Decorte Zen Wear Foundation | Another Japan must-buy for natural-looking skin

I’ve just finished a bottle of Decorte Zen Wear foundation and thought it’s timely to share a review. In fact, I like it so much I’ve just repurchased a second bottle from Isetan Orchard, and am typing this review from a nearby cafe.

What do I like about Decorte Zen Wear? I’ll share more in the review below, but in short, this Japan-made foundation provides sufficient coverage, is natural looking and easy to apply. It also holds well.

Without any further ado, let’s find out more about Decorte Zen Wear.

 

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Tell me more about Decorte Zen Wear Foundation

Decorte is a beauty brand I “discovered” during my solo Tokyo trip. I happened to sit beside a Japanese lady during a train ride to Hakone, who shared some of her favourite beauty product recommendations.

>> MUST-READ: From Tokyo to Hakone and making a new Japanese friend

She introduced me to Decorte Liposome Repair Serum which I’ve gone through many bottles since. Since then, I’ve also explored more of their products, such as eye serum and night cream.

Decorte Zen Wear Foundation was the first makeup I’ve tried from this brand, and I’m so glad it turned out to be a good buy from Fukuoka.

>> RELATED: Shopping and buying Decorte Beauty Products in Fukuoka

Decorte has a few types of liquid foundation. Don’t get mixed up between Zen Wear and Zen Wear Glow. The one we are reviewing is the former, although I’ve also just bought the latter today (Glow is sheerer). Yes, I bought both – have to reward myself for working hard and long hours. Sob!

More about Decorte Zen Wear

Decorte Zen Wear is marketed as a longwear multi-proof foundation that:

• Blends effortlessly into the skin
• Offers semi-matte finish
• Provides long-lasting medium to full coverage

It offers SPF25/PA++ protection and comes with 40 shades to choose from. Kudos to the Japanese beauty consultant who – in a glance – picked the perfect colour for me (a C24). Now let’s see if my experience of usage matches the product claims. 

 

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What’s good about Decorte Zen Wear Foundation? 

1. A lovely light fragrance

I’m normally not big on scent – my decade-old perfume bottles are still sitting on my vanity begging to be used. So, I was surprised to find myself enjoying and appreciating the delicate scent of Decorte Zen Wear foundation. 

It’s nice to kickstart my day with a lovely scent (yes, makeup is one of the first things we do, especially for working ladies). In case you think it’s a strong, lingering perfume, it’s not lah. If it is, I probably wouldn’t like it also.

2. So easy to blend

The foundation blends easily into the skin. I can skip the sponge if I want to as the liquid glides easily even if I’m using just my fingers to apply. 

The texture is perfect for me – frictionless in application and yet also non-greasy.

3. Good coverage, but yet still natural-looking enough

The foundation is said to offer medium to full coverage. I think that is true – the formula probably sit in the middle of the spectrum between medium to full.

I like that Decorte Zen Wear minimises my skin redness and imperfections, and yet still maintains the natural look. The semi-matte finish probably also contributed to the “naturalness” as it resembles natural glow of skin.

Oh, one thing to share. With the non-greasy/non-sticky finish, I didn’t find the need to set the foundation with powder. That’s great as it shaves off one extra step for me.  

4. Perfect Colour for me

With over 40 colours to choose from, you are likely to find a shade that matches well with your skin tone.

The C24 colour was a perfect match for me. Not too white, not too sallow. I am still quite impressed with the young beauty consultant in Japan – she just took a quick glance at me, and picked out the colour. Amazing expertise.

Today (months after my first purchase in Japan), the beauty consultant in Singapore picked a C13 (lighter shade) for the other foundation type – Zen Wear Glow (the sheerer foundation). I’m a little worried it would be too fair, but she assured me that it’ll make me look more radiant – we’ll wait and see if that’s true. I should know after a couple of usage. 

5. Longwear is true and it doesn’t streak

The coverage stays even after a long work day, and I love that the formula doesn’t streak unlike drugstore brands such as Cezanne.

>> RELATED: Cezanne all-in-one foundation is cheap. But is it worth it? 

6. Good ingredients for your skin

I’ve checked through the ingredient list and saw that it comes with beneficial and moisturizing ingredients, such as Sodium Hyaloronic, Vitamin E and Squalene.

The formula is also safe on my pimple-prone skin. 

 

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What’s bad about Decorte Zenwear?

1. Pumps out too much

I find that each pump dispensed too much foundation – is my face too small?

Overtime, I learnt to do a half-pump. But it’ll be good if the packaging can be improved so that I don’t have to “hold back”. :)  

2. Not Drug-Store Price

It’s not exactly fair to categorise Decorte’s price as “bad”, as I was already prepared to fork out this amount for a brand that is considered “premium” vs drugstore brands. 

While the price of $66 is several times higher than the cost of a drugstore brand foundation, it is comparable or even lower than many brands located within departmental stores, such as Shu Uemura and Lancome. 

TIP: Heading to Japan soon? You can get Decorte products at a cheaper price there. Zen Wear is currently priced at  ¥6,000 from duty-free shop. 

Should you buy Decorte Zen Wear? 

Well, I did and I thought it’s quite a decent foundation. This is especially so if you are into medium to full coverage, and quality finish that stays and doesn’t streak. 

I’ll definitely load more if I visit Japan. Now that I’ve bought the other variant too – Zen Wear Glow, let’s see which is better or do they complement each other (the beauty advisor in Singapore told me I could mix both of them).  Rating: 4.5/5

 

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