Hey Beautiful Blossoms!

I gave my self-purchased L’Oreal Truematch Lumi Cushion in N4 (Buff Beige) a run today because I’ve been itching for a more convenient way to put on face makeup on the go without having to bust out a foundation brush and take a painstaking 10 minutes (this is the fastest I can ever clock myself doing this) and decide which foundation I’m going to work with (they all have their quirks).

And the other problem was that I had to dig through my primers and see which ones were silicone-based and which primers were water-based. Fun…

NOT. It was a pain in the ass because I had to look for the Dimethicone and its cousins in the ingredients list and I bought the MAC Prep + Prime at the suggestion of a MAC employee that it was silicone based (it’s not), so I’m debating whether to return that because I have a lot of water-based primers already… but I’ve never owned a MAC primer on the other hand…

Indecisiveness aside, on to the L’Oreal Lumi Cushion Foundation! I bought it during Ulta’s 20% off promo including prestige brands on a whim – I wasn’t too impressed with the idea of a cushion foundation (how the hell do you keep them shits sanitary and germ free from all the airborne stuff???) and the fact that they were hella expensive for the amount of product that you were getting. But the annoyance of having to wake up early and scramble for my foundation tools to get my face makeup done before I rush to work eventually pushed me to reconsider buying a cushion foundation.

Thankfully, when my decision to give in to them came to, there were drugstore versions available for purchase – I would have had to go to a K-beauty store (let’s face it: they don’t cater to anything beyond light and fair shades) to get one or chance one with Lancôme (too expensive). It wasn’t difficult to pick between L’Oreal and Maybelline – I have bottles of the True Match foundation and it was easier to find my shade with L’Oreal than with Maybelline, so the True Match Lumi Cushion Foundation was a no brainer.

Pros: A little goes a long way. I only had to press lightly on the cushion to get a full punch of product on the powder cushion. I am usually a heavy-handed person when it comes to foundation (there’s just too much that concealer alone cannot cover), but I was quite impressed that I didn’t need to press so hard on the cushion to get the product.

And just like it says on the label, the coverage is buildable – you can go light and be sheer or you can pat on more for a fuller finish. This definitely destroyed my perception that drugstore foundation cannot do full coverage like mid-range foundation brands.

Cons: My personal (not the product or the company’s fault) issues with this are that it’s silicone based. I literally had to scramble and Google all my primers to find out which ones were compatible and which ones weren’t and I was going crazy trying to find me one. Thankfully, I bought me a travel size Hourglass Mineral Veil primer from ages ago and I was able to use it. But if you are someone who is allergic to silicone or silicone-based products, then you definitely should skip out on this product because it is a silicone-based foundation (it has the Dimethicone family of ingredients).

The general rule of thumb with primers and foundations is that silicone goes with silicone and water goes with water – using a silicone primer with a water based foundation is like mixing oil and water – they cannot jive with each other and you’ll find yourself emulating the climax of Raiders of the Lost Ark when the Ark was opened.

Another con for me would be the fact that the container where the puff goes when not in use needs to be cleaned after use. I want to keep it dry and clean so it doesn’t harbor bacteria because the foundation that’s still in the puff will eventually sink onto the little plastic casing and, if left alone, can eventually grow bacteria (let’s be real here: our faces aren’t exactly squeaky clean 24/7).

The third one? I can’t wash the frickin’ puff. I tried – I ended up rubbing holes into the puff the same way I wrecked my RT Sponge when I tried to clean it. So don’t even think about trying to clean that baby once you start using it – you’ll just have to get used to seeing that shade stain.

Would I buy it again though? Only if there’s a good deal for it. At an average price point of $15, it is pricey for a drugstore brand. Major drugstore chains tend to do a BOGO 50% off promo, so be sure to keep an eye on those Sunday circulars if you want to try the product.

Rating: 🌺🌺🌺 out of 🌺🌺🌺🌺🌺.