What is Shiseido Waso Color-Smart Day Moisturizer?
Shiseido Waso Color-Smart Day Moisturizer is a skin-brightening, tinted day moisturizer that is said to adapt to your skin color to enhance skin tone while also providing long-lasting hydration. The formula contains two sunscreen ingredients to help protect the skin against UV rays and environmental stressors. It is recommended for dry, oily, normal, combination, and sensitive skin. It is claimed to improve the look of pores, help hydrate skin, and keep skin looking healthy. But are these claims true? As you’ll learn in the next section, some of the ingredients in the Shiseido Waso Color-Smart Day Moisturizer actually don’t support healthy skin.
What Are The Key Shiseido Waso Color-Smart Day Moisturizer Ingredients?
Before we get into the key ingredients in Shiseido Waso Color-Smart Day Moisturizer, we have to point out one problem with this product formulation, and that is the high concentration of denatured alcohol. Unfortunately, denatured alcohol is the sixth-highest concentration ingredient in this serum (listed as SD Alcohol-40 B). The problem with this type of alcohol is that, at first, it seems like it’s benefitting the skin. Initially, alcohol gives products a quick-drying finish, immediately degreases the skin, and imparts a weightless feel. However, these effects are temporary and will disappear once you wash off the product.
You’ll notice that this formula also contains a high concentration of glycerin and several different silicones. Combining denatured alcohol with glycerin and silicones will provide an effect that disguises signs of aging. You see, alcohol tightens the skin, glycerin hydrates the skin and thereby plumps skin, and silicones form a thin, invisible film that can help disguise signs of aging. However, these effects are temporary and will disappear once you wash off the product.
The major problem with using high concentrations of denatured alcohol is that this ingredient is well known to cause skin dryness, irritation, and even disruption of the skin barrier. Furthermore, alcohol can disrupt the lipids that make up the stratum corneum (the outermost layer of skin), according to a publication in the journal BBA Biomembranes. While alcohol may provide short-term benefits, it’s not doing your skin any good in the long run.
The active sunscreen ingredients in the Shiseido Waso Color-Smart Day Moisturizer are octinoxate and titanium dioxide. Octinoxate is the oldest and most commonly used UVB-absorbing agent in sunscreen. UVB rays are the type that causes sunburn, and UVA rays are the type that prematurely age your skin. Both types of rays can cause skin cancer. While octinoxate does provide some protection against UVA rays, it does not protect against the entire range of UVA wavelengths. That is why titanium dioxide is also included in this formula. Titanium dioxide is extremely effective at blocking short-wave UVA and UVB rays.
Besides these two sunscreen ingredients and denatured alcohol, the majority of the Shiseido Waso Color-Smart Day Moisturizer consists of silicones, humectants, and synthetic emollients. Silicones give this moisturizer a soft, silky skin feel and also improve product spreadability. Humectants slow water from evaporating in the epidermis and, therefore, help to keep the skin hydrated. Humectants also provide temporary anti-aging effects because the extra hydration is the extra volume, which effectively plumps out the skin and makes lines and wrinkles less noticeable. However, this effect is transient – as soon as the moisture content in the skin decreases, lines and wrinkles will return to normal size. Lastly, the synthetic emollients in Shiseido Waso Color-Smart Day Moisturizer will help to keep the skin soft and moisturized.
The Shiseido Waso Color-Smart Day Moisturizer formula also contains a decent amount of caffeine. As a natural stimulant, caffeine causes vasoconstriction (constriction of the blood vessels) and stimulates blood flow when applied to the skin. Vasoconstriction can tighten and firm the skin due to the removal of excess fluids and possible stimulation of the lymphatic drainage system. Thus, the caffeine in this moisturizer may be able to help tighten and firm the skin.
Shiseido Waso Color-Smart Day Moisturizer contains several unique ingredients, such as the whole carrot cells, which help to hydrate skin and promote a healthy complexion. The formula also contains the brand’s “PhytoResist System” with trimethylglycine, trehalose, lamium album extract, erythritol, and yuzu seed extract. Together, these ingredients help heighten the skin’s resistance to internal and external stressors while also providing rich moisture.
How to Use Shiseido Waso Color-Smart Day Moisturizer
Use Shiseido Waso Color-Smart Day Moisturizer as the last step of your morning skin care routine. Take two pearl-sized drops onto the fingertips and smooth gently over the face.
Where is Shiseido Waso Color-Smart Day Moisturizer Sold?
Shiseido Waso Color-Smart Day Moisturizer and other Shiseido skincare products are sold on the brand’s website, as well as third-party retailers such as Sephora, Ulta, Macy’s, Walmart, and more. There’s also a store locator on the brand’s website so you can find a physical location that sells Shiseido Waso Color-Smart Day Moisturizer near you.
Is Shiseido Cruelty-Free?
Shiseido is not cruelty-free. In the brand’s animal testing policy, they state that they do not test on animals. However, Shiseido skin care products are sold in mainland China where animal testing is required by law.
Shiseido Waso Color-Smart Day Moisturizer Reviews
Shiseido Waso Color-Smart Day Moisturizer reviews on the brand’s website are mostly positive, with the product receiving an average rating of 4.5 out of 5 stars at the time of writing this review.
There are many positive reviews for the Shiseido Waso Color-Smart Day Moisturizer from customers who found that this tinted moisturizer matched their skin tone well and gave them a nice matte finish all day.
However, there are several negative reviews for the Shiseido Waso Color-Smart Day Moisturizer from customers who found that it does not blend well and that the color does not match skin tone. In addition, there are some reviews from customers who broke out after using this product. Remember, this is likely due to the high concentration of denatured alcohol in this product.
References:
1. BBA Biomembranes, May 2012, pages 1410-1419
