I first tried both these foundations by Japanese brand Koh Gen Do a few days ago at Beauty Bar in Podium. I know I’m a little late on the bandwagon because bloggers were raving about these a little over a year ago? When I tried these I crankshafted my jaw up off the floor twice, first because of the excellent quality and second because of the price. They’re painfully expensive (almost matching Becca Luminous Skin Tint in price over at Adora) which is probably why the Koh Gen Do hype didn’t last for too long…these aren’t exactly budget friendly repurchase candidates unless no other foundation at all works for you.

These KGD gems are only so far the best and most luxurious foundations I have ever…as in EVER tried. Note though that’s a personal and professional opinion based on how I like my base products to work. Some of you might want more coverage. The Moisture Foundation is the more buildable formula. They’re both formulated with a majority of natural ingredients, free of mineral oil and mainstream nasties and they are made in Japan. The local price difference of Php100 between these two I find strange because they’re not that dissimilar in quality and one contains much more product for money than the other (and they cost the same abroad). I do have my reasons for purchasing 1 of each kind in spite of the small difference. For the review you’re about to read I applied both foundations from the center of the face outward with a Real Techniques Expert Face brush. This review won’t contain hand swatches simply because I’m saving product, it costs too much and the shades are almost the same anyway. What’s better than a foundation review? Well, how about two? Read more to see the full reviews and more photos.

“Aqua Foundation is made with the deep sea waters of Rausu, Japan. It balances the conditions of ions on the skin surface with rich minerals and nutrients. These minerals are close in composition of the human body which makes it easier to absorb and moisturize efficiently. “

• Koh Gen Do Aqua Foundation SPF15, 10z./30ml – “Sheer flawless finish that minimizes pores and imperfections. No artificial colors, fragrance, petroleum based mineral oil or paraben.”
  

Jojoba Seed Oil – Natural oil extracted from jojoba seeds to soften and protect skin.
Olive Squalane – Natural oil extracted from olive berries to soften skin and retain moisture.
Shea Butter – Natural oil extract from the seeds of the shea tree, softens skin and retains moisture.The combination of water and finely refined oil creates a perfect balance for a smooth foundation application.

Inactive Ingredients: Water, Cyclopentasiloxane, Neopentyl Glycol Diethylhexanoate, Isononyl Isononanoate, Hdi/Trimethylol Hexyllactone Crosspolymer, Peg-9 Polydimethylsiloxyethyl Dimethicone, Pentylene Glycol, Sea Water, Peg-10 Dimethicone, Sorbitan Sesquiisostearate, Mica, Glycerin, Phytosteryl / Octyldodecyl Lauroyl Glutamate, Sodium Chloride. Sorbitan Sesquioleate, Aluminum Hydroxide, Acrylates Polytrimethyl Siloxymethacrylate Copolymer, Butylene Glycol. Dimethicone. Phenoxyethanol, Stearic Acid, Aluminum Dimyristate, Silica, Zirconium Dioxide. Talc, Isostearyl Sebacate, Alumina, Butyrospermum Parkii (Shea Butter), Squalane, Camellia Sinensis Leaf Extract, Simmondsia Chinensis (Jojoba) Seed Oil, Betula Alba Juice, Disodium Stearoyl Glutamate, Glycyrrhiza Glabra (Licorice) Root Extract, Glucosyl Hesperidin, Magnesium Ascorbyl Phosphate, Betula Alba Bark Extract, Kjellmaniella Gyrate Extract, Algae Extract, Alpinia Speciosa Leaf Extract, Iron Oxides.

