Before discovering the Shiseido Oil-Free Bronzing Powder, bronzers are my least favorite makeup because I have had horrific experiences with it turning either too orange, unflatteringly ruddy, or dirty brick brown on me as my skin gravely oxidizes makeup. Add to that, since bronzers are more popularly used for contouring and I don't see myself developing a substantial amount of skill in it anytime soon, I cared less about them.

Luckily, I learned about the Shiseido Oil-Free Bronzing Powder and I finally realized that bronzers are not monsters but friends. Shiseido describes this product as an oil-free bronzing powder that provides an all-day, air-brushed finish to create a natural, radiant & sun-kissed look.

   Comes in 3 shades: Light 01, Medium 02, and Dark 03. P1998 for 0.42 oz compact, $35 at Sephora

   "With flash" photo of the bronzer on the pan is color-accurate. See last photo below for a zoomed-in pic

The Shiseido Bronzing Powder in Medium/02 is a flattering true brown for my skin. On the pan, it has microglitters but isn't shimmery at all when brushed against the skin. You must know that I shy away from anything glittery as shimmers almost always provide my acne scars an unsolicited emphasis, but this powder's an exception.

It's nice to find a bronzer that's not heavily pigmented at first swipe. I can lazily wear Medium/02 as a blush without minding if I'm using a heavy hand. This is a  feature which bronzer noobs such as myself can immensely benefit from. I sweep the brush thrice to get some pigment, tap it out once to take out the excess, and then brush under the apples of my cheeks. After, I take a big powder brush to blend the bronzer upwards to further diffuse it up to the apples of my cheeks. Note that the Shiseido bronzer fairly wears long as I see minimal fading on my oily cheeks only after 4-5 hours.

    Shiseido Bronzing Powder used simply as a blush to add warmth & colour to cheeks (no other cheek prods used)

Products used in the FOTD above are: Nature Republic The First Clarifying Toner, ZA True White Liquid Foundation (OC30), Shu Uemura Rouge Unlimited (RD 160), Shiseido Oil-Free Bronzer (Medium). It's a quick way to look somewhat made up. The bronzer made a huuuuuuuge difference I tell ya!

It wouldn't be fair not to make a special mention that the compact comes with a soft and densely packed kabuki-style brush. I have not used any other brush other than this as it works extremely well. I only wish it was sold separately so I can get back-ups (not that this brush can't handle the whole 0.42oz of bronzing brilliance; it is actually quite sturdy and has not lost its earlier softness even after several washes).

I have already used this product severaaaal times and I can't believe hetchmarks are still visible near the edges

If only this bronzing powder was tagged several hundreds of pesos lower, I would recommend it to makeup newbies in a heartbeat to avoid the bronzing horrors I went through. I know that NARS Bronzing powders are cheaper-- locally, so they may want to check that out first. Weirdly enough, NARS bronzers are a dollar more expensive than Shiseido's at Sephora but contain lesser product in the pan ($36 for 0.28oz vs $35 for 0.42oz), meaning Shiseido is definitely a bang for the buck if you're purchasing in the U.S.!

In a twist of fate, the product I used to hate is now something I find myself using a lot. Thanks to the Shiseido Oil-Free Bronzing Powder in 02, I struck gold discovering an air-brushed finish bronzer that shows up nicely on my skin without failing to give me a healthy, natural, sun-kissed look. It's an added bonus that it photographs really well and has never broken me out!

My first three purchases from ZA Cosmetics are the True White Liquid Foundation, Perfect Fit Concealer, and the True White two-way foundation case. I kick off a series of posts from the brand by featuring my cheapest but invaluable purchase from them -- the silver, white and pink foundation case!

Short Story:

When I broke the hinge on my Majolica Majorca Skin Remaker powder foundation's princessy gold case, I swore I wasn't spending P450 again on something I might end up breaking one more time. Thankfully, I saw ZA Cosmetics (which was beside the Majolica booth) and discovered that the Skin Remaker powder refill fits a cheaper case, the ZA true white foundation case.

ZA True White two-way foundation case FAQ:

Price: P325 (P100+ cheaper than the MM gold case). Alternatively, you can get the all-pink foundation case at the same price (I keep pinks at a minimum, hence, the silver and white one seemed perfect)

Where to buy: ZA cosmetics counters in: Landmark Trinoma, Landmark Makati, SM Aura Dep Store, and SM Aura Watsons

Refill size to fit case: make sure your refill is somewhere around 5.2cm x 4.4cm x 0.8cm 

So far, it fits: Majolica Majorca Skin Remaker and Shiseido Perfect Smoothing powder foundies; after all, Majolica Majorca and ZA are both spearheaded by Shiseido Co.

Notes: (A) Plaster a double tape neath the refill and slap it on the case! (B) The case's cover is a shiny, silvery one that becomes less splendid when finger prints and other grimy whatnot stick to it. Wipe as often as you can; if there's one good thing about it, you know your case is always clean!

Grrrreat News:

Starting tomorrow till Sunday, 4th of August, ZA Trinoma (as far as I know) will be holding a 20% off sale on ALL items. The ZA true white foundation case will be marked down at P260 (now the deal-hunter in me sighs out for not holding off my purchases, lol)! Shiseido and MM in Trinoma are on sale, too.

At P325, with my current, most-used up powder foundie sitting pretty snug inside this refill case, I feel victorious. I saved some few hundred pesos and discovered yet another Japanese brand that carries efficient and affordable items!