I’m not one to buy a lot of foundations because I don’t really wear them on a daily basis. Usually, I usually just spot conceal to brighten out and even out my face. However, on days when I feel like my skin needs the extra push (when I pull an all nighter) or when I just want to look extra polished, I whip out my favorite foundation, the Benefit Hello Flawless Oxygen Wow foundation. As I was browsing local Filipina blogs, I found out that the Koh Gen Do Aqua Foundation (old version) was 40% off in Beauty Bar accompanied with rave reviews on the foundation. To me it was luxury foundation + 45% = uhh, YES PLEASE!
I dropped by Beauty Bar as soon as I could and I picked out the Koh Gen Do Aqua Foundation in the shade Pk-1. I was really ecstatic at the thought of it being only P1512 from P2750 after the 45% reduction. Just to give a bit of background information about the brand, Koh Gen Do is a luxury Japanese brand and they focus on high definition cosmetics. I think it’s on sale because Beauty Bar is trying to get rid of all their stocks to give way to the new and reformulated version of the Koh Gen Do Aqua Foundation which is now called the Maifanshi Aqua Foundation. I’m not really sure about the in-depth details about the reformulation so I’ll talk about the Koh Gen Do Aqua Foundation for now.
The foundation is encased in a durable-looking glass bottle with a pump. It’s not the most travel-friendly foundation but I really don’t mind the weight of the bottle. I like to literally feel the weight of my purchases. ha di ha! It contains about 30ml worth of product which is about the same amount of product that the Benefit Hello Flawless Oxygen Wow foundation contains. It comes in eight different shades. I honestly had a difficult time picking out my shade because the lady from Beauty Bar kept on mixing up the shades. I ended up with PK-1 which has pink undertones. Looking back, I think I should have chosen OC-1 which has yellow undertones but PK-1 works just fine on my skin.
The foundation has light to medium coverage and is quite buildable. One layer can easily even out minor color imperfections on the skin. Another layer would be needed to further conceal a bit more intense discolorations. It doesn’t completely conceal big zits though. The texture is a teeny bit runny which allows a flawless applications and leaves a subtle luminous glow when applied. What I really love about this foundation is that it doesn’t completely cover up the skin like a mask and actually allows the natural skin to “shine” through the product. Basically, it just enhances the skin, settles into the skin so well. This also lasts all throughout the day on my skin (I don’t sweat easily) and I did not experience any allergic reactions while wearing it.
Given it’s formulation, I don’t think this will work very well with those who have really flaky skin or those with major acne because this might just emphasize those imperfections. It’s also water based (60% water) which is why I think it will work well with girls with oily skin.
Overall
I’m so glad I found out about this gem of a foundation even it’s about to be discontinued. It really feels like and works like a luxury foundation. In my opinion, this is such a steal and those who can still grab one should definitely grab a bottle of this because I really think it’s magical! This is one of those foundations that will truly enhance your skin and not bury it with chemicals so that you can easily pretend like you have no makeup on.
have you grabbed your own bottle yet? what do you think? :)
xoxo,