The KGD Aqua foundation makes me think of a lighter version of NARS Sheer Glow with more comfortable wear. It’s got a semi-matte finish in my opinion, similar to another favorite of mine by Shiseido, the Perfect Refining foundation. It applies a little dewy at first then when it sets becomes soft and touchable. This is not as sheer as a tinted moisturizer but not as thick as the usual foundations, for normal to combination sensitive skin like mine, it’s fantastic. It feels fresh on the skin and I can see why Emily Weiss loved it for awhile. It’s the perfect semi-matte that goes on looking like healthy skin. To give you an idea how this foundation looks on more mature skin have a glimpse of how KGD Aqua Foundation looks applied on my lovely Mama. I applied it on her with the same brush and set it with some mineral powder. Mom has a more neutral skintone than me (I’ve got quite a yellow oriental undertone) so I neutralized my foundation on her with the #6 Makeup Factory mineral compact I used to set her makeup.

It has minimal sun protection at SPF 15. I tested both foundations to make sure I got a shade match for both by putting each on half of my face, the blended together perfectly and neither side of my face looked a different shade from the other. I’m a MAC NC30 and my current match in the Aqua foundation is OC-2 and my current match in the Moisture foundation is 123. OC-2 is slightly deeper and yellower than the Moisture range’s 123…but I wore my half-and-half face out after testing both in Beauty Bar and no one noticed my “TwoFace”.

This KGD Moisture Foundation is wonderful (but it shouldn’t cost Php100 more than the Aqua grr), my shade is 123 and it is supposedly slightly more dewy than the Aqua foundation…but honestly I had fantastic light at Beauty Bar BGC and I couldn’t tell the difference, both had a sophisticated non-greasy sheen that set to a semi-matte finish over time. What I could feel was this being an eensy-weensy little bit thicker and long-wearing. You can see here below that it covers my dark circles better than the Aqua foundation. This could go in my capsule kit and I wouldn’t really need an extra concealer if I had this, unless I required serious color correction. It would make an awesome evening or red carpet foundation since it doesn’t have SPF, it is a bit dewy but not overly so and it’s easy to powder to get a softer finish (I recommend MAC MSF natural pressed powder). The Koh Gen Do Moisture Foundation has a similar finish to KGD Aqua that contains more emollients and has slightly more coverage. It has no SPF which means it’s great for shoots (I’d save these though for high end projects or celebrity clients coz they’re pricy) and it also conveniently comes in a portable tube to the delight of MUAs like myself (as a professional if I could afford it I’d get more shades for my kit) but I hate that you only get 20 ml as compared to the 30ml you get in the bulky frosted glass bottle of KGD Aqua Foundation. How I wish both foundations were in 30ml tubes instead, I don’t see why the Aqua one has to be in a frosted glass bottle that’s so heavy and impractical to bring in your purse.

• Koh Gen Do Moisture Foundation , .71 0z./20g – “Natural matte finish that minimizes flaws and imperfections. No artificial colors, fragrance, petroleum based mineral oil or paraben.”
  

Vegetable collagen: Maintains the balance of water in your skin and gives it vitality and elasticity.
Jojoba oil: spreads easily on your skin. Retains skin’s moisture and prevents water from evaporating from your skin.
Squalane: Prevents skin dryness and keeps it moist and elastic.

Ingredients: Water, Isotridecyl Isononanoate, Octyldodecyl Lanolate, Sorbitan Isostearate, Cyclopentasiloxane, Butylene Glycol, Glycerin, Tribehenin, Butyrospermum Parkii (Shea Butter) Fruit, Simmondsia Chinensis (Jojoba) Seed Oil, Squalane, Saccharomyces Extract, Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Extract, Tocopherol, Magnesium Sulfate, Oleyl Alcohol, Phenoxyethanol, Talc, Titanium Dioxide, (+/-) Iron Oxides, Aluminum Hydroxide

