Beauty Review: Shiseido Pureness Oil-Control 1-2-3 Skincare System

I usually have balanced combo skin, but when I get nervous or there is a drastic change in the weather, my skin can straggle the extremes. Some times it gets oily and sometimes it gets really dry. During my last oily skin phase I discovered the Shiseido Pureness Oil-Control 1-2-3 Skincare program. The 1-2-3 Skincare Program works for most skins, whether you need to brighten your skin a bit or get rid of some age spots. This skincare regimen consists of three steps:

Step 1- Clean: Pureness Deep Cleansing Foam What you have to do is work up a rich lather on your hand, massage it over your face and then rinse with lots of water. This cleansing foam has little tiny blue pearls that will help clean your pores and remove even the most stubborn foundation and pollution agents. You can really feel the clean difference on your face – it’s almost the sensation you get after a facial. The one negative with this product is the smell. It really smells like chemicals, which isn’t very pleasant in my opinion.

Step 2- Balance: The next step, and according to Shiseido the one that really makes the difference, is to use their TS Hydro-Balancing Softener Alcohol-Free Tonic. After cleansing your skin, just saturate a cotton pad and wipe gently over your face. No smell problems with this tonic. I’m pretty lazy when it comes to applying tonic, and to be honest I would very much prefer that it already had the saturated pads. Apart from that, I’d say it’s a good product. It doesn’t feel dramatically different from other matifying tonics but it won’t leave you sticky and you can clearly tell it doesn’t have alcohol. It matifies without drying out your skin to the point where it will feel uncomfortable or make you break out.

Step 3- Moisturizing: Pureness Matifying Moisturizer Oil-Free Fluid: Talk about fluid! It looks just like milk, except the fluid is a little bit thicker. With your skin still a little moist from the tonic, smooth this fluid over your face and you’re done. I have to warn you it does smell a lot like alcohol. I don’t understand why would anyone do a skincare regimen with an alcohol free tonic just to go and put alcohol on the moisturizer…?

I hate to say this, but this program broke me out. It’s usually the reaction I get from most face tonics and I know the reason for it so I was not really surprised. Also, this regimen won’t work right away. As with most matifing creams and fluids, it will take up to a week for your skin to get accustomed to the new routine and react the right way. Knowing that, Shiseido should probably make their samples bigger since the ones they have will only last you for one use (and let’s be honest, in most beauty shops people are lucky to go out with a free sample so they’re not very likely to give you more than one). I loved the Deep Cleansing Foam, but I’d only stick to that part. In my opinion, you don’t need to shed your dollars for the whole program. If you’re skin is really oily and you do need deep cleansing, the foam is enough.

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