Shiseido IBUKI Refining Moisturizer - Review

Greetings to all! I hope you had a lovely Easter holiday (if you celebrate Easter). This is my review on Shiseido's IBUKI Refining Moisturizer.
Before I start with the review - for those that don't read regularly my blog - I have very dehydrated skin that gets easily red spots and dry patches on cheeks and nose and prone to acne chin.
I got this as a gift around Christmas. The initial price in the beauty department store in Greece for this product is the ridiculously high amount of 63 freaking effing euro (whereas in other countries the price is around 45 dollars/euro etc). Fortunately with the Christmas reduction of 30% it costed around 40+ euro so basically it was like buying it normally from any other country :P but I was lucky enough to buy it as a set with the Shiseido Camelia compact blush plus for purchases over 35 euro they were gifting a full size lipstick from their "Perfect Rouge" collection so I managed to get a great value out of this extremely costly purchase. (You might wonder why I care about the price if it was a gift, well it was a gift from my mother so I didn't want her to spend so much money for a moisturizer :P ).

The set came in that silky looking, creme white colored pouch. The product itself comes in a very elegant, super fancy plastic bottle with a bump which I always like and find practical. One advantage is that it comes in a bottle of 75ml which is more product than what usually a moisturizer's container has. I do believe that the bump dispenses slightly too much product than needed so you sort of waste product that is quite pricey so this is a disadvantage. 

What Shiseido claims:

What it is: 

A multiaction formula that instantly corrects the appearance of unevenness from visible pores, breakouts, blemish marks, and skin roughness. 

What it is formulated to do: 
This refining moisturizer renews the appearance of the skin’s surface, creating an incredibly smooth, uniform texture, while keeping skin hydrated all day long. Red and gold soft reflecting powder particles give the complexion an instant luminosity for a healthy glow. 

What it is formulated WITHOUT: 
- Parabens 
- Sulfates 
- Phthalates

What I think:

*If I would judge the product according to the claims of the company then this product would be a HUGE failure. This product does not really help at all to cover blemishes and what not and how could it since it has no color and no healing properties! 

*It doesn't help with skin roughness either or dry patches for that matter which is ironic since it has silicons which do cover up patches - usually.  

*It also takes a lot of effort to be absorbed by the skin which is quite annoying to have to rub and rub....

*It doesn't keep the skin hydrated all day long either. It comes nowhere close to the amazing Biotherm's Aquasource which I am planning to go back once this is over.

*This product is not meant for dry skin, in my opinion. The silicon would be helpful for absorbing oils, I'm guessing so maybe if you have oily skin you can give this a try, if you want to give the 45 euro or even worse if you are in Greece the 63 euro :P but there are many better moisturizers out there with the same or less money.

Ingredients:

Water Glycerin, Butylene Glycol, Dipropylene Glycol, Hydrogenated Polydecene, Triethylhexanoin, Hdi/Trimethylol Hexyllactone Crosspolymer, Dimethicone, Glyceryl Stearate Se, Trehalose, Peg-5 Glyceryl Stearate, Behenyl Alcohol, Phenoxyethanol, Stearic Acid, Isostearic Acid, Behenic Acid, Alcohol, Carbomer, Aminopropyl Dimethicone, Betaine, Fragrance, Silica, Potassium Hydroxide, Glycyl Glycine, Sodium Metabisulfite, Disodium Edta, Limonene, Hexyl Cinnamal, Butylphenyl Methylpropional, Benzyl Benzoate, Linalool, Paeonia Albiflora Root Extract, Witch Hazel Leaf Extract, Lamium Album Flower Extract, Citrus Junos Seed Extract, Tocopherol, Zingiber Aromaticus Extract, Benzoic Acid.

Overall, the effect of this moisturizer on my skin was average. I can't say I didn't like it but I am asking more from a brand like Shiseido especially if I am paying the product it's weight in gold for it (lame joke :P).

If this product would come from a generic brand and was more affordable I would rate it with a B- but since it's coming from a high standard brand and costs so darn much this gets a C+

PS. A little announcement:

I am currently thinking of creating 2 more blogs, one in greek and one in romanian so that I can review products that are available only in those countries, language friendly. I will be posting the links of them in a future post probably.