I didn’t recall immediately when I tried these but ITG’s chief commander Emily Weiss put the Aqua foundation on her selfie Top Shelf feature 2 years ago as her fave foundation then. I saw the price tag the first time at Podium, and I wept (not really), debated for 20 minutes (yes, indeed) and walked away. KGD Aqua was Php2750 and Moisture was Php2850. The fact that they retail here is not what makes them expensive, they really are… even Amazon and Sephora sell both for $62.00 each (which confuses me even more about why 1 is more expensive than the other locally). My only comfort then having denied myself the purchase the first time around was that I had enough sense to do so at that time a few days ago, someone would have to tell me why it was worth that in the first place. In the last past month I made a handful of online purchases (2 or 3, 1 non-beauty) because of my wonderful but hectic Euro tour hangover. A constrained itinerary when I was abroad left me hungry to explore brands I had no time to look for whilst I was in the UK. For most of our stops in Europe it was: arrive, check in, eat, sleep, wakeup, eat, head to concert, eat, sleep, pack, fly, arrive next city ON LOOP, with just 2 or 3 free days to walk and explore for the whole 2 weeks we were there. As a result DutyFree was nice, a little generic but great help and when I got home I felt I missed out on some things apart from tourist spots. So I kinda sorta ran up 3 small invoices online shortly after I got back. As I was heading home from Podium a few days ago with the memory of Koh Gen Do on my face I was still feeling strangely victorious after having snubbed the best foundation I ever tried but then I did the next most futile thing lol. I texted my mom about my achievement in restraint and she replied “But why did you walk away? ” and I had no decent answer other than them being pricy, and then she reasoned something else on why I should get these now.

So for the first time a few days later I availed of Beauty Bar’s 3 months to pay 0% installment offer and headed over to their HighStreet branch to pick these up. These are expensive but I tried my best to research and best explain in the post the payoff value this foundation gives. If you are particular about your base this might tick all the boxes. I don’t want to be pretentious and just randomly tell you guys go ahead, go out and get this. I’m simply saying if you’re on the market for a high end luxury foundation this may not be among the mainstream brands usually mentioned but it is the best one I have tried so far…it just really comes with a hefty price tag. If you’re wondering which one I think is more value for money I’d say the Aqua foundation over the moisture one coz you get more product in the bottle for Php100 less and a minimal amount of SPF for daily wear.

*spelling corrections on the Before and After images…should be Koh Gen DO not DOH

I recently had to ditch less than half a tub of my fave Nivea Baby Smoothy Moisturizer only because I realized it was just slightly over expired, the fact that I finished more than half  a tub was actually great, didn’t think I would like it enough to get that far.  I would have finished it had I been more faithful in applying it on my legs, it contains mineral oil but I don’t react badly to it.  Since a few of my skincare bits are steadily on their way out I’ve become determined in tracking down a couple (not all) of Caroline Hiron’s non-nasty skincare recommendations (brand consultant, advanced facialist, blogger) in order to get things done right.  A few of course I sourced some discounted online with very minimal or free shipping (not available here).  I’ll feature those picks all together soon, but there was one item that really frustrated me because it was nowhere on ebay or anywhere I looked except at Boots in UK, Hydraluron.  Caroline Hiron’s skincare video with Pixiwoo hadn’t come out yet while I was in Europe.  If I had seen it I would have made a dash for Indeed Labs’ Hydraluron (hyaluronic acid) serum at Boots.    Hyaluronic acid is naturally present in the body as a carbohydrate that binds itself to water and functions as a natural lubricant throughout the body.  Hydraluron by Indeed Labs, as Caroline mentions in this video on Pixiwoo’s Body Talk channel, is like generic hyaluronic acid at its purest in gel form (don’t let the word “acid” put you off, there are acids the skin needs) without fillers, without harmful additives, and without flowery add ons that bump up the price.  That one, Hydraluron, is not available here, but this is, and I’ve tried it.  DermaE Hydrating Serum is an oil-free, nasties free Hydrating Serum meant to be used under your moisturizer just like Hydraluron.

