Hi everyone! Long time no see. I've come back from
ETUDE HOUSE PRECIOUS MINERAL ANY CUSHION
According to Etude House, this cushion foundation is a 6-in-1 product – it offers sun protection (SPF 50+ PA+++), sebum control, moisture lock (with the addition of hyaluronic acid), whitening, skin tone correction, and wrinkle care. It also has a cooling effect once you put it on. It comes in 3 shades: N02 Light Beige, W13 Natural Beige and W24 Honey Beige. The shade I have is W13, which is too light for me, sadly!
PACKAGING
The packaging is really nice. It comes in a portable compact case, with a mirror and a dual air puff. The air puff is made from rubycell and polyurethane, and was made to minimize content absorption with its dual structure. The case itself is slightly bigger than my other powder pacts, but still fits in my smaller bags. It's a liquid foundation in cushion form, so it's great for travel or for taking with you for touch-ups.APPLICATION
Application is easy—you press the air puff into the cushion, and then pat the foundation onto your face as you would with a sponge. I've watched a ton of Korean makeup gurus use cushions, and all of them do a patting motion when using the air puff, so I did as well. This way the application would be even and there won't be any streaks. The air puff was really good, it doesn't absorb foundation as much as normal sponges do. I had a bit of a hard time using it though, because I got so used to using a Beautyblender already ;;
FORMULA
This foundation's finish is somewhere between dewy and matte, I think. I dislike matte base products, because I feel it makes my skin look dead. I'd rather have my face look oily than completely matte, honestly. I don't remember having too much of a problem with the finish, so it probably wasn't super matte. Problem is though, this foundation can emphasize dry patches and fine lines. My skin has been pretty dry recently because I've just introduced acids into my skincare routine, so it didn't look very nice after I've applied this. (See the areas around my nose and mouth.) You'll have to make sure your face is prepped well (exfoliate + moisturize) prior to application. Also, the foundation transfers, so you absolutely can't touch your face after application. Either that, or use a decent setting powder + setting spray on top. Alsooo, this foundation is scented. Apparently it is floral-scented, but I can only describe it as smelling like shampoo. On my face. I dislike scented makeup, so the scent really bothered me until it went away eventually.COLOR
Ugh, there it is again. That grey/white cast. This is why I stopped buying Korean BB creams a long time ago. In this case, because the shade I used was already too light for me, the cast caused by the added SPF just made the difference between my neck and my face became more obvious. Upon application, I honestly thought I looked like a zombie. It doesn't look that bad after a while, and it looks fine in these photos, but it's going to be super noticeable if you take photos with flash, which means it's not suitable for event makeup. Ever seen photos of KPOP idols where their faces are whiter than the rest of their body? Not pretty.
COVERAGE
Coverage is pretty decent. The truth is, I initially thought that it was a BB cushion and not a cushion foundation (but it has BB properties??), so I was a bit surprised at the amount of coverage it had. I'd say light to medium, depending on how much you put on, as it's buildable. I applied one layer first, but with just that my acne scars were still visible, so I did two layers. Even then, you can still see some of my darker acne scars. If you look closely at my forehead and jawline, there are still a lot of visible dark spots. The lighting helped a lot in these photos, so you can barely see them, but I can still see, so that means that it's not at full coverage yet. Even so, the fact that I was able to cover so much with just the cushion (no concealer, no powder) is amazing in itself. It can look a bit cakey when you use too much though, so you'll need to blend it out well.PRICE & AVAILABILITY
This product is available at all Etude House branches, which you can find at any SM mall, so purchasing it is not a problem. It's priced at P1098, and you can get refills for P578. For something that has good, decent coverage and that you can bring anywhere with you, I'd say it's pretty affordable.
Overall, this is a great product for anyone wanting to try cushion makeup (or wanting to try makeup in general). I'd recommend it to makeup beginners, students, and people who are always on the go, as it's fairly easy to use. You'll only need a minute to finish your base makeup! Plus it's compact, so you can bring it anywhere. (Do your eye makeup at home and finish up while you commute to work, haha!) I wouldn't recommend it for people who'll need something more heavy-duty, as it tends to transfer. (No idea about longevity, as I was at home the whole time I tried this.) Not a good choice for events either, since it isn't flash photo-friendly. If it's for going out for lunch with friends or running errands, then this would work well. If you have a lot of dark spots like I do, I guarantee you'd still look decent even without 10 layers of base makeup :)