Now it’s been a while since I reviewed a Korean BB cushion – they were unfortunately buried so deep in my stash that I actually forgot I had them. I only unearthed them last week when my dad forcibly evicted all my paper bags of beauty stuff in order to clean the floor space beneath them [which makes up about 50% of my room hurhurhur]. Evidence of hoarding issues aside, this is a BB cushion that I’m rather sure will be well-received by le ladies of Singapore. I mean – look at the name. It says “oil control” -cue eyes glazing over- I’m already half sold on it.
I say…
The Packaging: Well, as you can see, it’s pretty much the usual format for a BB cushion – a compact with an inbuilt mirror, a tray for the sponge that also acts as the seal for preventing the bb cushion from drying out. The sponge is the usual aerated one. The size is also similar if not the same as all other cushions.
- Note: The refill for this CAN fit into Laneige’s casing. However, the Laneige refill CANNOT fit into The Face Shop’s casing.
The Scent: A pleasant refreshing fragrance that’s more on the mild side.
The Texture/Application: It’s lightweight and glides onto the skin super smoothly – in fact, it’s so light that I had to stare carefully at my skin to ensure that I had already covered that area on my face. When you first apply it, there’s a slight glow, but give it some time and it’ll settle down into a mostly-matte velvety smooth finish [kinda like a powdery finish]. The coverage level is pretty decent – about medium to high, and covers the dark eye circles pretty well without the need for a concealer.
The Verdict: I’m rather impressed with this. First of all, it does, as its name claims, control oil pretty well. The face was generally free of the oil0shine, and I only needed to blot after 5-6 hours [compared with my usual 4 hours]. What’s more, the blotting film wasn’t even fully soaked. All you really need is a sheet of tissue paper to dab away the excess shine. Secondly, it doesn’t oxidise, which is always a godsend in our climate. It doesn’t run either – it sets in place rather nicely. Even at the end of a work day, my skin still looked relatively okay [looking slightly made-up but with a natural finish]. You can touch up with this after spending several hours in a cold dry airconditioned environment – even though your skin might be slightly dehydrated, it doesn’t look cakey and adds some moisture to the skin [hence the words “water cushion”]. Overall, it’s one of the better BB cushions to come out from The Face Shop, and looks to be suitable for both dry-combi and oily-combi skin types. 🙂
The foundation has a natural, non-matte finish so you may want to top it with some powder. In terms of wear, this one is just okay. It didn't get super greasy or icky at the end of the day but there were definitely some creasing and fading. I find that the foundation doesn't cling very well to the skin and instead sits atop it. This is great for those with drier skin but for someone like me who has pretty darn oily skin, it greatly compromises wear.
The shade I have swatched here is "
V201 Apricot Beige
". This is a warm light beige that's somewhere between NC15 to NC20. Overall, this is a good cushion foundation but it's not my favorite. The coverage isn't as high as I would have liked and the wear isn't long-lasting enough for my oily skin. However, if you struggle with dry skin or fine lines, this could work great!
Is the face shop cushion good?
I highly recommend The Face Shop Miracle Finish Anti-Darkening Cushion if you have oily/combination skin and are looking for a lightweight, semi-matte cushion. It gives a beautiful, healthy look to the skin and keeps greasiness at bay. It's also very light and portable so it's easy to throw in your purse for touch-ups.
Is cushion better than foundation?
Apart from preparing sponges or brushes, you will find it's not easy to touch up the foundation. On the other hand, cushion foundation offers you a much easier way to touch up all day long. The cushion is comparatively user-friendly, it stores in a compact with a puff which is also easily carried out.