“DermaE Hydrating Serum is an intensive, nourishing formula that can be used in combination with other moisturizers to enhance their effect.  May also be used alone for those with oily or blemish-prone skin.  NEVER any harmful parabens, phthalates, sodium lauryl sulfate, petrolatum, mineral oil or artificial colors. DermaE is family owned and operated, proven natural formulations since 1984″

INGREDIENTS: Water (Aqua), Glycerin, Sodium Hyaluronate (Hyaluronic Acid; Actimoist Bio-1), Calcium Ascorbate (Ester C), Allantoin, Panthenol, Alanine, Leucine, Tyrosine, Dimethicone, Glycine, Valine, Ammonium, Acryloyldimethylaurate/VP Copolymer (Aristoflex), Ceteareth 20, Xanthan Gum, Phenoxyethanol, Ethylhexylglycerin, Potassium Sorbate, Plumeria Blossom Fragrance.

The only drawback, and I don’t know why they had to but they bothered, is it is scented but thankfully it isn’t an annoying scent, it’s a quite pleasant hint of plumeria that goes away minutes after application which is nice but personally I’d prefer this unscented.  Essentially this is almost the same thing as Hydraluron but fortified with vitamins and amino acids, it does have silicone but not too much.  It comes out like a white cleansing milk, creamy but thin and not too runny.  It looks quite generic in the bottle too with a short ingredients list and it really works.  It would be good as a primer before makeup if you don’t use moisturizer, but as skincare I use a dime size amount all over my face and apply a bit of my moisturizer, as a result the hydration lasts all day.  When you apply this, you’ll feel hydration within seconds, skin is partly quenched and prepped to receive and bind in moisturizer.

I love how when I tried this directly under a new foundation ( a nice moisturizing foundation that wasn’t dewy) it added to makeup longevity and kept my skin feeling and looking like skin until the evening even with makeup on, of course, the type of foundation helped, too.  There is also a hydrating day cream version of this with hyaluronic acid as well, but I chose the serum because the acid is 3rd from the top on the ingredients list meaning the serum contains a way better amount.  If you’re lazy and have no time to do this step THEN moisturizer, just get the day cream instead.  It’s got good ingredients, too, and I’m sure it’s excellent.  I’d personally say it’s suitable for sensitive skin like mine, but we’re all different works of art, right.  I didn’t react to the mild fragrance.  This is not a miracle product in my opinion, it’s simply an effective product, frankly, it just does what it’s supposed to, and that’s what we want products to do every time, right?  This is available locally at Healthy Options for Php1475, slightly cheaper than the £25 (Php1500+) mark of Hydraluron from Boots but a close match in price.  This is a U.S. product so it is also available in the States (probably at Wholefoods)  If you want to get this close enough dupe for Ms. Hiron’s fave Hydraluron hop over to Healthy Options and try it out.

I know you saw the photo, but don’t jump on it just yet, I knowwwwwwww… my heart leaped in the same way when I saw these in Watsons a few days ago thinking they might be like really good drugstore matte lipsticks. I don’t slam products needlessly, but I do need to tell the truth. Don’t get me wrong, I love Maybelline products, especially their eye stuff…but this time, this time FOR THE FIRST TIME, frankly I actually want a refund. I feel totally misled.

So far, exciting, right…

The short swatches are one swipe, the long swatches were my best effort to get them solidly opaque after like 4-5 swipes…when I saw pigment separating that’s when I knew something was wrong. Sheer mattes that aren’t quite matte?! Plus, why don’t these build? Not all of them were complete flops, one sort of stood out, but I’ll save the best for last and begin with the ugh…hard to say, but really the worst one. I had high hopes for this orange. Whatever you do do not get MAT3, that’s this one

A heavy handed swipe on the lower lip, I’m not kidding. What the hey. It doesn’t even register bright orange, it comes on like a lip butter with less sheen.

Um, see pigment separating and settling into my lip creases? Le sigh, I was heavy handed with this orange and I even had concealer over my lips to help the bright shade it should have been…awful that orange is. It’s more like LOWrange.

MAT5 above is a pink toned rouge, way better pigment than the orange, but tell me…does THAT look matte to you? Plus the shade doesn’t feel BOLD it’s quite mehmeh. Mom says it seems as if they may have mislabeled these or the lipsticks went to the wrong labeling batch (BOLD MATTE??!).

