SK-II Cellumination Essence-In Foundation Review... and my threading experience XD

Hi guys!

I'm FINALLY reviewing my SK-II foundation =D This seems to be the foundation that most of you are more interested in... that is it's got the most requests of reviews when I showed that I purchased this foundation. I hope those who are interested in this foundation will enjoy this review ^_^


Lol the box is pretty beat up cuz I do store the foundation in this box since I didn't purchase a case for it.


The foundation comes in a plastic container which you pop into the case. I didn't bother to purchase the case... why waste the money XD It also comes with this flat sponge.

By the way I got mine at a duty-free shop while I was at the airport. It's about $51 USD ($1500 TWD) if I remember correctly??!?!?!?!?!??!?? Not sure cuz I took off the price tag... you can find this on eBay for $56, which I think is not an unreasonable price... that's probably very close to the regular price if you buy it at department stores.

My shade is in #420, which is actually the darkest shade they have at the airport (cuz Asian ladies love their pale foundations), but I find it still it kind of light. When I use this foundation I MUST use a bronzer otherwise my face looks considerably lighter. However I really like this shade (definitely closer to MAC NC20) because it has a very brightening effect on my skin. It contains SPF23 PA++.


I have no idea what it says... this is for Japanese readers XD Something about if you notice any reaction then you should discontinue immediately and consult a dermatologist.






My favorite application actually is with the sponge that it provides. I like to dip the sponge in the product first, then wet my sponge to help sheer it out (I don't like to wet the sponge first cuz I don't want any water getting into the foundation). This foundation is VERY thick (full coverage) and I just cannot use the foundation without thinning it out; I like a more natural coverage :)

Also because I have combination skin (normal-oily), the sheerer the application, the better. Since this is a creamy product, I cannot apply too much otherwise it will start to slide and cake when I get oily. This is the reason why I like to apply this foundation with this sponge best, because it really works the product in and sheers it out. But the great thing is since this is a full coverage product, the coverage is still pretty good even after being sheered out ^_^ Also I found if I use a wet dense foundation brush the foundation just doesn't hold up as well. With that said, since it is a product that you have to buff and blend, flaky skin stay away!

The white swirly patterns is supposed to contain their patented/signature skincare ingredient-- the Pitera.

It says no fragrance :P


You can see the foundation is pretty thick.








blended out with a wet sponge.



Half face application. I applied pretty sheerly with the sponge that came with it (wet of course).











I adore the finish. It makes my skin look really bright but not dewy. I really like the coverage it provides. You might not be able to see the coverage difference of this foundation compared to my other foundation reviews, but in person and from afar you can definitely tell the difference, that my skin looks more even than usual.





About 9 hours later.

It held up pretty well. By the way I did NOT powder down this foundation. I found that this foundation wears best without powder on me. Whenever I powder it, it becomes cakey when I get oily and actually begins to slide. Just try out different application methods and different combinations to see what works best for you :) it's different for everyone.

I must admit the lighting in my room makes it look quite incredible XD but actually the foundation has faded ever so slightly. Nothing major though.




Not sure if you guys can see the foundation has faded very slightly on my nose. But most of all it's still pretty good.

Directly under a light source. Just to show I there's still some oiliness. I feel like the other pictures made it look like I don't get oily at all with this foundation, which is false. It just holds up well.



By the way, I did wear this foundation in one of my previous videos. If you're curious to see the application, please feel free to check it out here ^_^

Just fast forward to 0:21 :)

So in conclusion, I love this foundation when I just want my skin to look really flawless (because of the heavier coverage it provides) and extra bright (the shade has that effect, and it doesn't oxidize). It is a high maintenance foundation to me, since it will accentuate any dry patches you have on your skin (where as YSL Touche Eclat foundation deals very well with dryness), and you will have to be very careful with it if you have oily skin. With that said if you have dry and patchy skin I'd definitely recommend you stay away from this foundation. I think it's best for dry (no patchy or flakiness) or normal skin. If you have combination skin you might be away to get away with it like I do. I do adore this foundation, and even though I can only wear this when my skin is not problematic at all (patchiness being the main problem whenever I have some kind of reaction), I adore the finish enough that I'm willing to work with it ^_^

BY THE WAY GUYS, DID YOU NOTICE THAT I'M NOW OFFICIALLY MUSTACHE-FREE?!

XD

lolololol. Yep! I got rid of my upper lip hair! I actually really don't mind having mustache, but ever since I decided to take macrofocused pictures for my foundation reviews, it started to bug me -_- all those hairs blown up in super closed-up pictures are just very unsightly.

I didn't want to go get them waxed at a salon because waxing scares me O_o it just seems so rough with the skin. So I thought I could get them threaded. But being as cheap as I am XD I didn't want to have it done at a salon either. Youtube is a wealth of information so why pay for it when you can do it yourself XD Then I actually remembered Bubbi has a threading video from wayyyy back!


When I clicked open this video I was like... awwwwwww... Bubz in Northern Ireland... and now she's getting married =') Time really does fly, doesn't it?

Anyway so it really isn't as hard as I thought. But boy it was A LOT more painful than I prepared myself for T_T (I thought I'd been pretty good with hair-plucking pain by now.. but nope!) So if any of you ladies are contemplating threading your own hair, please psyche yourself up before you do it. It was so painful I had tears pooling in my eyes. Reminded me of my first time plucking my eye brows but I actually think plucking upper lip hair is even more painful Q_Q But this is definitely better than tweezing cuz tweezing is just gonna take too long and I'm sure I will not be able to withstand the agony of tweezing every single one of my hair. Threading definitely shortens the painful process. After threading I use my tweezer to get any hair that is too fine for the thread to grab. Still trying to get a hang of it cuz so far although I can thread my entire upper lip no problem, I have no control over the direction where I am going! I can only go left because I'm right-handed, if that makes any sense XD Need to work on my motor control on my left hand lololol.

By the way I've been mustache-less for more than 1 month now, it just happens it takes me longer to put together reviews and stuff that's why you haven't seen me being mustache-less until now XD I must say though my mustache grows back faster than I'd like =_= gosh why am I so hairy!!!

Wow I can't believe I just spent an entire paragraph talking about my mustache. Cool beans XD

Have a great day guys!



<3 Frances