[REVIEW] Innisfree Water Glow Cushion

(cushion case taken from Limited Edition Ampoule 2015 collection)

 Innisfree Water Glow Cushion SPF 50+ / PA +++ ~ 20 000Won (for case + cushion)
Refill ~ 12 000 Won

Ever since the weather started being a bit drier, I've brought out my Innisfree Water Glow Cushion to use. Out of all the new Innisfree cushions, I think this has to be the most similar to the original version and it's definitely my favourite. As I often do, I have only purchased the refill and popped it into one of my cushion cases. The last time I've checked, Innisfree cushion cases are compatible throughout their versions so you can just buy refills instead of collecting a whole lot of cases. These refills are NOT compatible with the Hera, Iope or Laneige. 

Also, unlike the Hera, Iope, and Laneige cushions, each order of the Innisfree cushions comes with one cushion (15g) and one case. Unless there are special offers going on, refills are always sold separately. For Hera, Iope, and Lineage cushions, each case comes with one cushion (15g) and one refill (15g) - you can also buy refills separately of course. 

Claims:

[Water glow cushion full of moisture]

1. 100% squeezed Jeju green tea water fills the skin with essential moisture.

2. Moisture coating effect from the water glow complex

3. It cools down your skin upon application to soothe the skin from environmental damage

4. Powerful UV protection with SPF 50+ PA+++

It comes in three shades. I find that #13 Light Beige is extremely light and not very natural unless you are extremely pale. #21 Natural Beige is the color that I have. It's very light but natural unlike #13 which is super light and bright. #23 True Beige is just a shade or two darker than #21 Natural Beige. Overall, it's the typical shade selection from Korean base makeup so there really isn't much of a range and definitely does not cater towards people with darker skintones. 

The Innisfree Long Wear Cushion has a much wider range of six colors that does cater to darker skintones. 

Picture Source: Innisfreeworld

No. 21 Natural Beige

Currently there are three versions of the Innisfree Cushions: Water Glow, Long Wear, and Ampoule Intense. The texture, coverage, SPF and staying power in each of these versions are different. Long Wear is meant for use in the summer because it's much more mattifying compared to the other two. The staying power is also much better but I, personally, found it a bit dry on my skin. Ampoule Intense is meant for the winter because it is infused with ampoule. It can look oily if you use it in the summer. Water Glow can be used year round. When testing these in stores, I found Water Glow to have the nicest coverage and consistency for my skin. I would say it is a light to medium coverage. It adds just a bit of glow and has a good amount of SPF. 

Tip: One of the issues that I tend to have with cushions is that I tend to use up all the products at the top. An easy way to remedy this is to flip the cushion cushion upside down for a day or two. This allows the product to flow to the top of the sponge again. If this doesn't work, you can just flip the actual sponge over. I learnt this trick from the YouTuber: BeautyBemused in one of her videos. 

Further claims: lasting moisture, radiant glow, natural coverage, with mineral powder, and infused with Jeju green tea. 

The consistency of this cushion is true to its name. It has a slight watery, but not runny nor oily consistency, that pats on easily and sets quickly to an almost matte finish. In the picture, I've applied two coats onto the liner. I would say that it can be built up to a medium finish. 

When applied the Water Glow Cushion evened out my skin with a single layer. With two layers, it added more coverage. It  did a great job in cover the pores on my cheek and evening out redness. However, I did find that it caught onto and accentuated dry areas on my nose and some parts of my cheek. The focus of this cushion is using green tea as a moisturizing factor. While it definitely does add moisture, it's definitely more of a watery moisture than an oily moisturizer. I think this is what makes it useable even for the summer time. In comparison, the Ampoule Intense version would probably be more forgiving of the dry patches due to it being more of an oily moisturizer. 

The Water Glow cushion added a nice healthy and radiant glow to my skin. It's one that looks extremely natural yet quite matte. I find that to be quite an accomplishment as most cushions tend to give me the oily glow.  If it didn't catch onto dry areas on my face, this would have been the perfect cushion. Right now, the weather has been extremely dry and my skin is suffering from lack of hydration from my skincare so I don't blame this cushion at all. It lasts for around 5 hours on my skin before I start getting oily around the T-zone. 

Overall, I really like the Water Glow cushion. It's moisturizing enough for summer, spring and early autumn. Not only has it a really high SPF, it applies easily and has great coverage. 

If you've any questions, please feel free to leave it in the comments. Thanks for reading!

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Kate Mascara Base Review

I've heard many good things about this mascara base on blogs but it has to be one of the most difficult things for me to find online. I was so happy when Olive Young started selling Kate Cosmetics. 

This has fiber strands attached to a brush comb. The fibers are white like the Majorica Majolica and they attach to your eyelashes as you comb through. After combing through, I follow up immediately with mascara. The brush is like a thin mascara brush with many short bristles.

 Performance: I had really high expectations for this macara base because of all the rave reviews but sadly, it did not meet my expectations. The fibers did not attach onto my lashes easily at all. They tend to stick to the brush and I'd have to comb through my eyelashes several times. After they attached on, they didn't create the length that the Majorica Majolica did. It creates a very natural lengthening effect that doesn't clump. It barely volumized my lashes and it did not hold curl as well as the Majorica Majolica did. I think this is a decent base, better than many but not as good as the Majorica Majolica. 

What I Love About It:

 - It holds the curl fairly well

 - It creates natural length

 - It doesn't clump the lashes

 - sleek and simple packaging 

What I Don't Love About It"

 - expensive

 - doesn't volumize 

- doesn't create tremendous length

 - difficult to find 

Rating: B+ While it does create natural length and no clumps, it doesn't give me the length I need nor does it hold my curl as well as the Majorica Majolica. Nonetheless, it is still quite a decent mascara base and it might work better for those who different eyelashes from mine. My eyelashes are very short, straight, stubborn, and sparse. It's really difficult to find mascara products that will work well for it.

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