Last but finally not the least, bolder and more matte (still not matte enough though) is MAT1, a slightly cool but also slightly coral pop of pink that is not too bright for MAC NC30-35 skintones to use. It strongly reminds me of MAC Pink Nouveau or even a slightly less bright Lime Crime Countessa Fluorescent. I have a feeling THIS ONE would have registered completely matte in a drier country. I also purchased a more orange red hoping it would be a Lady Danger dupe but it wasn’t matte. That one was a lovely color kinda like Revlon’s Classic Fire and Ice but because it wasn’t matte I passed it on to my Lola who absolutely loved it, she didn’t mind that it wasn’t matte. I have no idea why the quality throughout the range is so inconsistent. Maybelline, I still love your brand to bits, especially the mascaras and gel liners but next time you label a range BOLD MATTE what I expect for my money is BOLD MATTE. These retail for PHp399.00 from Watsons and wherever Maybelline counters are sold in pharmacies and department stores nationwide. If you see these in store DEMAND for a tester before you decide on getting any of them. Did any of you jump on these ending up as frustrated as me or did I just get dealt a bad batch?

A possibly good enough or equally fantastic dupe for Dr. Bronner’s Liquid Castile Soap  is available locally.  It was Anna of the YouTube channel Vivianna Does Makeup who mentioned using that to shampoo her brushes.  Liquid castile soaps for some reason, no derogatory angle meant, paint the picture of Amish origin for me which is a good thing.  They’re supposed to be 100% natural, completely free of nasties, and reliable cleansing multitaskers…not just for yourself…but oh yeah for your STUFF as well as an all around cleaner.  The way liquid castile soap is used is it’s to be diluted 1 part product to 4 parts water (a smaller part diluted is recommended when for yourself). I picked up these 2 variants of Dr. Woods Shea Vision Castile soap just  a few days ago from Healthy Options for ergh, how much…need to double check if Php275 or Php375, I’ll edit it in.  What I like about the Shea Vision castile soaps of Dr. Woods is they’ll strip the dirt and grime but rehydrate or moisturize non-greasily with glycerin and shea butter.   I got the peppermint scented one to match my J&C Spot Cleaning Solution which is also minty and I got the milder fragrance free baby formula just in case.  The baby fragrance-free formula is practically the same make, just without Peppermint Oil, and is a little less viscuous and more gloopy but works just as well.  The baby variant would also be wonderful if used as a substitute for detergent on intimate apparel like your delicates if you’re the sort that gets skin reactions to laundry detergent.  What I love is that these lather nicely even if they’re free of parabens, pthalates and sulfates.

 

INGREDIENTS: Purified Water, Saponified Coconut, Hemp, and Olive oils (w/ retained glycerin), organic shea butter, Vitamin E, (Peppermint Oil), Sea salt, Citric Acid, and Rosemary Extract. (Certified Organic by Ecocert S.A.)

For my makeup brushes I measured 2 overflowing caps of product diluted in 1 cup of water.  That 1 cup solution was good enough to clean about 10-12 powder and foundation brushes, the biggest tools which use up the most solution.  They rinse clean and when they dry what’s important is my brushes feel like they did when I first bought them.  To find out how I wash my brushes read my brush cleansing post here and just substitute this solution for the Joy solution and use the same method.  I use olive oil to clean my tiny lip and eyeliner brushes.   I’d been looking for a good makeup brush deep cleansing alternative that was more suited for facial brushes in contrast to dishwashing detergent like Joy Antibac (some people mind when they find out brushes were cleansed with detergent) and this range by Dr. Woods seemed to tick all the checkboxes.  Earlier, I used this to clean something other than makeup brushes.  Epic proof fail in the sense that I didn’t take a before shot of how grimy these two pouches looked already before I washed them, but believe me when I say it did the job well and they smelt so nicely of fresh peppermint when I held the dry pouches to my nose.

