Shiseido Senka Whitening Lotion (Fresh) [Full Review]

Shiseido Senka Whitening Lotion (Fresh) EMPTIED!

now that i've emptied this bottle of toner, it's time for another entry on it to give you my full thoughts on this. if you haven't seen my partial review on it before, you can read it here, i wrote that after i've used it for 6 months. 

4 months later, i finally used up the last drop of it.



i didn't take a photo of the ingredients because it's all in japanese.

but i found it from ratzilla:

active ingredients: l-ascorbic acid 2-glucoside and disodium glycyrrhizate

other ingredients: sodium acetyl hyaluronate, sodium hyaluronate, royal jelly extract, water, dipropylene glycol, alcohol, butylene glycol, glycerin, methyl gluceth-10, PEG-20, PEG/PPG-14/7 dimethyl ether, potassium hydroxide, PEG-60 hydrogenated castor oil, sodium citrate, triethyhexanoin, polyglyceryl-2 diisostearate, disodium EDTA, benzophenon-5, citric acid, citrus aurantium dulcis (orange) oil, lavender oil, methylparaben.

even though the formula contains alcohol, it doesn't actually dry out my skin. it is acting as a "key" to open up the skin so that the ingredients can enter the skin. moreover, the myriad of hydrating agents (sodium acetyl hyaluronate, sodium hyaluronate, dipropylene glycol and butylene glycol) already countered the drying effect of ethanol.




i took this photo not just to show you the opening of the bottle, which is a small hole which would dispense enough product for your face when you flip the bottle over momentarily. i wanted to show you the yellow marks on the bottle cap.

i have no idea what is it, but i can tell you that the solution in the bottle is actually colourless. my guess is that it has oxidized over time upon contact with air. somehow it reminds me of my vitamin c powder, which turns yellow over time too. this made me think that the vitamin c in the bottle is actually pretty stable, considering they didn't turn yellow unless they are exposed to the outside world!



this was one of the last few precious droplets of lotion i have before i ran out of it. it is watery and does have a slight alcohol scent to it. other than that, there's a slight sweet smelling scent to it, it's very mild and you won't be able to smell it unless you unscrew the bottle cap and shove your nose into the bottle.

IMHO

this bottle of lotion lasted me for a good 10 months. sometime after the 6th month, i cut down to using it just once a day. i assume if i use it twice daily, it'd have only lasted me a total of 8 months.

because it's so watery, getting evenly on my face was a little challenge, as it may drip if i have too much lotion on my palm. 

i've already mentioned my experience with it in the previous entry. and now.. drum roll please..

VERDICT

the whitening and brightening effect didn't amaze me. at first i did notice a slight brightening, but after my skin tanned a little, it failed to return me my original skin colour. :( maybe it's due to me using it only once daily (at night), but the hydrating effects were ok! and i do like the slightly cooling sensation upon applying this and patting it all over my face.

for HKD$89, it's a good hydrating toner to get, but don't expect it to work wonders.

aqualabel moist essence cream

discontinued product from aqualabel.
this is probably the first generation gel cream they have!

price: HKD90+
bought this off adambeauty when it was on clearance.

what it claims:

i can't really remember what its packaging says, but it's the same old story.
- hyaluronic acid, acting like magnets to attract water molecules under our skin
- collagen, acting like a film that prevents water loss from the surface of our skin
- honey, natural humectant to retain moisture from the atmosphere on our skin

my experience with it:
this is my first oil free cream that i've ever tried.
it goes on light and absorbs easily.
the consistency is like a jelly, but smoothes out to a watery texture upon touching my skin.
it does leave a slight sticky feeling (when i press my finger on my face and lift, my skin gets lifted up as well!).
does a good job as an overnight mask in my opinion.

i think this is suitable for the oily areas of my skin (t zones).

i won't repurchase it because i found better substitutes that does the same thing!

shiseido senka whitening lotion w(s)

my first ever whitening product in my skincare routine!
i decided to buy this after reading good reviews on both cosme.net and urcosme.com (japanese and taiwanese beauty review portals!).




ok, i admit the main reason why i bought this was because it is dirt cheap for the effects it claims to deliver.

price: HKD$87
i don't think i can find anything more affordable than this.
it being this easy on my wallet means i can use it generously with cotton pads as instant face masks for a last minute pick-me-up.

the main whitening ingredient in this lotion is the stable vitamin C derivative.
vitamin C on its own is an anti oxidant and oxidizes very easily.
i think there's some truth in it.
the lotion is usually clear and colourless you see..
but there are drops that will leak out of the opening and over time i realize those droplets will have a tinge of yellow! which looks exactly like how my oxidized ascorbic acid (vitamic C) crystals!
so yea, i think the fact that the lotion is colourless means it's still "fresh" (active ingredients still alive!). 

it claims to be as effective as a serum (they define a serum as something that is small enought to penetrate the skin easily),
but lightweight as a lotion.
i'm not sure about the first, but the latter surely is true.
it's a clear fluid that's as viscous as water,
smells a little like alcohol to me,
absorbs quickly with some light patting.
best thing is it doesn't leave my face feeling sticky after that!

i've been using it for 5 months already,
sometimes twice a day, lately it's been reduced to only once at night.
i use it right after cleansing my face at night, since it hydrates and whitens.
i pile on my other hydrating lotion and creams after that so seal everything in. :)

i noticed my dark spots lightening up after the months of using this product.
it is quite unnoticeable, which was probably why it took me 5 months to realize it.
however, i find my face and neck to be brighter these days.
i used to be quite dull and yellow in the first few months of 2012,
but not anymore!
i'm not as fair as i used to be, but definitely not as sallow as compared to a few months ago.

don't expect this to give you instant whitening effects though.
it's a lotion afterall, the effective ingredients can't penetrate that deeply into our skin.
for those kind of effects, you might want to try serums (especially those that will burn a hole in your pockets).