Asian cushion foundation comparasion and interchangable refills 2015 - 2016

2015 - 2016 cushions
Originally, I was going to named the title, "Korean cushions", but I have 1 Taiwan brand, so I changed it to "Asian cushions" instead. Plus since there wasn't much blogging on which refills can interchange into which brands, so I decided to do it. Hope it helps someone out there!

I have separated my winter cushions and my summer cushions.

The winter ones here are the first half (will do part 2 in a couple of months) has more moisture.

1. IOPE XP Air Cushion sunblock N23 - all amorepacific in this post fits with each other.
2. Sulwhasoo Perfecting Brightening - doesn't fit into any other brands that I have.
3. HERA M&D UV Mist Cushion Ultra Moisture SPF34 15g - all amorepacific in this post fits with each other.
4. Clio Kill cover Cushion Founwear 04 Ginger - I couldn't remove the cushion our of the case-I really tried! I prefer this one more in the summertime.

 

Sorry, I switch the places for Hera and Clio in the pictures above.

5. #2 [ Hanyul ] Luminant Cushion SPF50+ PA+++ 15gx2 - $25 - surprising it fits into the Hera

6. N23 [ HERA ] UV Mist Cushion 15g x 2 - $33 - all amorepacific in this post fits with each other.
7. A'PIEU Air Fit A'pieu Cushion XP SPF50+/PA+++ / #23 - fits into the Hera, but Hera doesn't fit into a'pieu
8. Miss Hana #1 Warm Beige Radiant - too lose for Hera and MissHana cushion didn't fit into Hera.

 

My favorite is Hera UV mist ultra moisture for the winter.
The Sulwhasoo is the closest color with my skin but in my opinion I think it's better for people over the age of 30. So I gave the refill for my mom to use and she liked it a lot.
Kill Cover is perfect for all season, I used the refill during the winter months and it felt like a second skin. It doesn't rub off as much as the others. The Clio and Her UV mist ultra were the ones that I reached for the most!

IOPE samples

IOPE Moisture Skin Soft Peeling Gel

Very nice peeling gel. I used this on a Saturday morning and was feeling lazy and didn't want to use cleanser to wash my face. I didn't have make-up on so this peeling gel could be used as a cleanser and peeling gel. Perfect for lazy people like me. 

 

IOPE Whitegen Ampoule Essence Bioluminous

Why didn't I know about this essence before the winter months started. Essence with ampoule added are the best for the winter months when your skin needs moisture. I will definitely buy his next winter if it is still in stock.

 

IOPE Bio Eye Cream Youth Complete

This eye cream is perfect for the summertime. However, I used this light eye cream on my sensitive skin during the winter is it wasn't moisture enough. 

  

UV Shield

Light and does the job of a sunscreen. Not sticky.

 

super vital cream BioIntensive

I really like this cream. It is light and has enough moisture.  My skin didn't product milia after use of this product so it is good for sensitive skin.

 

IOPE Retigen Glow Cover Cake #23 SPF33 PA++ 14g

Either I was spoiled by cushion foundations or this product was $12 down the drain.

Please understand that I have never used foundations or make-up prior to cushion foundations where I was blessed by BB and CC creams in the cushion foundation. This natural beige matte "cover cake" product is very uneven, not moisturizing,  I had to re-applied it every hour. I just got it two days ago in the mail and after using it once today, I think I'm done with the product. The two white pad that comes with the product smells really bad once it makes contact with the product. Your make-up looks nice from far away, but you can see the unevenness and all your pores up close. I think I'm going to give this product to my relative cause it's definitely not something that I like. I think I will stick with my IOPE XP Air cushion before trying the Sulwhasoo Perfecting Whitening Cushion.

  

  

General Haul #8 - TGI Wholesale

I was a bit skeptical about this site since I never ordered from it before. This was introduced to me as I was watching YouTube beauty bloggers so I decided to give this site a chance and proceed in ordering. The website needs to be greatly upgraded but I was fine over this. The products are just enough if you need the essentials. The site has an operating physical beauty store in Seoul behind so I wasn't worried. They send a confirmation email asking you if your shipping address is correct once you place your order. I think this is very important because either parties (yourself and the store) wants the package to be returned because the address was invalid.


Date Ordered: July 26
Date Shipped: July 27
Date Arrived: August 6

OMG, there was about 3 layers of bubble wrap around my products. I'm was so impressed by the careful packaging and the amount of samples given.

Onto the products, I wanted to try the Sulwhasoo brand because I heard great things about it but it's great for dry skin, but I have combination skin so the Missha Golden Snowflake line caught my eye so I decided to try this line first. So I got the Missha Golden Snowflake First Essence Booster. I wanted to buy the Hera Age Reverse Cushion because (a) it just came out this past May and (b) I wanted to try the Hera brand. I ended up not ordering the Hera because IOPE Retigen Glow was having a huge sale and Hera website say that the Age Reverse was best for customers over 35, so I should wait for that. Why I got the Etude House Age Defense Essential Emulsion product, (a) I have tried the Etude House Age Defense line and I don't have any skin reaction to the eye cream so it should be safe for me and (b) I don't have an emulsion in my skincare routine yet. So it didn't hurt to try these products. From my current experience, it seems that The samples given are related to the brands that you ordered. For example, I ordered an étude house, missha and Iope product and I got samples from these three brands.

