Koh Gen Do, Skincare infused makeup product reviews & swatches

Huge thanks to the wonderful team at Koh Gen Do, I was able to test these skincare infused makeup products. They sent over their famous Aqua Foundations, along with their Pressed Powder, Moisture Fit Concealer, and Makeup Color Base.

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The Koh Gen Do Maifanshi Aqua Foundation has a total of 10 shades (see below shade swatches from their website). According to their website, The coveted Aqua Foundation, known for giving skin the same youthful glow you experience right after a facial, is redesigned for increased coverage, radiance, hydration and longevity. Formulated with signature Gloss Film Powder, the light-diffusing minerals brighten and minimize pores, while resisting sweat and oiliness. This breathable serum foundation contains weightless skin-conditioning emollients that improve the hydration and health of skin for a flawless and comfortable complexion all day.

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They sent me two shades, 013 and 113. The shade 013 appears a little too pink for my yellow/warm skin tone. The shade 113, which is their lightest warm shade, seems to be a good match for my MAC’s NC15 skin tone. Below, you can see my arm swatches comparing to the MAC’s NC25 and NC15. I have mostly normal skin, sometimes dehydrated if I don’t consume enough water.

foundation swatch

For your reference, I have listed all of my other foundation shades here:

https://luvsummeikup.com/2017/05/12/list-of-my-foundation-shades/

The first day, I applied with a Kabuki foundation brush, it gave me a medium coverage with 2 layers of applications. I used the Makeup Color Base primer they sent me; it’s in the shade Lavender Pink. As you can see from below photo that I pulled up from their website, they have 3 other shades, which are Green, Yellow, and Pearl White. It might have been a better shade if they have sent me the yellow instead, because the Lavender Pink appeared to be too pink for me, and it made my skin tone half a shade to a shade paler. However, it did give my skin a smooth canvas; the foundation went on smoothly and gave a nice natural finish. I also set with the Pressed Powder; it’s the only shade available.

primer swatch

The powder is too white for me (below, you can see the swatches of the powder), it made my skin a shade lighter than it is; with the Lavender Pink base, I was almost 2 shades lighter. However, the powder sets the foundation pretty well; it gave me a matte finish, and the bronzer and highlighter went on smoothly. If I have the right Color Base shade, I think I would like this combination, because it lasted a good 7-8 hours. At the 8 hour mark, the makeup still looked fresh; I didn’t see any creasing or separation, not greasy either.

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On the second day, I applied with a round top Kabuki foundation brush again, this time I used the Hourglass Veil Mineral Primer, and then used the Hourglass Ambient Lighting Powder in Diffuse Light to set. This combination made my skin look quite dewy, and it slightly enhanced my pores around my nose. The foundation itself provided light to (buildable) medium coverage; it covered the redness on my cheeks but not my pimples. The bronzer and highlighter went on smoothly. I actually quite liked the natural look it gave me; it didn’t exaggerate pores, but didn’t diminish either. At the 5 hour mark though, the center of my face became a little greasy, as well as some separations around my nose, and the foundation came off my chin a little bit too. Hence, this wasn’t my favorite combination.

 

On the third day, I used a BeautyBlender to apply. This time I used the SmashBox Photo Finish Primerizer; it only gave a light medium coverage with 2 layers of applications. I set my face with BECCA Hydra-Mist Set & Refresh Powder; the bronzer and highlighter also went on smoothly. It gave my skin an extra smooth complexion, and a natural finish. My pores looked the smoothest with this combination; even my nose looked pore less. My skin still looked very fresh even after 8 hours of wear; no dry patches, no creasing, no greasiness. This is by far the best combination.

 

I also tried to wear this foundation with no primer and no powder. It gave me a light medium coverage with BeautyBlender, and medium coverage with a Kabuki foundation brush (2 layers). They both provided with natural finish; a little bit dewier using the BeautyBlender. I waited about 5 minutes before putting on bronzer and highlight; surprisingly, although it felt tacky, they blended on top of the foundation nicely. After 4 hours of wear, my skin became a little bit oily, especially around my nose area; however, there was no separation and still looked pretty good from a conversational distance.

