Shiseido Synchro Skin Radiant Lifting Foundation

This is a really nice foundation, and although expensive, I would purchase again.

The foundation itself comes in a square bottle with a twist top pump to dispense product, which is nice and hygienic, with little possibility of wastage or using too much product like from a screw top bottle.

I had matched the foundation through Shiseido's website with my old foundation and concealer, and although I was apprehensive it would be too dark, seems to be quite a good match once applied. While the website says to apply with your fingers, I tested it with my fingers, blender, and foundation flat brush. Out of all the applications, I do prefer my blender with the brush a close second. As this is a medium-full coverage foundation, when I first applied it with my fingers I felt it was way too thick and difficult to use, but is still easy to blend and build. It doesn't feel or look heavy, covers redness nicely and I also didn't need to use a lot of concealer.

This foundation has a lovely, dewy finish and I felt it does make my skin look smoother and younger. I also have quite a deep vertical wrinkle between my eyebrows, and it doesn't settle in it and makes it look less obvious. It also doesn't separate, even after a full day of wear with my skin oils coming through. I also found my powder blush was easy to apply on top of the foundation without setting it first, and it stayed in place, which was a nice wee bonus.

All in all, I was surprised as I wasn't expecting my skin to look so lovely while wearing this foundation, so it will be a repurchase for sure.

Thanks again to the BR babes for the opportunity to review another incredible product. I was a die hard Shiseido beauty cake devotee for years, but have been using MAC face and body foundation for a while now, so was really keen to see how this would compare.

First off I am absolutely in love with the bottle - twist the top and pump to dispense, twist back to lock it! Genius - no more spillages in the makeup bag when I'm travelling, and no more sneaky little 7yo princesses trying to steal my makeup. The square glass bottle makes it easy to see how much product you have, although I am going to be curious to see how much product is left at the end of the bottle once the pump stops working.

The biggest mistake I made was selecting the shade - I choose what I thought looked best online, but I really should have gone in store first. The shade I picked was waaaaaay too light for me, so I've been trialing this at home where no one can see me.

The product itself was easy to apply using my normal foundation brush, and gave really good coverage. While it's definitely buildable, I wouldn't use more than 1 layer as I found that was enough for my skin. I was a little worried that it is hydrating and has SPF and how my skin would react to that, but it really is quite lightweight and didn't feel tacky or too rich at all. Because I haven't worn this out in public, it means I can't really comment on longevity, but it certainly seems like it would last the distance. And although I looked super pale, it really did give quite an airbrushed effect.

It was easy to wash off, and didn't leave any residue behind. As soon as my local pharmacy gets this in stock, I am off to buy the right shade and update my review

I may have chosen the wrong shade for my trial, but the coverage of this product is the best I've ever seen. The product is thick and creamy and can be a little difficult to apply and blend properly, but the end result is worth every minute. I prefer a heavier coverage to cover my rosacea and other skin issues, and have struggled for a long time to find that balance between full coverage while still feeling light - this did everything that I wanted and more. My skin appeared radiant and healthy, youthful even, and it didn't break out or react in any way (it usually does to new products). The product came off cleanly at night and I looked forward to applying it and seeing the transformation each day.

I will be taking some advice about the correct shade for me and investing in this product for the future - I'm sold!

This foundation has a thin fluid texture while still being lightly creamy and emollient. It sits beautifully on the skin and gives a solid medium coverage but can easily be sheered out if desired due to the spreadable nature of the formula. While this is a dewy foundation, there is restraint in the amount of glow this provides, giving a lit from within look without being shiny. Similarly to the Shiseido Synchro Skin Self-Refreshing Foundation, this product wears incredibly well and lasts all throughout the day without settling into lines. Highly recommend!

I've never tried a Shiseido foundation before, in fact I can't recall using the brand before. I've been pleasantly surprised by the experience!

The bottle is of a great quality, with a cool little dispenser top. There was quite a good shade selection for light to medium skin tones - I found my match with shade 230.

I found it easy to apply, I tried using a brush, blender and my fingers, all worked as well as the other. I prefer my fingers mostly out of laziness!

It spreads well and evenly and the coverage is buildable. I tend to opt for a medium coverage during the day, building up to full for a night out. I played around with this and building a couple of layers still left my skin feeling natural and nice.

This has a dewy, glow finish, its really pretty and doesn't exacerbate my slightly oily t-zone.

It's definitely lightweight, and wears well through the day, with no transfer onto clothing.

I didn't notice any firming effects, but otherwise, totally does what it says and would be open to repurchasing - or trying more from Shiseido!

I love Shiseido foundations. Was devastated when they discontinued their beauty cake.

This synchro skin radiant lifting foundation wasn't one I'd heard about and eager to find a replacement for their beauty cake, I was excited to get on this trial.

