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Find the Best Deal – Shu Uemura UV Under Base SPF 17 PA++

A weightless mousse makeup base that helps to even out skintone and texture, reduce redness and minimize the appearance of pores. Use before makeup application to prepare the face for flawless makeup.

My Skin Type:
Actually very oily, but surpressed with BHA exfoliator. Results in generally ranging from very dry to normal/dry skin. Generally dehydrated, very sensitive, and acne prone.

My Skin Tone:
Some said I have very fair, Casper-ish complexion. Frankly speaking, that’s what you see in my FOTDs, but I personally think I look (much) darker in person than in those photos. Still, yes, I’m quite fair.

Bottomline: my skintone range is lighter than MAC NC/NW15 to NC/NW20.

I have neutral cool undertone.

Packaging:
Standard to a mousse product, it’s a metal pump bottle.

Color Selection:
I bought this years ago, and at the time it’s only available in Beige. I see that currently you can choose between Pink and Beige?

Texture:
Light mousse that turns into liquid in contact with skin.

Coverage:
It’s a base, so it’s not supposed to give a lot of coverage. This base evens out skintone, so you can wear it alone. Not by much though.

If you combine it with foundation on top, it will enhance the coverage of the foundation.

Blendability:
Being mousse, it’s very lightweight and easily blendable. It’s better to apply it with fingers though. Sponge will soak a lot of product.

You can apply this with fingers, wait until it’s absorbed, and if you want, do a once-over with a sponge to ensure smooth finish. But fingers alone work well.

Finish:
Semi-matte.

Oil Control:
When my skin is more to combo, I tested this outdoor on my tropical weather; it was very humid and this didn’t control oil well. I think this product is moisturizing. But! Makeup stays. The oil seeps through but didn’t make the makeup slide or oxidize. In fact the oil blends well with the makeup, resulting in very glowy, neat, polished look.

Of course, I can use this when my skin is on the drier side too.

My General Review:
I think Shu was the first to introduce mousse makeup, this base was created long time ago LOL.

I bought this  after a makeover at Shu Uemura Plaza Senayan. The MA uses this base, followed by Water Perfect Water-In Fluid Foundation, and set with Velvet Perfect Adjusting Powdery Foundation. At that time my skin is combination, and these products make my skin oilier faster. Maybe because both this base and the Water Perfect Fluid is moisturizing. But like I said above, makeup didn’t slide even when my skin is already oily.

But to my disappointment, it doesn’t work as well with my other foundations. Expect no smoothening action with this base. No super smooth, slick surface for foundation to glide on. No pore minimizing stunt either.

What it does is even out my skin tone slightly. Sheerer than tinted moisturizer though. If you top it with foundation, it visibly improves the coverage of the foundation. Makeup stays fresh longer too, as it minimizes oxidation. All without you feeling it, since the this mousse product is really light.

Mine is beige, but it sinks to my skin as if it’s transparent.

The problem is, upon application, the mousse will turn liquid. While this aids in application (as it’s easy to blend with fingers), it has the potential to dilute your sunscreen’s protection. Anything put on top of sunscreen has that potential, but cream-to-powder things, for example, has lesser chance.

At least this does contain SPF though, to minimize the dilution problem. American version is only SPF10, but ones sold in Asian has SPF17. Are there any difference in the ingredient list? I don’t know….since everything is written in Japanese.

Now….when your tube is new, it will dispense mousse. But toward the end, be prepared. It will squirt liquid. Applies liquid too, of course. So when your tube is new, it’s fairly easy to squirt proper amount of mousse, but toward the end of the bottle, I can’t control it anymore. I always ended up with much too much product on my hands I hope Shu can make better formulation, so I don’t have to waste so much. It’s fairly expensive your know!

Read the application section below to make sure you use your bottle the right way. I see many ladies in MUA complains on the bottle oozes out mousse after application, but it’s not suppose to happen if you follow the method below.

Last thing, it’s ingredients. It does contain Witch Hazel extract, which is a potential irritant. It doesn’t irritate my skin though, maybe because I carefully balance this product with other non-irritating products. Or because it doesn’t contain enough Witch Hazel to irritate the skin.

Application:
1. Shake the bottle.
2. Turn the bottle upside down, and dispense the mousse. Be careful not to squirt too much. Do not dispense the product while the bottle is sitting upright! It’s downright messy.
3. Tap the bottle to a hard surface. This is important, otherwise the mousse will keep on oozing out.

Price:

Availability:
Easily accessible at all Shu Uemura boutiques.

Ingredients:
This is the ingredient list for the American SPF10 version. I can’t guarantee that it’s the same with the Asian SPF17 version.

Active Ingredients: Octinoxate 4.9% , Titanium Dioxide 1.9%

Cosmetic Ingredients: Water , Synthetic fluorphlogopite , Sea Water , Calcium Carbonate , Butane , Butylene Glycol , Propane , Isobutane , Dipotassium Glycyrrhizate , Hamamelis Virginiana (Witch Hazel) Extract , HDI/Trimethylol Hexyllactone Crosspolymer , PEG-10 Dimethicone , Steareth-10 , Cetearyl Alcohol , Caprylyl Glycol , Polysorbate 60 , Polysorbate 20 , Cetyl Alcohol , Methicone , Hydrogenated Egg oil , Propylene Glycol , Tocopheryl Acetate , Pentane , C9-15 Fluoroalcohol Phosphates , Ethane , Hexylene Glycol , Silica , Aluminum Hydroxide , Chlorphenesin , Phenoxyethanol , Methylparaben , Hydroxyisohexyl 3-Cyclohexene Carboxaldehyde , Butylphenyl Methylpropional , Citronellol , Fragrance

May Contain: Iron Oxides.

Overall Rating:
4 out of 5. It may not making foundation application any easier, but it still have base properties, like keeping the makeup fresher longer.

Ladies with decent skin may even use this on its own. Recommended if you’re looking for lightweight product to even out your skintone.

Find the Best Deal – Shu Uemura UV Under Base SPF 17 PA++