Skincare Review: Shiseido Ibuki Set

Good morning! I hope everyone is having a nice start to the week?

I decided to kick off this last week in January with a skincare review, specifically of the Shiseido Ibuki skincare set that I have been using now for about 6 weeks.

You may recall a post I did about my Sephora mini haul back at the end of November, and if you're interested, you can check it out here.

According to the Shiseido website, the word ibuki means "inner strength" in Japanese, and the products in the skincare line are therefore designed to help " correct imperfections, dryness and roughness while providing optimal hydration".


The set I picked up included three products:

1. Ibuki Gentle Cleanser

2. Ibuki Softening Concentrate

3. Ibuki Refining Moisturizer

Now that I've had a chance to test out all three products, I think it's time to give them a proper review!


1. Ibuki Gentle Cleanser

Rating:

First up, let's start with the Ibuki Gentle Cleanser. Oh my goodness, this has fast become my absolute favorite cleanser! For a long time, that spot was occupied by Fresh Soy Face Cleanser, but I have to admit, the Shideido Ibuki Gentle Cleanser is (in my opinion) superior. I've tested it out on my face following makeup removal and exfoliation, as well as on a full face of makeup, and it performs equally well in either situation!

Summary: You only need a very small amount of this stuff to get your whole face nice and clean! It lathers up beautifully and has a soft creamy texture. It's not too strong or drying for sensitive skin, and it really gets deep down into your pores for that nice and clean feeling.

2. Ibuki Softening Concentrate

Rating: 

Second on the review list is the Ibuki Softening Concentrate. When I first started using this, I really liked it and thought it was going to be my favorite product from the set. However, after a few uses it started to lose its luster. There isn't anything specifically wrong with it, but it just didn't impress me that much. On especially cold and dry winter days I found it helped add an extra shield of moisture for my skin, which is great, but I can't ever really see myself using this product in the summer unfortunately!

Summary: It certainly has a noticeable perfume scent, which might irritate people with sensitive skin. Great for people with normal/dry skin, but I wouldn't recommend it for anyone with oily skin.


3. Ibuki Refining Moisturizer

Rating: 

Finally, the last product in the set, the Ibuki Refining Moisturizer. Ultimately, this product was the most disappointing for me. The consistency is too similar to a serum (almost the exact same as the Ibuki Softening Concentrate), which immediately had me doubting the product. The scent is also quite strong, which again, isn't a good thing for people with sensitive skin. When I went back online to check out some reviews, I was not surprised to see lots of complaints about it being greasy and causing people to break out.

Summary: The consistency is far too much like a serum, in addition to having a heavy perfume scent. It doesn't seem to work well for oily or sensitive skin, nor can I imagine it being sufficiently moisturizing for dry skin. Overall, this one was a big disappointment.

Sephora Mini Haul

So I stopped by Sephora the other day to finally use a gift card I received for my birthday in June! I had already done my research, so I had a pretty good idea about what I wanted to buy. Even so, I still got to check out all of the pretty holiday value sets, and that's always fun! 

Now that it's really starting to feel like winter here in Ottawa, I know I'm going to need to adjust my skincare and makeup routine. I don't like putting away makeup that's been three quarters used, so I'm planning on finishing up my current tube of Diorskin Nude BB creme before tossing it. I've also got about a week or two left of my CeraVe moisturizer, so I'll be finishing that up before I toss it away too! 

Anyway, without further adieu, here's what I got: 

Estée Lauder Double Wear Light Foundation
Available here at Sephora



I ended up deciding on shade 1.0 instead of 0.5 (which was exactly the same color as my skin) because I liked that it warmed up my complexion a bit. I don't like to wear very heavy makeup, so I'm happy that the foundation is considered "light" coverage. I have yet to give it a full day worth of wear, but I've got pretty high hopes that it will perform well!





