The Shiseido Ibuki and how it fared for me.

Remember my previous post at the launch of Shiseido's much coveted smart Ibuki skincare line?

Well, I think it is time to tell you what I think of the products that I got to try.

First up, the Gentle Cleanser. The cleanser is creamy and takes very little to lather and I guess this is good and economical. However, at my age and skin concern, gentle cleansers don't really lather and I'd stick to just creamy and comfortable. The fact that it lathers, it makes skin a little tight and dry.

I don't think it's the fault of the product because it did say that the range is targeted to those in the age range of 25-34, and unfortunately, though I am so grateful to be given the opportunity to try this, I have to admit that I am not within the target age group. I'm long past that *sigh*

However, since it is quite creamy, I still have plenty left and have been using it as a once-a-week to twice-a-week deep cleansing treatment. When not used daily, it is quite alright.

The Softening Concentrate, as I've mentioned before is pretty costly for the 75ml bottle. That's the only size available.

The formulation is surprisingly quite thick for a toner and can be used as a hydrating lotion before your serum/moisturiser. Unfortunately, this one didn't quite make it on my vanity table... I find it oily with a strong fragrance. Don't get me wrong, I like the fragrance and I think it smells good but I find that skincare with a strong fragrance always irritates my skin.

It is also loaded with alcohol and I think that must have also been an irritant to the skin.

Though it feels oily on application, it did get absorbed really fast into skin. However, somehow it just feels a little strong. I've used the White Lucent range before and I think the lotion feels lighter than this.

The Ibuki products came to me just when I discovered that silicones in skincare might not be that good for me. And when I read its ingredients list on the box, my heart sank.

The moisturiser comes loaded with silicones.

But, since that factor was just something I had recently questioned myself at that time and not something I was very sure of, I decided to not limit myself and to just give it a try. And tried it I did. In fact, this was the only product in this range that came with me to my Europe trip and it did help me maintain healthy skin in the super cold weather.

Though I am not in the age range targeted for this line, I've always realised that my skin cannot take moisturisers that are too rich for my skin, ones that are targeted for my age group. It's so weird in all sense and frustrates me much too. The skin's dehydrated and shows signs of aging, yet fluids are too light while creams are too rich.

With this Ibuki moisturiser, it was ok. I didn't see any super duper results like super soft skin, etc, but at least I didn't break out. In fact, my skin was almost flawless with little maintenance (ie. lesser scrubbing & mask) when I was out in the cold. 

All in all, I think the range would probably work better for those in the targeted age group, those that are tougher and could withstand alcohol, fragrance and silicones. Perhaps.

Have you picked up any of the products in the range?