I always believe in changing our skin care products after using an entire range for best results as personally I feel that they skin will get immune after a while, especially after finishing using the entire range.  And perhaps it’s also a good idea to alternate the range (eg. After finishing the set of brand A products, then I’ll swop to the Brand B set of products, followed by Brand A after finishing the latter).

I suppose for me, I’m always on the lookout for new skin care products due to the fact that I might have different needs at different point of time – eg, sometimes very dehydrated skin, sometimes dull skill, sometimes uneven skin tone etc. It might not be just problematic needs, but instead, it can be wants as well- eg, I want to have fairer skin!



If you asked me which make up product that I would carry around if we all only get to choose one, it has gotta be the concealer, 100% for sure, and no doubts. Whenever I’m makeup-less, the dark rings around my eyes are the ones that make me look tired (even when I’m not), or looking pretty dull and awful. Even my mom, my MOM!!.. gets kinda “shocked” at times when I walk pass her in the house. ;(



The latest range that I have started using about 1-2 months ago is the Shiseido White Lucent Range, and this range targets what I really need to cure as always and in particularly for now- my dark circles and uneven skin tone.

The products in the Shiseido White Lucent Range:

Products in clockwise directions, beginning from the left:
Shiseido White Lucent Brightening Cleansing Foam, Shiseido White Lucent  Spot Targeting Serum+ (2nd & 3rd products are the same, just that they are in different sizes), Shiseido White Lucent  Brightening Balancing Softener, Shiseido White Lucent  Brightening Protective Emulsion, Shiseido White Lucent  Anti-Dark Circles Eye Cream & Shiseido White Lucent  Brightening Skincare Powder.

P.S: Thanks to Shiseido, I received a two weeks trial kit as well, hence that explains why I have two of the Spot Targeting Serum! One is a sample and one is the full sized product.

So let’s take a look at myself:


These two pictures are taken with bright lighting with a thin layer of eye cream and they are already pretty visible. If you look carefully at the pictures above, my dark circles are the more yellowish kind, very awful ugh.

Can you imagine seeing me like that in real life.. you might think I have some disease or if I have not slept in like a week or something. Hey no joke!! I have folks who gave that kind of “shock” reaction when they see me like that right after cleansing and before any skin care to at least make the skin a tad glowy, and then….. being nice friends & people (well, only my good friends will have the chance to see me bare face or the make up artist) they tried to hide their shockness but trust me, I saw that and know that! Boohoo ;(

Coming back to the topic, so the uneven skin tone is related to lightening spots/patches, and whitening of the facial skin. Whereas for the dark circles, they are usually formed due to,

1. Sun Exposure

- UVB Rays, which induces your dark circles by pushing up your melanin to the surface of your skin(melanin is a type of pigment that is present in all of us in nature) 

2. Heredity 

– unfortunately 

3. Lack of sleep 

– it doesn’t cause dark circles in fact, it just makes your overall skin looks dull & pale, creates poor microcirculation around the eye area, which causes blue dark circles in particular. Hence emphasizes on the dark circles, making it more noticeable!!

4. Age

- as we age, skin becomes thinner, higher chances of discolouration, and dark circles will tend to be more obvious (so it’s important to start from young!)

5. Lack of Nutrition 

– lack of vitamins, and lack of balanced diet (maybe that’s why I have quite serious dark circles problems!!)

If you are wondering if the info above are accurate, yes they are!! Geez. Because I actually took quite a bit of time out and did thorough research cum ask around with specialists and trainers.

So I started using the Shiseido White Lucent Range, and there are a couple of products that I like to highlight that have been really useful to me.

1. Shiseido White Lucent Brightening Balancing Softener


My skin tends to get kinds tiff and tight after cleansing every time (too stiff for long will induces more fine lines!) as the skin’s PH value is thrown off balance in technical terms, and this softener is a lotion that normalize the skin’s PH balance again. I put this on immediately after cleansing, and it helps to soften the skin first, making sure it’s replenish with essential moisture so that the other products will be better absorbed.

Having said that, I’m quite concerned about Milia seeds as well (like bumps/oil seeds around the eyes due to too oily products or formed when the products stay on the skin surface &  not properly absorbed!). The good thing is that by using this softener around the eyes, it can help prevent milia seeds as it helps the skin to better absorbed the products!

2. Shiseido White Lucent Intensive Spot Targeting Serum+




The + behind is the new and improved version, and apparently the previous product was a very popular pick amongst people in 2010 already! I love the smell of this- a mixture of slight flora & fruity smell, and I think this serum helps to make my skin more supple.

It aims to diminish stubborn dark spots, but fortunately I think my dark spots are there but not too visible yet, and I’m using this to prevent more obvious dark spots from appearing as well as hoping to achieve more even skin tone! I guess it’ll be too late if I have super apparent dark spots, so in fact, we should try to use these to prevent them from appearing in the future.


oh yes, it does have a very light and smooth texture, not sticky at all, so perfectly good for day or night. The serum can be applied around the eyes area! Just that we should use sparingly and perhaps after applying on the face/cheeks, then apply the remaining to the eyes area.  Afterall, it has oil contained in it too.

3. Shiseido White Lucent Brightening Protective Emulsion

you know how sunblock can’t be applied (unless stated) on our eyes area, because it will give us milia seeds? and most sunblocks have quite a high percentage of oil in it. 



To me sunblock is very important, and I suppose I have quite a bit of the milia seeds because I tend to spread sunblock around the eyes as I hope to use that and cover my dark eye rings! Some days, you just feel lazy to put on make up given that we still have to wash thoroughly after, or you just wanna give your skin a breather? Same as me, and I’ll then use sunblock as a “shield” or “substitute” of a foundation. But of course, it’s better than foundation cuz it protects your skin from the UVB rays!

This White Lucent Brightening Protective Emulsion has a brightening powder that instantly brightens up the skin, giving it a slightly dewy make up effect!

4. Shiseido White Lucent  Anti Dark Circles Eye Cream

This would probably be one of my best picks here! It certainly helps to moisturize my eyes area (especially after I cleansed, the tightness of the skin actually further pulls my fine lines, which makes them kinda more apparent!) and further hydrates the skin area around the eyes, plus it helps to control and reduce dark eye rings which is what I needed!


I have been using it for one half months, day and night, I think it does help to lighten the yellowish part by perhaps 8-10%? Though it is slightly reduced, but I can see that it’s helping! so I’m gonna continue to use it for a couple more months, hopefully to see more an even more visible results!


Like it that the cream is not too oily to give me milia seeds, and yet enough to make sure the eye area skin is moisturized, preventing more fine lines from appearing.

*

If you just wish to get an entire set of products, my pick would be the Shiseido White Lucent  Anti-Dark Circles Eye Cream, Shiseido Spot Targeting Serum & Shiseido Brightening Protective Emulsion!

Only the Serum, eye cream and softener applied around eyes area , but a thin layer would be recommended due to the prevention of milia/oil seeds too. And that’s what I like about it, don’t have to be too careful in applying certain products this way and that way, and in the end I will get mixed up.

What I look in skin care is also the “after look”  given that I have applied ALL products after cleansing – like it that it’s soft, supple and glowy! (not oily kind of glow, but the soft glow, you get my drift… hehehe)

Last but not least, I shall end of with a couple of photos of the after application of the entire range, with no make up nor concealer.

Particularly thanks to the top 3 products, which give me instant results, and since it can already give us a better skin instantly like that, we can go out without make up and still wait for more visible results to show!