Shiseido Ibuki Starter Set
Available here at Sephora

I'll be honest, a big part of the reason why I decided on the Ibuki skincare set is because I had hardly any knowledge of the product. Okay, so I knew it included a cleanser, serum, and moisturizer, but I didn't really know what ibuki meant or what the products were designed to target in terms of skincare issues. I did some research since picking up the set, and according to the Shiseido website, the word ibuki means "inner strength" in Japanese, and the products are designed to help "correct imperfections, dryness and roughness while providing optimal hydration". While I have yet to test them out, I am pretty excited to see what they're like in terms of performance! 

Finding your Signature Scent(s)

Scent is one of the most intriguing and mystifying of the human senses. The way that certain smells can evoke memories and feelings is incredibly powerful. There is something uniquely captivating about the right scent and it's ability to create lasting impressions. 

For a long time, I thought that it would be so lovely to have one signature scent that would eventually become directly associated with me...as if people would say, "oh, there goes Alexandra, she always smells like fresh cut roses". Well, I've since realized that people (including myself) are really quite complex and dynamic, and associating one scent with a person is far too limiting. For example, one day I could be feeling fun and feminine, and another, I could be feeling more intense and mysterious. Depending on my mood, I've got a selection of go-to scents that satisfy all of my olfactory inclinations. 

Floral

Chloe Eau de Parfume, Chloe (available here at Sephora)
 









Generally speaking, I tend to prefer light floral scents like rose and gardenia on a regular day basis. I don't care for anything that's either too sweet and powdery, or smells too much like nail polish remover (which unfortunately is not all that uncommon)! Aside from Chloe Eau de Parfume, my two other favorite scents are Miss Dior Blooming Bouquet (for when I want a light, feminine, and classic perfume), and Parisienne, by Yves Saint Laurent (for when I want something a bit more bold and romantic). 

Fresh

CK One Summer, Calvin Klein (available here at Sephora)










Oh CK One Summer...this scent brings back quite a multitude of memories! I wore this a lot in high school and I absolutely loved it! It's very fresh and clean, with a subtle musky scent to it. I remember going into Shoppers Drug Mart with the intention of getting some other perfume (hmm..what was popular 10 years ago?), but was pleasantly surprised with how One Summer sat on my skin. Alternatively, I also remember really wanting Cashmere Mist, by Donna Karan when it hit the shelves, but ended up turning away from it when I tried it on because it just didn't mix well with the chemistry of my skin. 

Earthy

Miss Dior Eau de Parfume, Dior (available here at Sephora)










Personally, I don't much care for perfumes that have earthy top notes. I absolutely love having a hint of earthy or woodsy tones in floral perfumes (YSL Parisienne is a perfect example), but I find them too strong when they are the leading scent. I haven't had a chance to sample it on my skin yet, but I will admit that I am intrigued by White Woods, by Clean. The notes listed on the Sephora website look like a nice balance of sweet and earthy, and floral and woodsy, so it will be interesting to see how it really smells. 

Spicy

Hypnotic Poison, Dior (available here at Sephora)










Last but not least, another nostalgic scent for me is Hypnotic Poison by Dior. Unless you happen to be a Bond Girl or some mysterious woman of intrigue, this perfume is definitely not your everyday kind of perfume. It's an incredibly potent blend of feminine notes like jasmine and vanilla, mixed with spicy notes like caraway, bitter almond, and jacaranda wood. If you like this kind of sexy perfume, you will probably also enjoy Black Orchid, by Tom Ford, or Opium, by Yves Saint Laurent.  

Ultimately, the best and most accurate way to determine what perfumes you like, is to test them on your skin. It could come in a beautiful bottle and smell absolutely exquisite when you spray it on a sample card, but then change completely when you apply it to your skin. It's also important to consider how a perfume evolves on your skin as well. I've tried perfumes that I've loved for the first hour, but hated as the day wore on. Since so much of it has to do with chemistry, it's important to really test it out properly yourself. Finding the right perfume is a very personal process and highly rewarding when it pays off in the end!