Not too long ago, I was invited to Shiseido Ibuki Press Launch at the remote but well designed Changi Cove Hotel.
I was pretty excited because this new range is specially designed for the 25 to 34 age group with hectic lifestyles and I fall smack straight in this targeted group. The new skincare line Ibuki (いぶき or 息吹) means Breath or Vitality in Japanese and that is exactly what Shiseido hopes to impart to the users of Ibuki – a renewed freshness, energy and beauty.
I love how Shiseido did up their event space with a lovely light spring feel and very delicious and a tempting dessert line.
The whole idea was for you to (literally) leave your stress at the door and enter to Shiseido’s introduction to Ibuki with a light heart.
I’m sure most of us can resonate with the stress notes that you see on the board. My contribution to the board was stresses from ” Deadlines and tight schedules”. In today’s urban lifestyle, it is common and almost expected of women to multi-task and juggle different roles. This usually results in many of us having long work hours, late nights with disturbed sleep, unbalanced diets, and all-around unpredictable lifestyles that upsets our body sensitive and fragile balance. I haven’t even factored in the general atmospheric pollution (remember the haze?) and long hours in air-conditioned offices. It’s no wonder good skin is a rarity these days.
Shiseido discovered that when we are stressed, our skin weakens and its cells shrink. This causes displacement of the cell alignment which disrupts cell renewal process and prevents effective natural barrier protection, hence skin problems such as enlarged pores, breakouts and rough skin occur. One of the easiest ways to see if your skin is affected by stress is to see if you have any rough skin or breakouts around the U-zone of your face ( the cheeks, chin and sides).
The Ibuki collection which consists of seven products, aims to give a new breath of life to your skin cells and to allow your skin to have a healthy cell life cycle so that it will be able to regenerate itself and maintain a healthy state at all times. Ibuki secret formula boasts of building up skin’s resistance with a breakthrough technology — the Shape Memorising Cell Technology — by returning cells to their ideal condition and memorizing their ideal moisturized state at its optimal condition. It clears out dead skin cells, stimulates the skin’s Natural Moisturising Factor and builds up the basement membrane, which ensures balanced cell renewal. Shiseido Ibuki aims to deliver fine, even, balanced skin that glows with radiance and freshness.
There are 3 major ingredients in the Ibuki range. The Lamium album Extract and Trehalose helps to inhibits cell shrinkage by allowing cells to remain plump with moisture. Next, TMG (trimethyglycine) helps to removes excess surface cells and lastly, Yuzu Seed Extract: to encourages healthy cell production.
The seven products in the Ibuki collection consists of a Gentle Cleanser, Purifying Cleanser, Softening Concentrate, Protective Moisturizer SPF 18, Refining Moisturizer, Refining Moisturizer Enriched, and Eye Correcting Cream.
A quick test of my skin reveals that my moisture level is actually in an acceptable range so I can take the lighter refining moisturiser instead of the enriched version which is more suitable for dry skin. They also have 2 types of cleansers and my skin type was more suited for the gentle cleanser.
Shiseido prepared the full range of skincare that was most suitable for my skin type in a lovely tote that came with a customized name badge. I really love the little details and effort that put into it.
I’m currently still on another skincare routine but will be switching to try out the Shiseido range for a month starting August. However, I was too eager and have already given these products a quick test run and I’ll share with you my first impressions on the products.
This gentle cleanser (S$43) is good for sensitive skin and works great with mine. A small amount is enough to create a lot of lather and it gently lifts off any dirt and oil off my face leaving it clean and rather soft after use. One tube can easily last you a pretty long time.
In line with all Shiseido products, they don’t believe in toners to seal up the pores after cleansing. Instead, a softening concentrate (S$50) is used to prep the pores for maximum absorption of the moisturizing ingredients. This clear liquid is slightly a slightly richer fluid compared to toners but still absorbs easily into the skin. Even before putting on any moisturizer I already feel that my skin is pretty hydrated and plumped up after applying the softener. For more hydration, I definitely prefer softeners over toners.
For the day, use the Protective Moisturizer with SPF 15 (S$66). I love that it provides some UV protection even though I would still put on another layer of sunblock when I head out. It is quite lightweight and my skin looks more radiant after application. 90% of the time I head out only with sunblock powder, eyeliner and false eyelashes. No foundation or lipstick. This works pretty well for me though it doesn’t keep my skin as matt as my current moisturizer.
For the night, I use their Refining Moisturizer (S$66) as I have sensitive combination skin. One pump is enough and the texture is really light. Night moisturisers are usually heavy but I love that this one absorbs well leaving my skin matt and silky. It’s perfect for the Singapore weather though it might be too light if I used it in a drier climate overseas.
The last item is the Eye Correcting Cream (S$60). It helps to brighten my eye area a little and was also easily absorbed as a little goes a long way.
On the whole I’m pretty satisfied with the textures and absorbability of this range and I can’t wait switch to Ibuki soon. You should be able to get your hands on them in September at the various Shiseido counters.
I wanted end this post with a really cute photo book gif of Jacelyn and myself at the event. The physical photo book was given to us at the event but I painstakingly converted it into a gif so I could share with you all.
