Tag Archives: Foundation Addict

Koh Gen Do, Skincare infused makeup product reviews & swatches

Huge thanks to the wonderful team at Koh Gen Do, I was able to test these skincare infused makeup products. They sent over their famous Aqua Foundations, along with their Pressed Powder, Moisture Fit Concealer, and Makeup Color Base.

main pic

The Koh Gen Do Maifanshi Aqua Foundation has a total of 10 shades (see below shade swatches from their website). According to their website, The coveted Aqua Foundation, known for giving skin the same youthful glow you experience right after a facial, is redesigned for increased coverage, radiance, hydration and longevity. Formulated with signature Gloss Film Powder, the light-diffusing minerals brighten and minimize pores, while resisting sweat and oiliness. This breathable serum foundation contains weightless skin-conditioning emollients that improve the hydration and health of skin for a flawless and comfortable complexion all day.

koh gen do

They sent me two shades, 013 and 113. The shade 013 appears a little too pink for my yellow/warm skin tone. The shade 113, which is their lightest warm shade, seems to be a good match for my MAC’s NC15 skin tone. Below, you can see my arm swatches comparing to the MAC’s NC25 and NC15. I have mostly normal skin, sometimes dehydrated if I don’t consume enough water.

foundation swatch

For your reference, I have listed all of my other foundation shades here:

https://luvsummeikup.com/2017/05/12/list-of-my-foundation-shades/

The first day, I applied with a Kabuki foundation brush, it gave me a medium coverage with 2 layers of applications. I used the Makeup Color Base primer they sent me; it’s in the shade Lavender Pink. As you can see from below photo that I pulled up from their website, they have 3 other shades, which are Green, Yellow, and Pearl White. It might have been a better shade if they have sent me the yellow instead, because the Lavender Pink appeared to be too pink for me, and it made my skin tone half a shade to a shade paler. However, it did give my skin a smooth canvas; the foundation went on smoothly and gave a nice natural finish. I also set with the Pressed Powder; it’s the only shade available.

primer swatch

The powder is too white for me (below, you can see the swatches of the powder), it made my skin a shade lighter than it is; with the Lavender Pink base, I was almost 2 shades lighter. However, the powder sets the foundation pretty well; it gave me a matte finish, and the bronzer and highlighter went on smoothly. If I have the right Color Base shade, I think I would like this combination, because it lasted a good 7-8 hours. At the 8 hour mark, the makeup still looked fresh; I didn’t see any creasing or separation, not greasy either.

powder 1powder 2

On the second day, I applied with a round top Kabuki foundation brush again, this time I used the Hourglass Veil Mineral Primer, and then used the Hourglass Ambient Lighting Powder in Diffuse Light to set. This combination made my skin look quite dewy, and it slightly enhanced my pores around my nose. The foundation itself provided light to (buildable) medium coverage; it covered the redness on my cheeks but not my pimples. The bronzer and highlighter went on smoothly. I actually quite liked the natural look it gave me; it didn’t exaggerate pores, but didn’t diminish either. At the 5 hour mark though, the center of my face became a little greasy, as well as some separations around my nose, and the foundation came off my chin a little bit too. Hence, this wasn’t my favorite combination.

 

On the third day, I used a BeautyBlender to apply. This time I used the SmashBox Photo Finish Primerizer; it only gave a light medium coverage with 2 layers of applications. I set my face with BECCA Hydra-Mist Set & Refresh Powder; the bronzer and highlighter also went on smoothly. It gave my skin an extra smooth complexion, and a natural finish. My pores looked the smoothest with this combination; even my nose looked pore less. My skin still looked very fresh even after 8 hours of wear; no dry patches, no creasing, no greasiness. This is by far the best combination.

