Kiss Mat Chiffon Powder and UV Whitening Base

Kiss' Mat Chiffon Powder (1680yen, 9g) and Mat Chiffon UV Whitening Base (1680yen) were just released in late March in Japan. I couldn't resist picking them up when my drugstore was having a 10% discount :-) I quite liked Kiss Moist Angel Powder which was earlier released during winter 2006. The Mat Chiffon Powder is meant more for oily skin while the Moist Angel Powder is meant more for dry skin but I found that both were suitable for my oily but surface dehydrated skin. During the dry winter months, my skin still produces oil especially in the T-zone but at the same time, it is prone to surface dryness and flaking so finding a suitable skincare and makeup regime is a big headache for me as most makeup/skincare is designed for either oily skin or dry skin but not oily with a dehydrated surface. If I use products that are too rich, it banishes the flakes and dry patches but then my pores tend to get clogged faster and my skin oils up. But if I use oil-free or mattifying products, my skin starts flaking again.

Anyway, back to Kiss. Today, after my usual toner, I applied a thin layer of the Whitening Base in 01 Natural Mat which is a very light beige. If your skintone is very fair, like MAC NC15 to NC25, this would suit you but any darker than that, 02 Mat Beige would look more natural. I liked that it comes in a pump bottle as I'm a hygiene freak. One pump was sufficient for one application. The base had a slightly creamy consistency that was easy to spread and felt very lightweight. It provides a bit of coverage to even out my skin but not enough to totally cover my dark circles and some dark acne scars. It also has SPF 26 and PA++.

I decided to skip foundation today since the Whitening Base looked quite nice on its own and went straight on to the loose powder. What I liked about the Mat Chiffon Powder was its soft, translucent finish and finely-milled texture. The luxuriously soft puff also made application a breeze. It did not emphasize my dry patches and it lasted very well over the 6 hours that I wore it. It comes only in one shade, 01 Lucent Rose that is a very pale pink-tinted white. Used together, the Mat Chiffon Powder and Whitening Base did a great job of keeping my skin oil-free for quite a long time. Usually I have to blot about 2 hours after applying my makeup but today, I didn't have to do that while I was out. At the end of 6 hours, there was only a slight sheen which for my skin is quite unusual! It's only my first time wearing the powder and base so I'm not sure if they will work well with my skin over time but I'm definitely going to keep using them regularly.

http://www.kiss-cosmetics.com/whats/index12.html