I love foundation and I love finding a good foundation because when I have smooth, clear, dewy skin, I can live without any other kind of make up. I have quite a big collection of foundations now, and I definitely have different uses for each one depending on the finish I want and how my skin is feeling!
Shiseido’s Perfect Refining Foundation SPF15 is the newest (although not new!) base from the range. This is a smooth, light foundation with medium coverage for normal and combination skin. It covers roughness, pores, acne scars and is supposed to last all day long.
I got this is 060:
First off – unusual packaging and I like it! It looks small but in fact there’s 30ml in here, like the majority of foundations. I like how space saving and economical the base is, no wasting materials to make a big, elaborate bottle.
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I like the squeezy bottle top – it’s good, keeps the germs out and you can control the amount that comes out easily because the bottle has some give to it. 
Shiseido base products are similar to most Japanese make up ranges, they begin with a a letter to indicate what colour group it belongs to. In this case it’s their B for Beige, I for Ivory or O for Ochre. There is also 2 foundations beginning with W – I am not sure what this stands for but they look like very warm, almost with a hint of red toned bases.
Then there is a number which represents depth, like 00 = Very Light, 20 = Natural Light, 60 – Natural Deep and 100 – Very Deep.
Therefore – I60 is Natural Deep Ivory.
B00 is Very light Beige.
Note – Ochre doesn’t have a 100, but a O80 to represent ‘Deep Ochre’
But I digress.
In the past I have always bought O60 in Shiseido, so I requested the same colour here:
I have a problem with the shade – it is VERY yellow. It makes me look a bit too yellow. It reminds me my Chanel White Essentiel Light Reflecting foundation from Asia which is very yellow indeed.
That is what Ochre is but I’m not sure why this doesn’t 100% work for me in this base. It fits me perfectly with the Shiseido Powder Foundation and Cream Foundation. I daresay I am more of a beige – ever since I had a custom foundation made at Cosmetics A La Carte I’ve come to realise I am quite brown/beige as opposed to yellow.
I’d recommend visiting a counter if you want a Shiseido Perfect Refining Foundation, so you can to make sure you get the right match.
Sometimes you can think you belong to a certain skintone group only to find another one suits you better!
So now you know in the final photo that the colour is a tad off.
The foundation itself is pretty runny and liquid and yet it provides a lot of coverage – it reminds me of a liquid BB Cream in that sense, even though it’s light, it can really cover!
I also found my skin looked smooth with it and it has good pore coverage. In terms of covering scars, I think it worked quite well, although it didn’t necessarily cover red patches. You know when your skin is a bit irritated and even after base, you can still sort of see it? That.
In terms of lasting ability, I found this looked really fresh and flawless for about 4 hours, so half a work day for me. I don’t think this is an overwhelming ‘stay perfect ALL day’ base, but it certainly looks amazing when first applied. If you live in a humid country, if you are oily, then powder powder powder because I am not sure how well this will hold up.
I had a tiny bit of itching when I applied this but it disappeared quickly.
On me:
I really hate that this base is so yellow that it looks a bit wrong on me. I looked up some reviews on Make Up Alley and a lot of people have commented that the bases run a tad dark so do check this in person!
Nevertheless, this little pocket sized foundation as a lot going for it – it looks great when applied and is one-stop in many ways because it has a SPF and great concealing powers.
Verdict:
Best for normal skins I feel, and for people who like light feeling, liquid foundations that actually offer great coverage.
You can buy this here or any Shiseido counter.
This costs £34.
*this was sent for consideration by PR
{ 3 comments… read them below or add one }
I00 is great for my complexion! I am a neutrally toned pale EU girl. This shade is slightly too yellow for my face but it’s a perfect match with my body.
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I always find it hard trying to find the right match in foundation…it’s either not yelow enough or too yellow
At least the texture is spot-on with this one, worth a visit to the Shiseido counter 
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I was matched up to the wrong shade of this foundation in I40 where as i should have gone for the O20/O40 instead. The I for ivory is supposed be best for neutral with some yellow tones but upon applying this foundation i found that it made me look grey/ash and the actual foundation level was darker for my skin.
Overall i was hugely dissapointed that i was given the wrong shade but the consistency and texture felt nice on my skin.
Shiseido in House of fraser stores uk dont give samples of this foundation so i can’t see how they would sell their expensive products if their not willing to allow their customers sample their products first.
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