 

According to their website, the Moisture Fit Concealer has 3 shades, which are 02, 03, and 04 (see photo below). They sent me the shade 03, which is darker than my NC15 skin tone. You can see swatches from below photo for shade comparison with the MAC foundations; so I can’t use it for my under eyes for brightening. I tried using it to cover my pimple scar, but the coverage is too light for that. However, when I used it on top of my cheeks after 1 layer of foundation, it enhanced the coverage by covering my redness on my cheeks.

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Overall, I recommended the Aqua Foundation if you’re a fan of a natural finish, buildable to medium coverage foundation. I have been using this foundation since I received it 2 months ago, with the SmashBox Primerizer and BECCA Hydra-Mist; it lasts the longest with beautiful natural finish. I would use it with their Makeup Color Base too if I have the Yellow shade instead of Lavender Pink, since it does provide a nice smooth canvas.

 

Disclaimer: I received these products complimentary from Koh Gen Do; however, all of my opinions are 100% honest and my own.

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Pharmaskincare® Skincare Products Review

I received this lovely package from Pharmaskincare about two months ago for review purposes. Pharmaskincare products are the unique result of modern biotechnology and dermatological research combined with centuries of scientific observation; they believe in making sure the ingredients are beneficial to beautiful skin, the blend of the ingredients works synergistically, and that the ingredient blend is balanced.

They sent me the Lightening Cleanser, A Peel Microepidermal Masque Stick, Anti-Age Serum Plus, and the Ph Parfait Vit a Retinol.

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My skin type: Normal to dry in the Winter, Normal to oily in the Summer. To clarify, I do patch test every new product before putting it on all over my face; however, it’s not guaranteed that a product works on my sensitive areas (pulse point, behind the ears, or neck), doesn’t cause reaction to my face.

Disclaimer: Skincare is very personal, it works for my skin doesn’t necessarily mean that it will work for your skin. Please do consult with your Dermatologist if you have skin issues. We should all know our own skin type and find out what we need before testing out the products.

 

Lightening Cleanser 7oz. for $47.00

This is how their website describes the product:

“Lightening Cleanser is the first step in the battle against hyper-pigmentation, patchy skin, and age spots. This active, cleansing formula is enhanced with Certified Organic Japanese Green Tea and Apple Fruit Extract. Both ingredients work to lighten dark spots while promoting healthy, youthful skin, and an even, toned complexion.”

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My thoughts:

This Cleanser has a very strong fragrance scent; if you’re allergic to fragrance, this might not be good for you. To me, scent usually doesn’t bother me as long as I don’t dislike the scents or it doesn’t irritate my skin. At the beginning, I only used this at night after removing my makeup since it’s a lightening cleanser, and used it without a cleansing device; then I started to have some breakouts after about a week. I thought it was because of other product that I was testing out, so I stopped using that product and continued with the Cleanser for another week; and of course, it broke me out even more. At that point, I stopped using all new products completely and went back with my trusted products; it took me almost two weeks before my skin was all cleared up. Then I decided to give it another try with my Foreo Mini, this time it did not break me out; hence, I continued using the cleanser with Foreo for another two weeks, and it never broke me out again. So it came to my conclusion that this Cleanser is way too gentle to remove leftover dirt and makeup on my face and that caused breakouts over time. As far as lightening goes, I haven’t noticed any difference, perhaps the cleanser doesn’t stay on my face long enough to do its magic. Now I do enjoy using this Cleanser, it foams up very nicely and extremely gentle on the skin. If you don’t have a cleansing device, I suggest you to only use this in the morning (when you have a bare face with minimum skincare products from the night before); please do make sure to put on enough sunscreen (I always use SPF40 and up) to protect your skin from the sun since lightening products can cause sensitivities from the sun. If you want to use this at night and you do wear makeup during the day, I highly recommend using this with a cleansing device.

