Mention the word “cushion” to any beauty junkie and one particular brand should come to mind — LANEIGE. They’ve taken the idea of the humble cushion compact, essentially base makeup housed in a soft cushion sponge, and made it a cult product, instantly popular for its luminous finish and travel-friendly packaging. And by “cult”, we’re talking world dominance actually.
Since their first cushion compact in 2012, they’ve been pushing out new and upgraded ones regularly every year, and as it stands, have sold 18,000,000 units globally. Yeah, you’re seeing it right — that’s a lot! So, of course, they’re not about to slow down any time soon, especially with the latest cushion compact innovation: the LANEIGE Layering Cover Cushion & Concealing Base.
Apart from how hard we all want to look as gorgeous as k-drama actress and model Lee Sung Kyung, who happens to be the face of the latest cushion, there are a couple other reasons why you’ll want to make way for the new product in your makeup bag. We’ve talked about this before, but here are our 3 favourite things about it:
It’s 2-in-1.
Housed in a pretty rose gold case, you’re now getting both a concealer and foundation in one cushion compact — the Concealing Base (left) is a high-coverage concealer that covers up blemishes or dark undereye circles, while the Layering Cover Cushion (right) is a foundation that achieves a healthy, even base. Not only does that make on-the-go makeup more convenient, it saves you money since you don’t have to buy those two items separately!
It’s a full-coverage foundation.
You might be more used to LANEIGE’s BB cushions, and even though we love the lightweight consistency, we still recognise that sometimes, we’re looking for more coverage than what a BB cream can offer. Enter this new cushion! You’ll get good, buildable coverage by layering the two products — simply cover up with the concealer, then apply the silky foundation over it.
The finish.
Semi-matte. Are we moving away from dewy skin? According to LANEIGE’s research team, yes! This is great news for us — thanks to our humid environment, we all know the woes of ending up with an oily t-zone at the end of the day, so it makes sense that we start off with skin that’s less shiny. Still, this semi-matte trend is all about natural-looking skin — you’ll want a hydrated glow that looks like you just woke up with good skin all along.
With all that in mind, we couldn’t wait to try it — and so we did, on three NYLON team members, all with different skin tones. Here’s an easy tutorial to show you the best way to nail the flawless base you’ve always wanted; it’s really just two simple steps, but we’ll share some helpful tips along the way!
Step 1: Start with the Concealing Base.
- With the triangular tip of the puff, pick up the concealer (left), then pat it gently over your undereye area and/or blemishes.
- Blend it out completely with light, upward strokes. As you can see on Natalie (shade no.31), you’ll achieve a more even skin tone after!
The “velvet puff” section has shorter fibres that can pick up more product before transferring it over to your skin, while its shape offers more precision and flexibility around tighter areas. We found that especially useful when going for tighter areas, such as the area around the nose (seen with Amelia, with shade no.13) — applying a light dab of concealer there helps even out the redness that’s usually found in that area.
The same rules apply for girls of a darker skin tone, of course. Here, you’ll notice a more dramatic colour difference when the concealer shade is first applied on Syiqin’s skin (shade no. 33), but this then blends out evenly after a few taps. Since the concealer’s half a shade lighter, this also adds a brightening effect to the undereye area.
The balm-like consistency of the concealer certainly comes in handy too; it sufficiently covers up any redness, dark spots, or blemishes without leaving an obvious cakey appearance, while we’re able to blend it out nicely for a natural, undetected finish.
Tip: Since the concealer’s of a pretty high coverage, you’ll want to use it strategically! Use it only where necessary, usually for blemishes or the undereye area, so the overall look’s still as natural as possible. That’ll increase the mileage of your product too.
Step 2: Layer with foundation.
- Now, turn the puff upside down, and use the rounded cushion side to pick up the Layering Cover Cushion (right). To do this right, gently press the puff into the cushion once or twice, then twist it to evenly distribute the product.
- Tap the foundation onto your skin. You can use a light and quick tapping motion that’s good for beginners as it gives you the most control and a natural finish, just try not to swipe it as you would with a makeup brush.
- For curved areas, such as the side of your nose, you can easily reach them too since the puff is flexible.
- The result: a bright, moisturised finish and a rosy skin tone that looks naturally radiant!
Tip: Build up the foundation instead of dispensing it all at once. Those with good skin can afford just one layer, but if you prefer more coverage, repeat the steps again and go over the areas that may need more attention.
Even with a lighter consistency, we do think that the foundation has some good coverage on its own — you can see that it covers up uneven areas of the face, blending out easily thanks to both the cushion puff and the smooth texture of the liquid foundation.
A concern for darker shades, especially with k-beauty cushions, is that the shades come up slightly paler, usually because they don’t adequately capture warm undertones. Here, the foundation’s more of a neutral undertone, so it should still be suitable for medium to tan skin. If you’re still worried about the right shade, you can always get yourself colour-matched at any LANEIGE store! Try shades no.31 to no.37.
By the way, we’re also getting skincare benefits here: Litchi Skin Extract has antioxdiant and moisturising properties, while a Water Capture System fills our skin with moisture, and gives a nice cooling sensation too, with each tap.
The result!
In the name of beauty reviews, here are our before/after photos so you can really see the difference.
Natalie, using shade no.31
Amelia, using shade no.13
Syiqin, using shade no.33
Overall, you’ll notice that the combination of the concealer and the foundation leaves an ideal semi-matte finish. It’s not as dewy as we’d be used to for k-beauty, but recently, the trend has moved towards something more natural, and less shiny — great for our humid climate, and for those with oily or combination skin. You’ll still get that healthy glow though!
Also, the great thing about layers is that you’re free to get any finish you want — our method’s all for a semi-matte look, but you can play around with the product in a different sequence for your desired look of the day. For example, switch it around and use the Layering Cover Cushion first before the Concealing Base, this will give your skin a more matte texture. Using the Layering Cover Cushion alone will give you a far more radiant glow, while just the Concealing Base will give you an ultra-matte, high-coverage base. Versatile huh!
LANEIGE Layering Cover Cushion & Concealing Base, $43, available in 7 shades, at LANEIGE stores and counters. Refills will be available in May. laneige.com/sg
PHOTOS
Amelia Tan, using the Canon EOS 7D Mark II
ASSISTED BY
Natalie Tan
Products Used:
LANEIGE Layering Cover Cushion & Concealing Base in no.13 (Amelia), no. 31 (Natalie), no. 33 (Syiqin)
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