I received a leaflet from Kanebo last Friday, which stated some sort of gift-with-purchase promotions for Kanebo at Parkson stores. The gift-with-purchase bit didn’t interest me until I saw the portion where there will be free samples for Kanebo Bell Family members (I became one when I went for a free facial and bought some Kanebo products a couple of weeks ago, which I will review on soon). Now THAT, is something worth going for. You know what I sucker I am for freebies :p 

Anyhoos, went to Gurney Plaza Parkson on Saturday, and voila! My Kanebo Blanchir 3-day trial set, worth RM40.

The box consisted of Kanebo Blanchir products (they claim to make your skin bright and smooth). It has:

• Whitening Milky Conditioner (x1)
• Whitening Clear Conditioner (x3)
• Cotton Pad (6 pcs)
• Lotion mask with a tray

Thought it was pretty cool that they gave 3 bottles (albeit tiny ones) of the clear conditioner. It’s actually a toner, which, according to the instructions on the box, you’re supposed to feel a whole cotton pad with it and dab on your face. Okay, can I hear a “what a waste?!” here? I don’t think it’s necessary to use so much toner on one cotton pad; a 20 to 50-sen coin amount would do.

The milky conditioner works as a moisturiser. The coolest bit of the trial set was the lotion mask on a tray. The “mask” looks like a tablet; you put it on the plastic tray provided, pour the toner into the tray, soaking the mask. Then you take the mask out, which will now look like a very thin sheet of cloth, and put it on your face. I think it’s great for traveling. The sales assistant told me that you don’t have to use such expensive toner to soak the mask, any ordinary over-the-counter toner would do. This is, of course, up to you, as I know that some would prefer to use the toner of the same range on the mask.

Kanebo Blanchir is the cheapest of the Kanebo International skincare range. It’s actually sold in drugstores in Japan, whereas over in Malaysia, it’s quite a big deal. Of course, the sales assistants in Kanebo will try to push the Kanebo Sensai range to customers more, as that is more expensive (I’ll leave this for another post). Kanebo prices are also hiked up in Malaysia, but I reckon it’s inevitable, what with import taxes and so on.

Anyhoos, I digress. So far, I have no problems with the Blanchir range. I think the mask-in-a-tray idea is a hoot 🙂

I’ve been told that the Blanchir range is suitable for those with dry, younger skin. Either that, or the sales assistant’s just trying to convince me to get the more expensive range. It worked fine on my combination skin, so that’s good.

I used to shun the use of foundation, because most of the foundations I see on a lot of women are either too heavily applied, which gives them a very cakey look, or the foundation itself is too thick. After I came back from Japan, totally “Japanised” (i.e. cannot live without makeup, that kinda thing), I nicked Mum’s Shiseido foundation, and tried it on. I found it too thick; anyways, according to Mum, it’s supposed to have an added moisturising effect, thus the extra richness in the texture. Not that I’m against moisturising foundation (I say bring it on!), but the one from Shiseido really was a no-no for me. 

A dear friend of mine recommended MAC foundations, as she was using it then too. I figured, why not, might as well give it a go. I sampled it at the MAC counter, and found it to be pretty light, which was what I was looking for. That was my first foundation – MAC Select SPF 15.

It’s a water-based liquid foundation, which combines medium coverage with SPF 15. A good thing about it is that it’s non-oily.

I bought MAC’s NC35, which really suited the colour of my skin. I was told by the salesperson that the “C” in NC35 meant that it’s for Asian skin. I used my fingers to blend the foundation onto my skin, and then a makeup sponge to even it out. I normally dust a light layer of loose powder on top of the foundation. For a more dewy look, you can skip the loose powder.

When I ran out of the Select SPF 15, I bought the Studio Fix Fluid SPF 15. According to the salesperson, it does the same job. I bought my usual NC35, but when I went home, and tried it out the next day, I found that the Studio Fix Fluid’s a tad thicker than the Select SPF. Worst of all, the NC35’s darker than the one of the Select SPF’s! It gave my face a bit of a tan, which was fine when I go outdoors, but indoors, well, I look a little more tanned than usual. But coupled with blusher, hey, I look like I just came back from a holiday (it’s quite a nice healthy glow) 😉

Application-wise, I think I prefer the Studio Fix Fluid. It looks better on my skin. The Select SPF was good, but I prefer the Studio Fix Fluid, in terms of texture.

Ladies, a lesson to learn – remember to always test the colour out on your skin before purchase (on foundations, loose powders, etc). Just because it states similar skin colour, it doesn’t mean that it actually is the same.

I can’t really recall the actual price of the foundations (both are similarly priced by the way). A bottle is about RM100 something. A bottle could last you over 6 months, which is not too bad.

By the way, the first time I purchased the Select SPF 15, the salesperson actually provided the pump with the foundation, which was really good, because it’s a lot more hygienic to dispense the foundation using the pump, then exposing the foundation to air every time you need to use it. However, when I bought the Studio Fix Fluid, I was no longer given the pump; I was told that the pump’s only for sample bottles (???). It was a good thing I kept the pump. Anyways, if they do give you that nonsense about the pump, it’s perfectly fine to kick up a fuss, because they DO have extra pumps in store (bagged and sealed). Just a tip 😉

What I like about it: Good, light texture, non-cakey feeling, contains SPF

What I didn’t like about it: A tad pricey due to the overhyped brand name (seriously, it really isn’t all that), skin colours of the same name do not match for different types of foundation.

Anyone remember the flaky-but-damn-its-good chick flick, Clueless? (I LOVED this show, by the way) One of the best parts of the show was checking out Cher’s (Alicia Silverstone) fantastic automated closet (I definitely want me one of those), and that fantastic software of hers which allowed her to coordinate her outfit. 

I mean, just how cool is that? I actually tried creating that software when I got older, but it was a flop. Luckily, there’s no need for that now, because Software de Arte came up with Dress Assistant, which allows you to save pictures of your individual pieces, and coordinate them.

Mix and match with accessories and shoes, go wild with it. It’s like going through your closet, but without the mess. Unfortunately it doesn’t alert you if you coordinated the wrong pieces though. Darn.

I tried the demo, which sadly only allows you to add up to 20 items. But hey, it’s worth trying it out, plus the graphics are quite good (I like the hand-drawn concept). It’s available on PC and MAC.

I mean, like, isn’t it, like, just, so cool?

PS: Maybe I could try coming up with the software once again. Hmm … PROJECT!! :p