Shiseido’s launched a new skin care line called IBUKI that promises to ‘breathe new life into skin’. It’s aimed at busy young women in their mid-twenties to early thirties with skin suffering from daily aggressors like stress and polluted big city environments.

As far as the line-up goes, you’re looking at a choice of two cleansing foams (one aimed at oilier skin types that includes exfoliating beads and another more hydrating version) and a ‘Softening Concentrate’ that replaces the doffness that is skin stripping alcohol-riddled toner and preps and hydrates your skin.

You can then pick from three different moisturises; one with an SPF of 18, another without sun protection that’s even lighter in texture and a mega-hydrating cream in a jar (also without sun protection). Last but not least, there’s an Eye Correcting Cream that promises to soothe and de-puff while minimising the look of fine lines and dark circles.

I was given the Protective Moisturiser with SPF 18 (R595) to play with. It does a good job of hydrating my oily-combination skin but I have to make sure I keep a blotting powder on me or use it very sparingly in my oily T-panel area. I’d probably be better suited to the SPF-free version as it would be the teensiest bit lighter, but giving my forehead the occasional blot is a small price to pay for sun protection which is super important.

Ingredients-wise, the moisturisers make use of something Shiseido refer to as their Phytoresist complex which, they reckon, can prevent cell shrinkage and plump them up by boosting their moisture levels. It also contains vitamin C-rich yuzu extract (it’s kind of like a small Japanese grapefruit) to help boost your skin’s collagen production.

Other notable actives? Glycylglycine to shrink the look of pores; antioxidant peony root extract to minimise breakouts and astringent skin soother witch hazel extract which is also a good antioxidant. The lotions and creams also makes use of red and gold illuminating particles to give your skin a subtle, radiant-looking glow.

Keen to try anything? You’ll find the new IBUKI range at your local Shiseido counter right now. Price-wise, the products are less expensive in comparison to Shiseido’s other products, ranging from R425 to R595.

I was also given another of Shiseido’s new products, their Sheer & Perfect foundation. Like all Shisiedo foundations, it’s pretty awesome and I’ll be chatting about that in another blog post later this month.

Love, love

Leigh