 

I also tried to wear this foundation with no primer and no powder. It gave me a light medium coverage with BeautyBlender, and medium coverage with a Kabuki foundation brush (2 layers). They both provided with natural finish; a little bit dewier using the BeautyBlender. I waited about 5 minutes before putting on bronzer and highlight; surprisingly, although it felt tacky, they blended on top of the foundation nicely. After 4 hours of wear, my skin became a little bit oily, especially around my nose area; however, there was no separation and still looked pretty good from a conversational distance.

 

According to their website, the Moisture Fit Concealer has 3 shades, which are 02, 03, and 04 (see photo below). They sent me the shade 03, which is darker than my NC15 skin tone. You can see swatches from below photo for shade comparison with the MAC foundations; so I can’t use it for my under eyes for brightening. I tried using it to cover my pimple scar, but the coverage is too light for that. However, when I used it on top of my cheeks after 1 layer of foundation, it enhanced the coverage by covering my redness on my cheeks.

concealers

Overall, I recommended the Aqua Foundation if you’re a fan of a natural finish, buildable to medium coverage foundation. I have been using this foundation since I received it 2 months ago, with the SmashBox Primerizer and BECCA Hydra-Mist; it lasts the longest with beautiful natural finish. I would use it with their Makeup Color Base too if I have the Yellow shade instead of Lavender Pink, since it does provide a nice smooth canvas.

 

Disclaimer: I received these products complimentary from Koh Gen Do; however, all of my opinions are 100% honest and my own.

https://pagead2.googlesyndication.com/pagead/js/adsbygoogle.js?client=ca-pub-4067611469746392

Wet n Wild Mega Cushion Foundation SPF 15 Review & Swatches

Wet n Wild Mega Cushion Foundation SPF 15

On Ulta’s website, they described this cushion foundation as the match made in makeup heaven. Tap the cushion to add just the right amount of coverage or double tap to add more. It’s perfectly portable too, with an air tight, no mess compact that makes applying liquid foundation a breeze. Infused with coconut derivative, the luminous, lightweight, and buildable formula helps boost hydration and contains SPF 15 for added skin protection.

It has both chemical and physical sunscreen ingredients, which includes octinoxate, octisalate, titanium dioxide, and zinc oxide. It appears to have a slight white cast when I take flash photos; hence, I do not recommend using this if you plan on taking flash photos. I would prefer not to add any SPF if it’s just SPF15; anything under SPF30 will not help much with sun protection. It contains 0.52oz/15g of products; one thing I do no like about the packaging; they claimed to be an “air tight”, which isn’t true. The lid and divider don’t seem to close all the way, and it doesn’t have the snap closure sound either (or perhaps I got a defective one). This is a big concern to me for cushion foundations, because it seems to leak all the moisture in the cushion if it doesn’t close well, and it will dry out faster. My cushion was pretty much dried out after just a week or two of testing; and I did flip the cushion a few times to make sure I used every bit of product. Below, see photos of the packaging:

outside packaging

inside packaging

 

back packaging

According to the Wet n Wild’s website, it has total of 8 shades; I’m not impressed with the shade range because it doesn’t seem like it has anything in the tanned/dark side. I got the lightest shade Light Ivory, it has a neutral undertone. It is about half a shade too light for my MAC SFF NC15 skin tone (below, please see shade comparison to NC15), but the next shade up (Cream Ivory) is a shade too dark for me. After bronzer and full face of makeup, it matches pretty well anyway.

nc15

I generally have normal skin, sometimes dehydrated if I don’t consume enough water. For your reference, I have listed all of my other foundation shades here:

https://luvsummeikup.com/2017/05/12/list-of-my-foundation-shades/

This cusion foundation does not seem to oxidase, it just dries down to a tiny bit darker, but no major difference. Below, please see fresh and dried swatches:

freshly swatched

 

For all of my Foundation Tests, I will start with no primer, no powder first just to see how it will hold up on its own. For cushion foundations, I will first go with foundation brush, then beauty blender, and then the cushion applicator it came with. Lastly, I will pick the best application tool, and add primer and powder to do a final test.