My skin type: I'm in the 40-something age group, with some fine lines, a couple of deeper forehead creases, reasonably even skin tone but with some red areas and pigmentation.

The bottle is fabulous. It's a pump dispenser, with a twist lid to open/close. It doesn't dispense too much product with one pump. One pump was plenty for the coverage I wanted, but note that this foundation is buildable too. It says to shake it before use and I'd recommend this as my first application (and I didn't shake it) was quite a matte look, however, when I shook it first, I got a more luminous/radiant finish.

The foundation is quite light weight when dispensing, but when applying it has what I'd consider a more full coverage. One single application concealed redness, pigmentation and even took care of dark circles. I tried applying with a brush and beauty blender and preferred the more natural look with the brush. Beauty blender tended to give that more full coverage look. As the day progresses I found the foundation settled a little, and looked more natural, than the heavy finish at the start of the day. If I went a little too heavy handed I did find that the foundation settled into my deeper forehead wrinkles, but that seems a normal experience with most foundations I've used. It didn't dry my skin too much, and seemed to last the day reasonably well. Some of my pigmentation started coming through towards the end of the day. Unlike some full coverage foundations I didn't feel my skin was too tight or overly dry at the end of the day, but I did prefer to take my makeup off as soon as I could end of the day - so maybe not as hydrating as I'm used to with other foundations. The Synchro Skin Radiant Lifting Foundation however was definitely A LOT more hydrating than their much loved beauty cake, with the same kind of coverage!

I did find the foundation felt better through the day with a primer under it, usually using my hydrating primer. It probably helped with staying power also through the day.

All in all I really liked this foundation. It's definitely in that medium/full camp for coverage, so not for those that want a really light application, unless you tried maybe mixing with a serum perhaps.

It looks like it would last a really long time too given how little you need for amazing coverage.

All in all, a fantastic foundation that I'll continue using

Loved this foundation!!! It’s creamy and gives a medium to full coverage on my skin without any caking. The coverage is great and more importantly it’s long lasting too. What I love is that it is dewy but not shiney.

I tried applying with a sponge and my fingers and preferred using my fingers.

Would I buy it?? Yes I most definitely would......if the rrp was not $79!!!

I am really impressed with this foundation. I haven't used a Shiseido foundation for quite some time. This one is in a really nice and stylish pump bottle and looks high end.

I got the ivory colour and it blends well into my fair skin. The formula is lovely. It's lightweight but coverage is very good. Although it covers blemishes well and looks great, it doesnt feel heavy and thick like some other foundations.

My skin is sensitive but I have been absolutely fine with this foundation. It actually makes my skin feel nourished and mositurised and leaves a lovely natural finish.

I like the pump, which is hygenic and easy to use.

A great foundation!

I loved this trial - thanks BR!

This foundation is lightweight but offers medium to full coverage. I found this easiest to apply with a beauty blender sponge, and it is really buildable. You can layer this up to your desired coverage - it doesn't go patchy or heavy, its a very smooth formula, that I found very hydrating too.

I love the illuminating finish - it's not super-glowy, but the perfect natural radiant finish.

I found the shade range a bit limited - there are lots of very-pale to mid shades, but it would definitely benefit from more darker tones to cater for everyone.

The packaging is fantastic - the dispenser top makes applying a controlled amount easy and clean. And its handbag-proof, you won't get leaks with this! I think this is a great foundation that can go toe-to-toe with the other high end brands!

My first impressions of this foundation were; that is has great quality packaging (the locking pump is a bonus), lovely colour (mine was the shade Pine), and slightly strange smell! I don’t mind the smell at all now after using it, as I think it is the sunblock, and the smell disappears quickly. I love knowing that it is providing another layer of sun protection.

When I first tried the foundation, I used it over a moisturiser which contains oil, and I found that it separated slightly over the day. I found that using either a primer, or water-based moisturiser worked better with this foundation. I have some wrinkles around my eyes and forehead, which I was worried about the product settling into, but that wasn’t a problem at all.

Using just one pump is the perfect amount for me. One pump is enough to even up my skin tone completely and give the radiant finish, while not making me feel as though I have a cake face! When I used more than one pump, I found that the finish was less radiant, and I felt like it looked unnatural. Using only one pump suits me fine, as the coverage is great, and the bottle will last longer!

I will use this foundation for nights out, and when I am wearing more makeup, as it is more coverage than I would wear during the day. I will also wear it if I know I am going to be in photos, as I think it looks really good in photos – maybe even better than in real life! My favourite product to use with this foundation was the Benefit liquid bronzer. Using the liquid bronzer kept the radiant look nicely and blended in really well.

My only one issue with this foundation is that I found it transferred onto clothes very easily. Maybe using a setting powder would help, but I am not a fan of the feeling of powder all over so I haven’t tried!