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Review: Espoir Face Slip Nude Cushion SPF50+ PA+++
I believe this is probably one of my first foundation reviews on this blog, but believe it or not I am a complete and utter foundation junkie. Back 2 weeks ago I probably had over 15 bottles of foundation in my collection until I threw some away, used up one, and gave some of them to my friends because I just couldn't cope looking at that many *_* I just have a love relationship with foundations and I keep purchasing more even though I probably don't need it...

That being said I guess when it comes to reviewing foundations I will be able to compare and tell you exactly how I feel about them to other products I have tried.
So a little bit of background I have tried many different brands, different formulations, different coverage and etc. I have tried from drugstore brands such as Rimmel London, Maybelline, Revlon, Bourjois, Max Factor and etc to more higher end brands such as NARS, Bobbi Brown, Dior, Chanel, Georgio Armani, Shu Uemura and etc but this Espoir foundation is the first Asian or specifically Korean branded foundation I have ever tried (excluding BB and CC creams).

I've always been interested in trying Espoir's cosmetics because of the packaging, they look really pretty but sleek and chic at the same time but I never placed a order on Gmarket for some reason :/ That is until I watched one of the episodes of 'Get It Beauty' which is a South Korean beauty show and they featured this product in there and when I saw it, I was sold. I bought this on www.IBuyBeauti.com which sells a lot of the products which they sell on Get It Beauty and Son Dambi's Beautiful Days which I know can be quite hard to get access to especially when you do not live in South Korea.





I bought this in the shade Ivory Pure which is the bestselling shade and is the recommended shade for me from the advice of the Ibuybeauti customer service so I decided to trust them on this and I must say they were spot on because the colour matched me perfectly.

These 'Cushion' type of foundations have been going around in Korea a lot recently and is the new trend of 2013. Brands such as Holika Holika, IOPE, Hera, Laneige and a few others have also got their own cushion foundations/bb creams and what it basically does is it's meant to be a lightweight and breathable foundation and still adds a moderate amount of hydration to your face. Majority of these foundations do have quite a high SPF which even some are named as sun cushions which are meant to act like a 2-in-1 or 'n'-in-1 type of product. This can be a con and a good thing depending on whether you are going to be taking pictures with flash photography that day or not and I know some people don't like wearing foundations that include sunscreen either.



The packaging I must say is so elegant, Ok maybe elegant isn't the word to put it but it's very professional and very sturdy, you can tell that it is well made and it's not made from some cheap plastic but then again the price of this is on the higher end of spectrum and I would definitely expect the packaging to be well made. 




However, the packaging is ALL in Korean, like the instructions and information/details about the product, with just a little bit of English at the top 1/4 of the box o.O ~


"FACE SLIP NUDE CUSHION SPF50+ PA+++
15 G X 2 / 1.05 OZ

CUSHION TYPE FOUNDATION SUPPLIES FABRIC TEXTURE FOR A SUPERFINE FIBERS EXPRESSION.

[WARNING] KEEP OUT OF REACH OF CHILDREN. FOR EXTRERNAL USE ONLY"

          -  ESPOIR






The product comes with a free refill so basically you are getting two foundations in one :D ~


Also there is NO INGREDIENTS LIST on the packaging o.O ~ I find that to be literally very strange I mean it's not on the back of box where majority of the description is or the bottom and I see no sign of it on the inside either... Majority of cosmetics now days all have their ingredients list on the packaging, but no not for this one :/ so I am sorry I can't tell you exactly what is in this, if any of you find it please let me know...


I apologize that my puff looks a little bit dirty, I forgot to clean it one time and it stained it ㅠ_ㅠ ~

Anyways this product also comes with a puff which is the recommended use of application, the puff is very interesting because it's not like a normal sponge that we get in regular compact foundations it has a suede/fabric type of texture which is blue (sorry mine is quite dirty, I recommend washing it every time you use it or it will stain it, like mine) but this puff is meant to add the extra silkiness to the skin so it looks dewy but natural which I thought was very intriguing indeed. However, the puff doesn't give you a lot of coverage like a brush would or your fingers but...
a) I would not recommend using your fingers because that's unhygienic to be digging your fingers in and out of the foundation
b) I would only recommend using a brush if you like dewy looking finish to your skin and when I mean dewy I mean DEWY like I-just-came-out-of-a-hot-shower-or-sauna-type-of-face-look, unless you have normal/dry skin then I guess this would be a preferred choice for you but if you have combination/oily skin don't even think about it.