A) Using a foundation brush:

At 7:00am, I applied 2 layers and got medium coverage, I applied another layer (3 layers) for high medium coverage. It did not give me full coverage because I was still able to see slight redness peaking through. It gave me a natural finish on my normal skin. It did not set on its own; after 20 minutes, my skin still felt tacky. However, surprisingly the bronzer and highlighter went on ok. It did not diminish my pores, but did not exaggerate them either.

At the 4 hour mark (11:00am), nothing major has changed, except when I laid my hand on my chin, the foundation came off a little bit.

At the 8 hour mark (3:00pm), the area around my nose became a little bit shiny, and the foundation sunk in to my pores and gave me polka dot nose. After that, I had to powder and face mist my face because I had meeting to attend at work.

B) Using a BeautyBlender:

First application started at 7:00am. One layer using the BeautyBlender did not do much at all, just gave a layer of shine. After 2 layers, it somewhat balanced out my overall skin tone. It gave light medium coverage with 3 layers on, and a more dewy finish than using the the foundation brush. Again, it doesn’t really set, even after an hour, it still felt tacky to the touch. The bronzer and highlighter moved the foundation just a little bit, not as smooth as the brush application. For some reason it didn’t go on too smoothly on my nose; I tried blending it out but it just gave me separation, and it enhanced my pores.

At the 4 hour mark (11:00am), the coverage in the center of my face was about 30% gone, and not much product left on my chin, all of my redness peaked through. It left a dewier looking, and shinier nose.

At the 8 hour mark (3:00pm), nose area become too oily, coverage pretty much all gone. I could barely see any bronzer and highlighter left. In order not to walk out the office looking like a grease ball, I had to blot off the oil; after blotting, all the foundation were completely gone. I then reapplied light layer of foundation (yes, I have everything in my office for touch-up purposes) and powder just to look semi-decent for another few hours at work, and washed off my face as soon as I got home.

C) Using the Cushion Applicator that it came with:

At 7am, I only needed to apply 2 layers to get the same high medium coverage as using the brush with 3 layers. It gave a natural finish, bronzer and brush went on smoothly. Again, felt tacky to the touch even after 30 minutes. My nose area looked the best when using the cushion applicator, it gave an even coverage, and no polka dot nose and did not enhance my pores.

At the 4 hour mark (11:00am), the foundation started to sink in to small fine lines underneath my eyes, and caked up a little around my nose. Nothing really noticeable unless looking extremely close to the mirror.

At the 8 hour mark (3:00pm), the foundation sunk in to my pores even more, especially around my nose area; and my nose became shinier. Although the rest of my face (cheek, chin, and forehead) looked decent, but again I had to powder my nose a little and face mist because I had meetings to attend.

D) Last Test with Primer and Powder:

At 7:00am, I started my application using the Hourglass Veil Mineral Primer. I chose the foundation brush application, because the cushion application takes longer although they gave similar result. And I finished up with a light layer of Ben Nye Banana Powder; after applying the Banana Powder, the shade matched the rest of my body perfectly because it cancelled out that little pink tone in the foundation. After setting my face with the banana powder, it gave a velvety matte finish, and it smoothed out my pores; bronzer and highlighter went on seamlessly.

At the 4 hour mark (11:00am), nothing has changed since initial application. Pores still looked good and no shine on my nose; it still had the velvety matte look.

At the 8 hour mark (3:00pm), still going strong, except just tiny caked up around my nose but nothing too pronounced. From a conversation distance, it still looked velvety matte and flawless on my normal skin.

At the 12 hour mark (7:00pm), I was able to see a little bit of separation on my nose and chin when I looked super close-up using my 5x mirror, nothing major though. Overall, I wouldn’t mind wearing this everyday if I set it with powder. Sadly, it dried out too fast because of the imperfect packaging; because of that, I might not repurchase again.

Here’s the image of all 8 shades from Wet n Wild’s official website:

8 shades