top of my cheeks and under my eyes, and the 11 lines between my eyebrows are so much better. My skin looks smooth and younger with this foundation. It doesn't accentuate lines or pores at all. And it blends really nicely. Soft and creamy feel. I use this under my eyes as well, and it looks great - does not settle in my fine lines or anything! I love it! This foundation can be applied sheer, or built up to medium or heavy. It's not really oil absorbing, but it doesn't add oil or shine either, so it's neutral in that regard.

I found a great color match in B20, which Shiseido's website lists as "cool" meaning "pink", but I find it very neutral. I wear CoverGirl "Classic Ivory", Bare Escentuals "Fairly-Light"' and NARS "Deauville" also, if that helps anyone with color matching.

i used this for years, partly because i had a perfect color match, and partly because it gives a nice finish. I am moving on though because despite the claim that it is oil absorbing, it's not. it does work well on making combo skin not look combo, but not by controlling oil somehow.

it is very, very sheer. what i loved about it was you could put it on in the morning, usually it wears off by mid-day, but you can put more on if you go out at night and it does not look like you put a second coat of makeup on back makeup, it blends with what is left on your face perfectly.

good for sheer coverage, nice finish, & great natural color selection. i am just looking for something a bit more long wearing. continued >>

I recently went to a Shiseido warehouse and sale and got this foundation because of the sale price. I did not really have any expectations on the product. It was also my first time using any Shiseido base product.

I was in for a great surprise. I used a damp sponge to apply it under Benefit Porefessional on my tzone and cheeks. The coverage and shade were flawless on me. I have combination skin with dry cheeks and it was able to address the nuances of my skin type. It did not make my tzone more oily and there were no flakes and redness on my cheeks. In fact, it really looked like second skin. It has a matte powdery finish on me and it felt so light on my face.

Another thing that I love about it is the fact that my face and my body matched. I have cool undertones on my face and warm undertones on my body. Since I got the I20 shade, it was able to neutralize my face's skin color and matched it to my body.

Its marketed as a long lasting oil-free balancing foundation for normal to combo skin with anti-aging Hyaluronic Acid. It applies perfectly and quickly with moderate buildable coverage, no shimmer and a beautiful, beautiful satin glow finish. It really looks like perfect skin not foundation. No annoying scent, doesn't highlight imperfections or pores, doesn't shift into lines. However it has 2 problems. I would not call it "long-lasting". I simply have to set with alot of powder or it transfers like crazy onto telephones, clothing, jewellery. I've never had this happen before although my skin is slightly oily. The 2nd thing is it oxidises moderately. Not as high as MAC foundation or Maybelline, but enough for me to stop using it.


GUIDE TO PICKING YOUR SHADE:
- The first letter is the undertone O, I or B, and the 2 numbers after the letter indicate the shade depth, 00 being the lightest and 60 or 70 the darkest.

- Shiseido, like many asian makeup call strong yellow undertones "Ochre" or O series. Western makeup is more like to call these "warm".

- Balanced neutral undertones are called "Ivory" shades whether fair or deep. They are slightly on the yellow side of neutral to suit the typical Japanese complexion. These shades begin with an I (its not a one its a capital i).

- Strong pink undertone shades are called "Beige". These start with "B". Western makeup usually called these cool shades.

eg The shade "O20" is called "Natural Light Ochre" and is a yellow based shade around NC15 - 20.

eg The "I00" shade is called "Very light Ivory" and is the lightest neutral shade.

eg "B60" is the deepest pink-based shade (or maybe B70)


EDIT: I still use the Shiseido The Makeup Foundation brush (the one that looks like a tightly packed mini stippling brush) that I got with it and it applies ANY brand of liquid or cream makeup like a high end one. I've found a better foundation is also made by Shiseido which is under their cheaper "Za" line. It doesn't oxidise and still looks great and has the same skincare benefits of Hyaluronic Acid.

this is my favorite foundation, perhaps HG? maybe I will find a better one in the future, but so far no other foundation has surpassed this in sheer awesomeness. I've been using this for the past 2-3 years and it is amazing. it is lightweight and wears all day for me and I rarely have to blot, if ever. does not really need touching up either (on me at least, I see that some of the people here wouldn't agree). the coverage is light-medium which is exactly what I'm looking for and looks very natural! it doesn't have that "I'm wearing makeup" thing going on. the only problem with this product is the lack of dispenser, but I don't really care that much for it. would be nice though!

I've tried quite a few other foundations, and I've always found myself going back to this. B60 looks perfect on me! anyhow, I'd definitely recommend this foundation to you, especially if you're asian! BUT, do feel free to message me with foundations that you find awesome and would recommend because I'm still willing to experiment and try other products haha

this felt very lightweight and like my own skin. does not oxidize(on me, at least) and a small amount can cover your whole face, so the bottle can last for a while :). downside is that it doesnt have a pump so you have to dip your finger in since it doesnt pour out because its thick. also, this doesnt offer lots of coverage, light coverage, i would say. it is able to cover slight redness but cannot conceal blemishes or freckles well, no matter how much i build. i probably will not buy it again since im aiming for good coverage, but this will suit people going for light coverage and good quality. it was quite expensive (maybe just in new zealand) but as i said, the bottle will last you for a long time. not bad overall, i guess :)

I picked up I40 and it looks very orange on me... I wasn't aware of the letterings and I thought it was simply the number "140". In hindsight I probably should have picked something in the "O" range... anyway aside from my poor choice of shade selection, I found this foundation to be very drying and highlighted all the dry spots on my face. I do NOT recommend this for anyone with dry skin.

I'm going to try this again in the summer when I'm a little tanner and when my face isn't dry anymore. I have high hopes since it got so many great reviews on here! :)