Shiseido d Program Moist Care Lotion Review

Brief Overview: 

A good, basic hydrating toner that will prime and prep your skin for other products/makeup without irritating it. 

Extended Review:

Moisture - skin’s best friend. 

As time ticks away and celebrating birthdays are no longer as fun as they were when I was ten, I come to appreciate products that promise hydration. Even if you learn nothing else from this post, just remember this - a well-moisturized face will be your best weapon against aging. 

Moist is a gross word. Many people I know hate the word, me included, but Shiseido’s d Program Moist Care lotion may be the one time I don’t mind hearing the word used. 

The product comes in a pump style bottle at 3500 yen (approx. ~32 USD). When you’re done with the bottle, don’t throw away the pump! It will save you 500 yen when you buy the refill bottles as you can just reuse the pump.

I love d Program packaging. Clean, simple, easy to use. One pump dispenses just enough slightly thick, clear liquid to use on your face. Sometimes, if my face is extra dry, I will massage one pump onto my face after cleansing and then gently layer another pump on top by pressing it in.

I’ve been using the d Program line since I first arrived in Japan two years ago, and they are the only line of products I have consistently used since then. The Moist Care series has been in my skincare routine for almost a year.

Fun fact, this toner has consistently ranked highly on Cosme, a Japanese site with many different rankings (toner, face wash, makeup, etc).

This product promises moisture without any irritants such as alcohol, parabens, and other stuff that may potentially break you out.

This lotion hydrates your face without being overly heavy. Be aware that it does leave a slightly sticky feeling behind, but this doesn’t bother me as much as it seems to bother other people. In fact, I like the dewy look this leaves behind. This is not a toner in the sense that it will not “clear” or clean your face. It will, however, give your face a kick of moisture after cleansing to prep it for additional products and makeup.

For the longest time, my skincare routine consisted of face wash, this toner, a sheet mask every two weeks (when I remember to, really), and an emulsion. I was too scared to use anything else because it took forever to calm my face down from the last breakout. This lotion and the moist care emulsion was enough moisture until I decided to play around with other products because I’m greedy and can’t be satisfied with just “decent” skin.

End result: I dried my skin out badly and broke it out just as much, and since then my skin has not been satisfied with the amount of moisture this series gives anymore. Even so, I use this toner and the emulsion as a daytime routine to prep my face for makeup because it promises moisture and only moisture, and delivers perfectly.

What’s the lesson to be learned? Don’t play around with random products until you’re relatively sure it won’t irritate your skin. Otherwise you end up spending a lot of money you may not necessarily have and end up starting a skin care blog ;)

Overall, Shiseido's d Program Moist Care Lotion is a good staple for people with sensitive skin to have on hand to hydrate your face, especially when it's in need of moisture. Don't expect it to do anything else though.