  

  

 

  my 3 products:

1. #23 IOPE Retigen Glow Cover Cake SPF33 PA++ 14g
2. Missha Geum Sul Gi Yoon First Essence Booster 100ml
3. EtudeHouse Age Defense Essential Emulsion 130ml

  

THE SAMPLES!!!

This is my new favorite korean beauty site. I will be ordering from this site from now on. I wanted to wait a couple of weeks to start using the products before writing a review. I am checking this website and loading my cart for my next order as I finish this haul review. Individual reviews coming soon.

Summer 2015 Korean 10-step skincare routine

Step 1: Cleanser - Foam - ENPRANI WHITECELL Foam Cleanser 100ml

Click here for review on this product!

Step 2: EXFOLIATE - INNISFREE Super Volcanic Pore Clay Mask (Super) 100ml
click here for review on this product

Step 3: Refresher/Toner - TONYMOLY Floria Whitening Petal Toner 150ml
click here for review on this product

I believe I'm interested in whitening now.
Step 4: Essence - MIZON Skin Power Original First Essence 210ml
Click here for review on this product

I've used the SK-2 First Essence and it just doesn't do it for me. It stinks of alcohol.

  

Step 5: Sheet Mask - My Beauty Diary Total Effects Black Pearl Mask
click here for review on this product

Step 6: Eye cream - ETUDE HOUSE Total Age Repair Contour Eye Cream
click here for review on this product

Step 7: Emulsion/Serum/Ampoule - Etude House Age Defense Essential Emulsion

Step 8: Moisturize! (AM)- MIZON All In One Snail Repair Cream 75ml 
click here for review on this product

I have been using this for my neck.

Step 9: Sleeping Pack/Night Cream (PM)  - PUREHEALS Ginseng Berry 80 Overnight mask
Click for the review on this product! 

Step 10 - Make-up/Sunscreen (AM) IOPE Air Cushion Sunblock XP [SPF 50+/PA+++] N23
click here for review on this product

IOPE Air Cushion Sunblock XP [SPF 50+/PA+++]

This is my VERY FIRST product that lead me into discovering this 10-step Korean skincare routine. I wanted to wait at least a month into using this product in order to have a detailed review.

You have no idea how much research I did before I brought my very first cushion foundation. I've watched YouTube bloggers, read reviews and read ingredients of each brand. In the end, I chose the "grandmother" of all cushion foundations - IOPE. I ordered this from Soko Glam because SokoGlam was based in the USA, and I was skeptical of overseas websites and skincare sold from Amazon at the time. But hey, in general cushions foundations are travel-friendly, has SPF and covers well. I have found my "make-up best friend", I don't think I will ever turn away from cushion foundations. I have noticed that many consumers prefer the C21 or C23 versions, but I wasn't sure how "whitening" would look on me, so I stuck with the "natural".

Cushion foundations have a mixture of foundation, serum, blender, sunscreen and highlighter, so if the brands don't offer your skin tone, you can always make your own. The Korean brands usually have 2 colors - 21 (light) or 23 (natural) and coverage (C) or natural (N) or sheer (S). Since I have a bit of an yellow undertone, I decided to play it safe and brought the N23. Boy, was I happy, the foundation totally blended my skin tone. I don't tan, but my skin isn't as whitening and dewy as can be seen in Korean actresses. I have another refill from IOPE, so I think I will be using this for another 2 months. I don't use foundations daily, just 2 or 3 times a week. I do like the coverage, I was so happy. It does a good job not melting, my first time using it was in a 80F weather.

I'm a clean , germ-free person, or tend to be, so I wash my sponge every week with 3 drops of The body Shop' Seaweed Deep Cleansing Facial Wash and half a pump of Bath and Body Works antibacterial soap. Ok, the cons, IOPE doesn't do a good job staying on your face. If you accidentally brush your fingers on your face, the product can easily be wiped off. It smells weird. It tends to cease after a couple of hours, I think that is when re-touching comes into play. It doesn't absorb well, but then again cushion foundations are patted onto the skin. I think this is the best 1st time cushion foundation, especially for beginners and then later on once you get to know your skin more, you can venture off to other brands.

P.S - I will stick with "Natural" tones.

• Anti-wrinkle anything? The "coverage" will help with wrinkles
• Moisturizing? Yes.
• Suitable for sensitive and breakout prone skin? Yes.
• Suitable for oily skin?  yes.
• Suitable for dry skin? Yes

General Haul #1 - Soko Glam Haul

Korean Skincare Newbie - 1st Order

I recently discovered that Korean Skincare technology industry is about 10 years more advantage than American markets. So I did some research checking out some bloggers and noticed that the Korean skincare industry try to use natural and organic ingredients in their products. You can hear stuff such as bee venom and snail cream, which is scary, but results are pretty good to those that have tried the skincare. I have been eyeing the cushion foundation and the snail cream and luckily, Soko Glam had some items on sale. So I decided to give it a try and ordered from SokoGlam to be safe. Below is what came in the mail via USPS Priority 2-Day Mail. Free shipping if you buy a certain amount.

1. TONYMOLY Strawberry Seed 3-Step Nose Pack - Runaway Strawberry Seeds 3-Step Nose Pack
2. MISSHA Cell Renew Snail Cream
3. IOPE Air Cushion Sunblock XP [SPF 50+/PA+++] - N23 - Natural Beige + Refill
4. The free sample was the SKINFOOD black sugar honey mask washoff.

I like the that Soko Glam gave a sample with my order because it is a way to expose you to more items out there. I will write follow up reviews as I start to use these products.