SHISEDO: A Retrospective & An Overview - By The Intrepid Beauty

My guest writer, The Intrepid Beauty, is back again this weekend. She'll be sharing with you, my dear readers, on Shiseido and its skincare range (some of its star products) and comparing how GWPs have shrunk in the recent years.

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Shiseido is a brand that has been around for more than a century and is thus perceived by many as a brand that caters mainly to the mature age group. It is a brand that has always been more well known for its skincare than its cosmetics. One of my earliest childhood memories is of my mother's dressing table top with a row of Shiseido skincare products neatly lined up. In those days, Shiseido skincare bottles were rather generic looking with its distinctive light blue bottle cap. My mother's personal favourite was their milky cleanser contained within a concave shaped bottle. I can still recall the scent of the product as she poured it out every evening on to balls of cotton wool. Shiseido must have been a staple in most of our mothers' skincare regime and today, I believe it is more popular among women above the age of 40 than below.

Packaging of Shiseido skincare products during the earlier days
- its signature light blue bottle cap
(These were GWPs given out back then, from the collection of The Intrepid Beauty)

My very first foray into skincare was with Shiseido, not because of my mother's influence but more due to a lack of choice. When I decided that I had better start using something other than soap and water to wash my face, I ventured into the little mall near my house (in the days before megamalls existed) and one of the few counters was Shiseido. The SAs were friendly and generous with additional GWPs (in fact, one of the SAs then is still working there today and remains my all-time favourite SA) so it was a no-brainer buying from that counter. I purchased a UV White Cleansing Foam (130g-RM119) (see pix below) which I love till today. I haven't used it for some years now because of my experimenting with other brands' cleansers but that UV White Cleansing Foam is superb. Just a tiny amount (1-1.5cm) is required to work up a rich lather that envelops your face in foamy luxury. When I was using it, I always looked forward to cleansing my face just for the sheer pleasure of inhaling the scent and the feeling of the thick lather against my face. The scent is very pleasant and unique to Shiseido, it will leave your face thoroughly cleansed of makeup and dirt. Although I've been recommended to use a cleansing emulsion prior to the cleansing foam, I find that the cleansing form works very well on its own at eliminating all traces of makeup leaving your face squeaky clean and soft. I have also tried Shiseido cleansing foams in their The Skincare, White Lucent and Benefiance ranges and whichever you choose, they work just as well.

A sample of UV White Cleansing Foam

GWPs back then were very attractive indeed and one of the reasons why I stuck to Shiseido skincare for a good number of years. One of the GWPs I received was a red satin beribboned jewellery or skincare/cosmetics box which was filled with 15ml & 30ml Benefiance samples. It was a GWP never to be repeated. The miniature sized samples were exact replicas of the full sized products. The GWPs offered today are a far cry from the GWPs of yesteryear and you would think they would offer better GWPs now in view that we have to purchase a lot more today to be entitled to the GWPs.

One of the GWPs back in those days.
It wasn't only the red satin box, but the box came filled with 15ml & 30ml Benefiance samples
(only 2 of the samples were shown here)

The collection of GWPs received from purchases of The Intrepid Beauty in recent times.
-Note that the sizes of those sample bottles of skincare have shrunk, as compared to the sizes of the samples received back then!

A Shiseido GWP received by The Intrepid Beauty from a recent purchase.

I have always checked out their cosmetics every time I am at the counters but I've never been tempted to buy any of their cosmetics, well not until recently anyway......my latest Shiseido acquisition is the Maquillage Lasting Liquid UV foundation. I've decided to give it a go since I've ignored their cosmetics line so far. Actually, their latest ad campaign aroused my pique as I am a sucker for photos of beautifully made up models (in the vain hope that I can look half as good, I suppose) and I thought that the Maquillage models who include Japanese models, Anna Tsuchiya and Yuri Ebihara, looked stunning. I checked out the latest eyeshadow palettes and am quite impressed. Shiseido is doing a good job keeping up with their Japanese counterparts as far as cosmetics are concerned.

I should point out that one of their earliest products (formulated in the 1800s), Eudermine Revitalizing Essence (125ml-RM150), is one of my favourite softeners (Shiseido's equivalent of toner).The beautiful red glass rectangular bottle really looks like it came from a different era and I can easily imagine Japanese women of the 19th century applying it diligently as part of their daily skincare programme. As the name implies, it revitalizes, reinvigorates and refreshes dehydrated skin. I adore the peony scent which is very relaxing, it's a form of aromatherapy.

A sample of Shiseido Eudermine Revitalizing Essence

Shiseido counters offer a fortnightly complimentary facial for customers who purchase the Brightening Massage Cream (80ml-RM215) and UV White Whitening Mask (100g-RM185). These are two items which I have purchased on a consistent basis for years as I enjoy the 10 minute massage administered by the SA (most of the counters have a facial room) using the massage cream which is intended to promote better blood circulation and this is followed by the application of the mask. Once the mask dries, it is peeled off and a brighter complexion is revealed. Neither of the products actually make anyone's complexion whiter but I do find that they help to maintain a more even toned complexion. These two products can be stretched out to last six months if used once every fortnight.

This is a brand that has survived through many decades, it has a simple and uncomplicated range of skincare and a progressively improving line of cosmetics. It is a brand for all age groups, for example,

(1) Pureness range for women in their late teens to early 20s who have problems with acne-prone skin;

(2) The Skincare range for hydration purposes and for all skin types particularly those with sensitive skin;

(3) White Lucent & UV White ranges for brightening purposes and for all skin types particularly those who have pigmentation concerns;

(4) Revital & Benefiance ranges for mature skin types focuses on firming up the skin;

(5) Future Solution LX (their latest range) for mature skin types and is an anti-aging range; and

(6) ShiseidoMen which has a complete range for men's skin concerns.

More importantly, their skincare overall really does work in maintaining a radiant and youthful complexion. Although its marketing/advertising campaigns are not as aggressive as some other brands nor does it come up with a new product/range as often as other brands, it's a "tried and trusted" brand for me and I believe that generations of Japanese women who have used their brand of skincare to attain porcelain complexions are testimony to the skincare's efficacy.


The Intrepid Beauty


P.S. The photos above were taken by me, but all the products in the photos are from the personal collection of The Intrepid Beauty. A big THANK YOU to The Intrepid Beauty.