It took us a while, but cushion foundations have finally made it to the western beauty drugstore! L'Oréal has just launched their Nude Magique Cushion Dewy Glow Foundation and I bet you're all excited. I know, I was too. I found it a little surprising that it took L'Oréal a year to launch a drugstore version after they successfully launched Lancôme's Miracle cushion foundation - of which my review still is one of the most popular posts ever on my blog. This isn't just a rebranded drugstore version though - the compact is a little smaller (although it holds a tad more product) and lez be honest: it's way prettier too! Can't help but love cute pink packaging. But obviously it's what's inside that counts..




Looking at the formula of both the Lancôme and L'Oréal cushion foundations you'll immediately see that they are quite similar. The L'Oréal version has a higher SPF (SPF 29) and therefor a higher concentration of titanium dioxide which pushes it up in the ingredients list. The rest of the list is pretty similar with a few minor changes such as the absence of fragrance in the L'Oréal version. It's definitely not the exact same foundation, but it's similar - which makes sense as there's no reason to change a winning team, right? I really like the Lancôme cushion foundation, so I was pretty psyched to try this very first western cushion foundation out. As usual there's a little applicator pad that comes with the compact and while at first when I used cushion foundations I took the time to use it, I've now turned to the dark side & just dab my foundation brush in the cushion to pick up product. I'd mainly use the applicator on the go to reapply when needed - but otherwise I find the application a little slow. I am definitely not a patient woman in the morning.. I bet a Beauty Blender would be a great tool to use as well.

Before: no foundation.

After: two coats of  L'Oreal Nude Magique Cushion Foundation

The coverage is quite light but can be built up to a medium coverage. I find that I need some extra concealer around my nose to cover up the redness I have going on there, while on the other areas I am quite happy with the flawless but still pretty natural finish. I got the lightest shade 1 Porcelain to try out which is a tiny bit too dark for me right now (and probably a little too pink as well), but when blended in and powdered off it works. The finish is dewy and healthy-looking indeed, but I do find that I need to powder off as otherwise it'll move around. With combination or oily skin I would definitely advise to use a primer underneath, especially if you're counting on wearing it all day through.

There are six available shades in Belgium at the moment, 01 Porcelain, 03 Vanilla, 04 Rose Vanilla, 06 Rose Beige, 07 Golden Beige, 09 Beige & 11 Golden Amber. It might be a little tricky to find your shade, so I'd definitely advise to go and swatch in store. As you guessed I really like this cushion - finally a good drugstore version that is easily available in our drugstores! And there's more cushion magic coming our way.. L'Oréal is launching a Glam Bronze Cushion de Soleil in May - being a blending fanatic I'm both anxious and excited to try a cushion bronzer out.