Lancome was one of the first western brands to launch their cushion foundation, and even had 8 shades (vs the Korean pioneers who generally only had 2-5 shades). I guess having the early-bird advantage does help – while the other brands like YSL and Biotherm are just churning out their first version, here’s V2.0 of Lancome’s Cushion Compact, this time, with high coverage. Me sexcited!
I say…
The Packaging: The usual compact casing with the inbuilt mirror and tray that functions as a sponge holder as well as an airlock. Now here’s where it gets interesting – instead of opening up to see the cushion, you’re actually greeted by a protection net. If you scrutinise it closely, you can even make out hexagonal snowflake-like designs on it. It’s meant to catch and sieve out additional liquid foundation so that your puff picks up enough. To be honest, it doesn’t make much of a difference to me – it’s neither a pro or a con. I find that the liquid foundation that’s caught on the netting surprisingly remains there until your next usage (assuming it’s within a day), so you don’t need to press down hard into the netting to pick up more product. There’s an initial crunchy sound when you first use it, but with subsequent usage, it becomes softer as it gets soaked with the liquid foundation. Over time, I predict it’ll gradually get in the way of you picking up product (as the cushion beneath slowly depletes of foundation).
- Note: The refill for this Lancome cushion is not compatible with that of Korean brands (Laneige, IOPE, The Face Shop, Belif, Innisfree, Etude House). It is compatible with that of Biotherm and YSL.
The Scent: A very faint floral and powdery scent.
The Texture/Finish: It’s said to be velvety in its promotional materials – I wouldn’t call it a complete matte finish but it is indeed a more matte version of its predeccesor. It’s certainly less dewy and there’s less shine. It gives a medium-high level of coverage (yes, concealer is still needed for the dark eye circles), but blemishes such as the pesky pimples on my face area sufficiently covered up. It goes on with a cooling sensation, but very quickly settles into a mostly-matte finish. There’s a bit of dewiness when you view it from certain angles, which means areas like your nose bridge, cheek bones and chin will have a subtle shine. However, there’s none of that streakiness you get when you apply those overly-moist cushions.
The Verdict: Now I have heard some reviews saying that this can get patchy note that my reviews are usually done based on my combi-oil skintype and also on the humidity of the country I live in, which means me and my countrymen (or countryladies) aren’t really as keen on having that overly-dewy finish as those in drier climates. Based on the aforementioned circumstances, I hereby declare that I (also) loves this cushion! Boy, these Western cushions are certainly doing well. It lasts an average amount of time (about 3-4 hours) before disappearing, which means that the oil control isn’t that strong. Thankfully, touching up doesn’t cause any caking. It brightens up my overall complexion, and gives that good balance of matte:dewiness so that I don’t come across looking too shiny. It keeps my skin feeling moist despite the mostly-matte finish, and gives a good level of natural-looking coverage! The one downside of this is its price -the case costs $20, one refill costs $55, which means that the base cost is $75 for a cushion. It does come with a duo refill format at $78 which makes it $98 for a case and 2 refills, significantly higher than Biotherm’s Aquasource Evermoist CC‘s $69 which gives you 1 case with 2 refills. On the bright side, it is cheaper than YSL Le Cushion Encre de Peau‘s $88 for one case and one refill though. This Lancome one is just that very, very slightly more matte than Biotherm’s one, but Biotherm does give slightly higher cover. Comparatively, the overall finish is pretty much the same. Dilemma much? I actually do like the Lancome cushion because it’s one of the rare few cushions to give a matte-enough (not full-on matte) finish with a slight tinge of dewiness that sits well on my combi oily skin. There’s no patchniness nor flakiness, and comes one of the widest arrays of shades out there. Worth a try if you’re someone who has oily/combi-oily skin, have got some extra moolah and can’t find a shade match from Biotherm.