*Photos below with bare face before and after using the Cleanser:

 

A Peel Microepidermal Masque Stick 1oz. for $55.00

This is how their website describes the product:

“The A Peel Microepidermal Masque Stick provides the benefits of a face mask without the mess. It is clean and quick, yet contains the most advanced bio-active skincare ingredients to beautify and regenerate skin affected by environmental stress. The Masque Stick helps nourish, restore, and diminish the appearance of existing lines and wrinkles caused by age, dryness, sun exposure, and environmental damage. It also works to smooth out acne scars and blemishes.”

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My thought:

I use this regularly, once a week for the past month. I don’t usually get pimples; but when I do, it would be around period time, where one or two would pop up on my chin. Besides the time that I broke out from the Cleanser, I would say that this mask does help minimizing the chance of getting pimples during period time. So far, I haven’t seen any pimple popping out, not even one during my last period. However, my skin doesn’t seem to like this mask if I use more than once a week; I tried twice a week and it dried out my skin badly, I had to do heavy moisturizing masks and a lot of facial oils to get my skin back to normal. After two months of using this mask, I find the base is getting really loose, perhaps I am too harsh when using it. Other than that, I would recommend this mask, it’s convenience to use and travel with, and it keeps my skin cleared.

*Photos below with bare face before and after using the Mask:

 

Anti-Age Serum Plus 0.33oz. for $70.00

This is how their website describes the product:

“Anti-Aging Serum is a highly effective and scientifically formulated serum that gently penetrates the top layer of skin to help repair tissue damage. Combining pure vitamins, hydrolyzed silk and yeast extract, this Serum works to promote collagen and elastin production. It helps tighten and smooth wrinkles, fine lines, and sagging skin to maintain youthful and vibrant skin.”

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My thoughts:

I started using this in the morning and at night; the serum provides hydrations to my skin and it absorbs quickly which I like. However, I noticed it made my foundation balls up every time after I used this serum. I did wait 5min to let the serum absorb completely, didn’t work; I tried different type of foundations, still the same. Hence, I ended up using this at night only and I did let this sit on my skin for at least 10min before the next step. Overall, I still do like this serum, just wish it doesn’t ball-up my foundation so that I can use this in the morning as well. Overall, it’s a good serum for hydration; although I finished the entire bottle, it doesn’t contain enough product for me to see major anti-aging result.

 

Ph Parfait Vit a Retinol 0.5oz. for $71.00

This is how their website describes the product:

“Ph Parfait Vit a Antioxidant Retinol System combines the powers of biological derivatives with soya plant and grape seed plant extracts to create an effective anti-aging system which is gentle enough for sensitive skin yet tough enough for skin damaged from the sun or premature aging. The balanced combination of natural and active products creates a powerful antioxidant formula which stimulates the production of collagen in facial skin to help with reversal of the thinning epidermis so skin will grow healthy, wrinkle-free and youthful in appearance. Ph Parfait Vit a Retinol will aid skin to be naturally moisturized while accelerating skin rejuvenation promoting even skin texture and clarity by reducing the appearance of blemishes and protecting skin from future breakouts. Fine lines and aging signs will be visibly reduced leaving skin looking and feeling younger.”

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My thoughts:

Since I have had bad reaction to retinol products before, I gave the Ph Parfait Vit a Retinol to a friend, she’s been using retinol products regularly. I did ask how she likes it and she said that it goes on to her skin smoothly, again, it doesn’t contain enough product in the bottle for her to see any result.

Thanks again to Pharmaskincare® for sending me these products! Image result for corgi smile

 

You may find more information from their website and Instagram:

https://pharmaskincare.com/

https://www.instagram.com/pharmaskincare/