Today I used 4 caps of the Peppermint Castile soap in about less than a liter of water in a small wash bowl to soak my beansprout illustrated pouches which were due for a wash.  What I like about this for my utility pouches is Dr. Woods soap will remove any dirt but it won’t bleach the natural canvas of my pouches and it won’t fade the illustrations either.  I soaked these for about 2 hours then after I gently rinsed and hand wrung them of excess water then used a hairdryer to get them dry.  To check these out look them up at your local Healthy Options boutique.  This Liquid Castile soap stuff is therapeutic to work with because it’s so gentle and I now actually am mentally making a list of more stuff to clean…aha, I have one more brush set that needs work (rubs palms with glee).

After reading hundreds of blogs, talking to local professionals, and pouring over professional sites about skincare I was steadily becoming a self-righteous “skinnie” (with sensitive skin) believing full well that I probably knew a lot ’til I came across these references and felt like I got my ear twisted. I watched the following two videos (which I will link in of course in the post), firstly about skincare products with the unsinkable Caroline Hirons and secondly a Part 1 ITG cleansing video intimately done with world renowned and accredited facialist Isabelle Bellis. First off, let’s hear some skin principles and recommended products. Please know you shouldn’t be pressured to get THESE exact products just listen to what you need to avoid (although we would get them all if we could in a heartbeat wouldn’t we?) Caroline Hirons, the revered skincare brand expert and editor of the Beautymouth.com lovingly pushed presents her product picks to Nic and Sam Chapman aka the pro MUA Pixiwoo sisters on their BodyTalkDaily YouTube channel

“Trained in over 100 brands and a globally qualified advanced facialist.
Developed bespoke facials and trained teams internationally for top brands in the UK, USA and Far East. Now working as a Consultant to brands and retailers in the Beauty Industry. Advises brands on the route into market, where they should be selling and why and puts brands into those retailers.” – Beautymouth.com

To watch the full Skincare video with Caroline Hirons and Pixiwoo click here or check the embedded video here.

I was quite taken in by the conversation myself…most especially at the beginning when Caroline presented her favorite cleansing balm of all time (so far), the Emma Hardie Natural Lift and Sculpt Moringa (Malunggay to us) Cleansing Balm. It feels like a million skin experts and a half are raving about this. It’s one of those non-mainstream products that sends a flock of birds exploding from the trees when you mention the name, so many people now just, gradually since a few years ago, are singing its praises online.

“French born Epidermologist, MLD and Holistic nutritionist Isabelle Bellis has had very comprehensive and unique experiences in the beauty industry. Miss Bellis has a passion for wellness and a deep understanding of the complexity of the skin. She received professional training in France, Switzerland and Germany acquiring the best treatment techniques with world–renowned skin biologists and naturopaths. Isabelle had the opportunity and the privilege to meet and train with Joelle Ciocco, a world-renowned biochemist with 35 years of experience in the field of personalized skin care. Joelle Ciocco taught Miss Bellis the Epidermologue Method®, based on a scientific analysis of the skin which is premised on the fact that everyone’s skin has its own genetic history, life and oxidative stresses.”

The skincare brand Joelle Ciocco is what Sofia Coppola uses and that’s what got my attention first hand when I first played the video, the lovely cabinet filled with Joelle Ciocco skincare. Here Isabelle charmingly and soft-spokenly demonstrates the simple way to cleanse and it really only involves 3 steps…she doesn’t focus too much on the products and their names, it’s all about the method.

1. THERMAL WATER

2. CLEANSE, 3. SWIM (circular upward massage)

4. TONE

I like how straightforward and disarming Isabelle is about it, with her charmingly used English and all and I like how uncomplicated it is. To watch the ITG video featuring Isabelle Bellis’ cleansing method click here. It seems ITG has yet to put up a Part 2 video which probably includes her moisturizer and nourish steps following this cleansing regimen. Doesn’t it feel like you’ve just experienced a mental skincare overhaul? Have any of these videos shattered your perceptions on some aspects of skincare? I still think it’s good to consult with your dermatologist before making any drastic changes but it’s safe to say that these two lady skincare powerhouses only offer and recommend the best.