I first got to know about Shu Uemura's newest foundation release on The Makeup Blogette's blog and was immediately intrigued. I do like both the Face Architect liquid and powder foundation versions, so when I read they came up with a mousse formula, I knew I had to have it. But it was not available locally at that time and I thought it would be a good opportunity to look for it when I visited Hong Kong.
I came across a Shu Uemura outlet on Russell Street at Causeway Bay and saw that they had the mousse foundation. I tried on a few shades and came home with 7YR-L Light Beige as it was the closest match. When tested at the store, I didn't have any makeup on and my face was rather splotchy because it was late and I had been out and about all day. It felt quite nice and refreshing on my skin that evening.
Product Description (from Shu Uemura Malaysia):
My Thoughts:
The Shu Uemura Face Architect Sheer Refining Mousse Foundation is quite light and airy being a mousse formula. It feels a little moist upon contact with skin but dries down quickly, so you need to work fast because I've had some streaky results from being too slow with my fingers. I find that it spreads better when using a sponge.
Since I have three mousse products from Shu Uemura, all in varying formulas and shades, I decided to do a little comparison.
The one with 7YR-L is the Refining Mousse Foundation and the others are the UV Under Base Mousse in two different shades. I'm not sure if you can tell from the swatches but the foundation version has a bit more coverage than the other two. BB Beige, which is a limited edition shade, comes in second in terms of coverage and is surprisingly tackier than the foundation. The lightest formula is Pink and this is part of Shu's regular lineup.
The Sheer Refining Mousse Foundation dries down to a rather powdery finish. As my skin is rather dehydrated, I felt it enhanced the dryness more, which does not really fit what Shu has described as "exquisite moisture". The area below my cheeks appear a tad more chalky too. Although it looked dry, it does not feel uncomfortable. In about two hours, I noticed it looked a little better once mixed in with my natural skin oils.
This does not offer heavy coverage and will not hide any major blemishes or spots. In fact, I would say it is quite sheer. Oil-control is pretty decent and I only need to blot once after 4 to 5 hours. In spite of the slight chalkiness, I still like this foundation because it feels light and is not tacky like BB Beige, of which I find hardest to wear. I have been using the Refining Mousse Foundation for a few days now and am pretty satisfied although I do have a couple of issues with it.
Pros:
• Lightweight and airy feeling.
• Mousse if fun!
• Has powdery finish, so you can probably skip an extra step of setting with powder.
• Good oil-control.
Cons:
• No SPF protection.
• May enhance dryness, especially if skin is flaky.
Availability:
The Face Architect Sheer Refining Mousse Foundation is available locally in June at Shu Uemura stores and counters for RM140. I bought mine for HK$330 (approximately RM128 after conversion) at the Russell Street outlet in Hong Kong.
