L'Oreal Nude Magique Cushion Foundation - First Impressions
Holy crap are these difficult to photograph. So much metallic-ness going on. Anyways, let's get into it. Cushion foundations have been setting the beauty world alight for a while now. From humble beginnings in the East, to most women's handbags right now, they're something of a sensation.
They're the handy, no fuss way to reapply foundation and everyone seems to love them. So just how good is the much talked about L'Oreal offering?
So far, so good. I'm wearing it for the first time today and I like pretty much everything about it. From the application method (tap tap) to the formula itself, I really can't fault it.
Packaging wise, it's both pretty and practical. Everything's self contained, so it should be fairly easy to keep clean too. Who knows how long it will stay that way though. Inside there's a nice big mirror, your sponge and the actual foundation is sectioned off underneath those. It's novel now but having to keep opening and closing this could get quite tedious over time. Who knows, for now it's novel and I dig it.
I was pretty unsure about the whole beauty puff application method. With buffing brushes and Beauty Blenders around, it seems odd to revert back to using such an old school tool. Over time, I know it'll get gross, but for the time being, that sponge does a bang up job. My base is perfectly blended and there's zero effort required. So if 10 minutes buffing or bopping isn't working out for you, give this a whirl.
In terms of the actual product itself, I'm honestly amazed. It's the most natural looking foundation I think I've ever used. I know there are plenty of products on the market that promise skin-like finishes, but this actually delivers. Well it has so far anyways. As you would image, this foundation isn't really one for coverage. It can even things out, but I think you would struggle to achieve a great amount of coverage with this. Well, at least without using a whole lot of product that is.
The finish I'd say leans more towards a satin finish on me. It's not overly glowy, but it's definitely not matte by any means. For me personally, I really like how it looks on my skin. I've previously been using the Infallible Matte and True Match and neither looks how I'd like really. The matte makes me look too flat and the True Match is erring on the side of greasy on me. So really, the Cushion sits quite nicely between the two.
If I had to have a little moan it would be about the shade range and the amount of product you get. There are only 7 shades available in the UK currently, which isn't quite as accommodating as say the True Match range. I picked up the lightest shade which is 01 Porcelain, and it still isn't quite pale enough. It's my own fault for loving SPF, but this still runs darker and yellower than most other porcelain shades do. I'm just glad I didn't pick the shade up, I can only imagine the horror. This is only a minor whinge, I can make it work, but come on L'Oreal. For a global brand, they are definitely aware that 7 shades doesn't quite cut it these days. If you're a woman of colour for example, you can pretty much forget this foundation!
My last little moan is that you only get 14g of product in the compact and it retails for £14.99. That's just under half of what you get with a regular L'Oreal foundation. A bottle of True Match is 30ml and costs £9.99. I get half the product and it costs me more, how does that work? Yes the products great, but where's the value for money? I'm looking and I can't seem to find it.
Moans aside, so far so good. I'm going to do an in depth post when I've fully made my mind up so check back for that. It could be awful for all I know, but here's hoping it stays fabulous because I kinda love how it looks on me.
The last thing I wanted to mention is the Lumi Magique Concealer ( I got the shade 01). Superdrug had buy one get on half off on L'Oreal, so I had to pick up something else right? Anways, I've sort of fallen out of love with the Nars concealer, so wanted to try something different. Boy am I glad I did! Online reviews for this product are very mixed, and now that I've used it I get why. If you have serious dark circles, this will not cover those at all. The coverage if I'm being honest is slim to none, but I don't need it so it doesn't bother me.
Where the Nars is thick and heavy duty, this is light and natural looking. A few stripes blended in, gives my under eye area a beautiful healthy glow. It's literally like 8 hours sleep in a twist tube. If I had to guess, I'd say it's very similar to the YSL Touche Eclat, in that it's more of a highlighter than an actual concealer. I can imagine it would work just as well on the high points of the face as it does on the under eyes. I've yet to try that though, so I'll report back.
So that's it for today, a little haul/ first impressions. As I said before I'm going to stick with them and give you a more in depth review a little bit further down the line. In the meantime, if you fancy giving the foundation a go, now's the time. It's currently only £9.99 at both Boots and Superdrug to celebrate the release. Quick, quick!
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