haha ~ I just wrote about how we shouldn't dip our fingers into the product but in order to show you how cool the texture of this foundation is I just had to, it feels like a cushion! SO cool ~ ^^


And then this is what your finger ends up looking afterwards... I do find you do get more product on your fingers than with the puff or a brush though ~

Now onto the puff ~ you pretty much do the same as you would with the finger just press the whole puff or a part of it into the product and product will turn into a liquid texture on your sponge

This is what your puff should look like, as you can see I didn't push it very evenly but the job will do for this review, make sure to place the puff and press it all down to get the whole surface covered.
Sponges tend to apply less products with any foundations though as they have a tendency to soak up a lot of the product, a way to help it a bit is to soak it under warm water but I am not sure if this method will work on this type of puff ~



I have never tried any other cushion type of foundations though I do really want to try out the Laneige version as I love Laneige products in general ~ But if you are looking for a foundation with HIGH coverage then do not purchase this as this offer light to medium coverage.
Obviously though if you don't have a lot of problematic areas on your face then that wouldn't be too much of a problem but I find myself having to use concealer on areas where I need it such as my acne scars and under eye circles for when I don't get enough sleep.

Before Anything Applied ~
Swatch with the finger, see how much more product is applied on? ~

Swatch with the sponge, not as much product is transferred on ~
Blended out with the puff (sorry I forgot to photograph the results of the finger swatch) but as you can see you can hardly see any difference apart from the 'after' looks more white that's because of the camera flash since this has a SPF 50+ and it looks slightly more dewy but nothing too much ~


Furthermore, I find this foundation isn't all that long lasting either... I have tried using several different primers; The Face Shop Face it Velvet Skin primer, The Face Shop Face it Cut Oil Pore Balm, Makeup Forever HD primer in Green, Touch in Sol No Problem Primer (review will be coming soon), Etude House Baby Choux Base in Berry and Benefit Porefessional Primer which all didn't quite work with this... so I'm guessing that it might just be the foundation since this is a more hydrating formula.
That being said, even though the company labels this product for 'all skin types' and can be used on both oily and dry skin, I would say this product is definitely more suitable for normal/dry skin types.
Now, I'm not saying this won't work for oily skin because I do tend to get quite oily throughout the day but the problem arises when you have oily skin and HOT weather or humid weather as this will no way be able to last all through out. Just a heads up here.

Fragrance: 4/5
Texture: 4/5
Lasting Ability: 2.5/5
Finish: Dewy
Coverage: Light-Medium
Hydration: 5/5
Overall: 2.8/5
Other comments:
The fragrance of this is very strong, it smells like a typical floral perfume but maybe a little bit toned down. If you have ever owned, tried or know of the scent of Laneige skin care products it smells a bit like that. The smell stays for about 35-50 minutes and then it starts to fade away, that is quite a long time, it's not as noticeable on your face but once in a while you can be able to sniff it which I know for those who may be sensitive to strong perfumey scents may find it hard to use throughout the day.
The texture is lightweight so it feels like you have nothing on the skin which is the best thing about this because I don't like the thick feeling of a foundation sitting on top of the skin but this also makes the foundation lighter in terms of coverage and to be not as long lasting I find, if you have dry and perfect skin to begin with you will love this foundation. I find myself having to blot my T-zone and around my nose throughout the day whenever I wear this because the oil control is not great but then again do remember this is a foundation targeted more towards hydration than oil control ~
I love the finish of this, I like how dewy and glowy it makes my skin during Autumn, winter, spring and sometimes in summer as in England we hardly ever get 'hot weather' only occasionally but the coverage is a bit too light for my liking ~ I prefer medium coverage foundations, they don't have to necessarily cover everything on my face but at least 80% of my problematic areas will be nice as I am usually in a rush to get ready for college in the morning.
Don't get my wrong, I like this foundation and I think it will work nice during Autumn/Winter when my skin gets really dry but this just isn't the foundation that I will opt for on a daily basis even during those seasons unless I am not in a rush that moment and am willing to take the time to apply this and make it look nice ~



Would I Repurchase: No



Take Care ~ ♥

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Sunday, 16 June 2013, 06:41 | 3 lovely comments



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