(Jill Stuart Smooth Silk Powder Foundation& SUQQU Powder Foundation Fresh)
(A note on my foundation concerns, preferences, and habits to set the perspective for the review: I have oily skin which is prone to some slight redness.
I prefer powder foundations that control shine well, offer at least medium coverage, and have decent pore coverage. I usually don’t wear a primer or a concealer.)Basics
– Jill Stuart Smooth Silk Powder Foundation: SPF 20/ PA ++, 5 shades
– SUQQU Powder Foundation Fresh: SPF 27/ PA ++, 6 shades
Finish
Jill Stuart has a very soft-focus and glowy finish, while SUQQU gives a luminous matte finish. Neither has visible shimmer.
Texture
Jill Stuart’s powder is very smooth and velvety and has an almost-moist feel. SUQQU’s powder is slightly drier but it is still quite silky.
Coverage
Jill Stuart offers a nearly-medium coverage, which I am quite happy with. SUQQU offers a good medium-to-full coverage. I feel that SUQQU covers my mild redness better than Jill Stuart, but I think this might be only because the SUQQU shade I tried, #25, is more yellow-based than Jill Stuart’s #103.
Pore Coverage
Jill Stuart’s pore coverage is satisfactory, while SUQQU’s pore-concealing ability has some room for improvement.
Shine Control
For me, this is usually the deciding factor on a foundation. Here, the luminous and glowy Jill Stuart fails to impress me as it has very little shine-control ability. Even a good matte loose powder can’t keep the shine away (my face becomes shiny within an hour) and constant touch-ups are a must for me.
On the other hand, even though SUQQU’s shine control is not the best that I have experienced, at least it is what I would expect from a spring/summer powder foundation release from a Japanese brand, which is usually more about sebum control than a fall/winter release. (Again, out of all the foundations featured in the face-off posts along with the ZA Two-Way Foundation, Coffret D’Or’s Beauty Lasting Pact UV offers the best shine control.)
Staying Power
Neither of them darkens overtime or loses the coverage too quickly, but, as mentioned above, Jill Stuart’s silky smoothness turns shiny very quickly on me, making it a very high-maintenance foundation for my oily skin.
Between the two, I favor SUQQU Powder Foundation Fresh. It offers good coverage and decent shine-control, and it stays on well throughout the day. A good loose powder can easily enhance the pore coverage. I think this should be a good powder foundation for most skin types. As for Jill Stuart’s Smooth Silk Powder Foundation, I wouldn’t recommend it if any part of your face tends to be on the oily side, as it doesn’t control shine and the glowy finish will make shine appear more obvious.
(I’d like to thank my friend Betsy at Autumn Masquerade for very kindly sending these samples to me. Please head over to read her review on SUQQU’s Powder Foundation Fresh.)
Related Posts:
Foundation Face-Off (1) – Chanel vs. SUQQU
Foundation Face-Off (2) – Lunasol vs. Coffret D’Or
My Latest Foundation Cases
(Anna Sui and Jill Stuart)
{ 22 comments… read them below or add one }
I don’t wear foundation, but it’s interesting to read about how to choose the stuff. Is it any good at concealing dark circles, though? (cause I have a tough time with those).
PS: Love the title of the post :)
Hi Blue Floppy Hat,
I see. If you have serious dark circles, you will probably still need a cream-based concealer. (Even though the SUQQU foundation that I reviewed here has good coverage, I don’t think it has enough coverage for serious dark circles.)
So far I have not had dark circles around my eyes, so I don’t really use a concealer in my foundation routine. So I am afraid I am not able to personally recommend any product.
If you would like more information on issues on dark circles, here is a blog that should be helpful (if you haven’t come across it before):
mydarkcirclesblog.com
Hope it helps!
Thank you very much for leaving your comment again! :)
Thanks so much for the link, I’m going to check it out now.
Hi Blue Floppy Hat,
You are very welcome. Hope the blog will be helpful for you!
Enjoy your weekend! :)
I really want this Jill Stuart foundation but powder foundations tend to look cakey and dry on me – would you say that JS would work well on dry skin? I get oily too but only towards the end of the day :)
Hi R,
Thank you for reading my blog!
Obviously I can’t speak from personal experiences, but I’d think this foundation by Jill Stuart would probably suit you better than me as I think it suits normal or dry skin better than oilier skin.
This powder is very smooth and, unless your skin can be very dry in certain weather conditions, I think it should work fine for you.
I hope it helps! Thank you very much for leaving your comment, and let me know if you have any other question.
Enjoy your weekend! :)
Thankyou PJ! I was trying to decide between this JS foundation and the older one. Someone told me the older one has more light reflecting particles and is very moisturising…its quite hard to choose with testing it first!
Hi R,
You are very welcome. I also heard from a friend that the previous Jill Stuart foundation has a more shimmery finish. If you don’t like that in your powder foundations, then perhaps the new one might be a better choice for you.
It is indeed very hard to buy foundations without testing them first. Most of the time I try to avoid it because of this very reason. But I do buy them on-line occasionally and I try to make them work with what I already have.
(I buy loose powder on-line slightly more often. They tend not to “surprise” me that much if I have come across a couple of reviews.)
Thank you for stopping by again! :)
Hi,
I have been reading your blog for a while already, I just wonder where do you order your Japanese cosmetic items and the foundation sample? I live in USA and it’s very hard to find Japanese cosmetic here. Thanks!
Hi Carmen,
Thank you very much for visiting my blog.
Apart from purchases during my trips to Asia, there are two websites which I have purchased Japanese cosmetics from:
http://www.adambeauty.com
ichibankao.com
Adam Beauty is based in Hong Kong and Ichibankao is based in Japan. Both take PayPal payments and ship internationally. There are some other websites that carry Japanese cosmetics, but I have only shopped from these two sites. I have been happy with their services and I would recommend both.
As for my foundation samples, they are from friends, from Japanese brands available in the UK (like RMK and SUQQU), and sometimes from Ichibankao orders (which usually come with some trial samples).
I hope it helps, and let me know if you have any other question.
Thank you very much for leaving your comment! :)
Hi PJ!
I have about 2 days left to decide between the JS Smooth Silk Powder Foundation and the Kose Ultimation Powder Foundation. What should I do! The Ultimation one boasts of being ultra fine (to the point of being measured in nano!), while the JS one gives a soft, dreamy look. Also, what Jill Stuart items do you think I must absolutely try?
Hi Laura,
I see. I haven’t tried Kosé’s Ultimation Powder Foundation, so I don’t really know how it is compared with Jill Stuart’s Smooth Silk Powder Foundation. But Jill Stuart’s beauty products are manufactured by Kosé as well, so there is always a chance that they are of similar quality.
With Jill Stuart, some of their best-selling items include Blush Powder (in loose-powder form), Mix Blush Compact, Jelly Eye Color, and the eye palettes. Perhaps you can look into these, and hopefully you will find items that suit you well! :)
Thank you very much again for posting your comment! :)
Hi PJ,
I have bought the JS Smooth Silk Powder Foundation. I have combination skin, so I do agree with you that the JS foundation doesn’t do oil control very well. A few rounds of oil blotting is probably needed throughout the day. I also tried using a sebum control base on subsequent applications, which made things slightly better. I am not sure what the Jill Stuart Pore Essense does, but I’m wondering if that will make things better.
Overall, I find that the foundation does not live up to my expectations of providing a dreamy, luminous finish (like the one in their poster).
I will probably not continue buying it. I will hope to try the Lavshuca’s Powder Foundation N and Kose’s Ultimation Powder Foundation next!
Hi Laura,
Thank you very much for sharing your thoughts with my readers and me. They are very helpful!
It does seem that the Smooth Silk Powder Foundation does not work well for combination or oily skin. There are certainly some other powder foundations that work better for these skin types.
If there is anything you try that you like, please keep us posted!
Thank you very much for your comment! :)
Hi PJ!
Sometime last month I spoke about how I was going to try Lavshuca’s Powder Foundation N. Well, I did, and it’s amazing! I felt that Lavshuca managed to mill the powder as fine as Jill Stuart, and yet managed to provide pretty decent coverage too! The Lavshuca one did not really oxidise much when I wore it out as compared to the Jill Stuart one. Also, the Lavshuca foundation also lived up to my expectations this time, providing a finish similar to the model on the poster! I think it probably serves oily skin better, so you should try it out too!
Cheers!
Hi Laura,
Thank you for letting me know about Lavshuca’s Powder Foundation N. I have read some positive reviews and what you said also makes the foundation sound very promising for my skin type.
I would definitely think about trying it, considering the fact that the price is fairly reasonable. I will certainly review it on my blog if I get to try it out.
Thank you very much for sharing your thoughts again! :)
Hi…was wondering if you have any tips for choosing a shade from Jill Stuart foundation online? Thank you in advance!
Hi Winnie,
I can’t really say I have any solid advice on choosing the right shade, but what I would say is that the shade I tried here is 103 nude, which is lighter than the ZA Two-Way Foundation in 22 that I use. Overall, I think it is a relatively light Ochre shade.
Hope it helps a little, and thank you for your question! :)
hi PJ,
i'm visiting London in a few weeks and hoping to visit the SUQQU counter at Selfridge's.
i'm sensitive (break-out & dermatitis prone) to a lot of ingredients so, even though i really want to try the foundations, it's a bit scary to use something new.
can you post the ingredient lists for both the Powder foundations (glow and fresh), or refer me to a website with the ingredients?
Thanks!
Hi Leslie,
I see. Unfortunately the SUQQU websites (Japanese and English) don’t feature ingredient lists of the products. Also, my trial samples do not have ingredient lists on the back either. I am really sorry about this.
My suggestion would be to check the ingredient lists at the SUQQU counter. The SUQQU items sold at Selfridges should all have ingredient lists in English.
(If I do come across either of the two ingredient lists on-line, I will leave another reply for you here.)
Thank you very much for your question, and hope you will get to visit the SUQQU counter when you visit London. :)
Hi PJ
I’m thinking of purchasing the Suqqu cream foundation and am wondering what’s the difference between #15, #20 and #25. I usually wear OC-05 in Sofina foundation – which one is the most suitable for me?
Hi Winnie,
With SUQQU’s foundations, the larger the number, the darker the shade. If you use OC-05 for Sofina, then I think that, based on my experience with SUQQU Powder Foundation Glow and Fresh, both 15 and 20 should work fine for you. (I would probably be leaning slightly towards 15, since Sofina’s foundations tend to go on quite bright.)
Hope it helps, and thank you for your question! (Let me know how the shade works out for you if you do decide to try the foundation.) :)