Lancome Miracle Cushion Foundation Archives

In my last post I was raving about Lancôme Miracle Cushion Liquid Foundation, and how it’s an ideal, perfect foundation for summer. Although I knew that L’Oreal also recently launched a very similar, almost identical product; L’Oreal Nude Magique Cushion, I wasn’t so interested, given that drugstore foundations generally don’t work well on my skin (in terms of formula and shade range). Then all of a sudden I started seeing L’Oreal Nude Magique Cushion being mentioned left right and centre by bloggers and YouTubers, and a few of them featured this product in their monthly fovourites. So after much umming and ahhing, I couldn’t shake off my curiosity and decided to head to Boots to pick one up for myself.

After a few weeks of testing out both products, I thought I would do a quick comparison for you today, just in case you are trying to make up your mind between the two, and wondering whether Lancôme Miracle Cushion, being more expensive, is better than the cheaper drugstore version and worth the pricetag.

Speaking of Price, let me kick things off there; Lancôme Miracle Cushion retails for £30 (subsequently you can just buy a refill, which costs £19), while L’Oreal Nude Magique Cushion retails for £14.99 (although Boots has a deal going at the moment for L’Oreal Nude Magique Cushion at £10), so basically at half the price.

In terms of Packaging, I’d say both are pretty similar. Both Lancôme Miracle Cushion and L’Oreal Nude Magique Cushion have two covers; the main mirrored compact and a secondary hinged cover that holds the applicator sponge and serves to protect the foundation from drying out. Of course being Lancôme and at a higher end of the luxury spectrum, its packaging looks more tasteful and expensive compare to L’Oreal. Although I quite like the cute pink/purple colurscheme of L’Oreal’s compact, it still looks plasticky and the logo sticker on the top lid does attract dirt and dust, so I can imagine it will look grubby very quickly. But I have to say overall, to serve the purpose of being a compact cushion foundation, both packaging work equally fine in my opinion.

When it comes to Texture, Coverage and Finish, Lancôme Miracle Cushion, as mentioned in my last post, is very lightweight with sheer to light buildable coverage. When you apply Lancôme Miracle Cushion, it blends like a dream and sinks into the skin right away. It is also so weightless that you literally can’t feel anything on your skin no matter how much you apply. The finish is also very skin-like and natural, with that lovely dewiness and candle-lit glow that I’m completely obsessed with. As for L’Oreal Nude Magique Cushion, it also blends relatively well and feels lightweight on the skin, but less so compare to Lancôme Miracle Cushion. I would say L’Oreal Nude Magique Cushion feels similar to a tinted moisturiser, it is lightweight but you can still feel it on your skin. Because it feels more like a tinted moisturiser or a lightweight foundation, it has a perk of giving more coverage, which is buildable up to medium, in my opinion. The finish of L’Oreal Nude Magique Cushion is quite dewy/wet, which I don’t quite mind because I have normal to dry skin, but I can imagine someone with oily skin might find the finish a bit too wet. However, I supposed this can be easily rectified by using a setting powder.

Longevity wise I’d say I’ve been quite impressed with both, as they have managed to stay put on my skin throughout the day. Lancôme Miracle Cushion is slightly better in the sense that it stays fresh and flawless looking even at the end of the day, whereas I notice L’Oreal Nude Magique Cushion has a tendency to gather on some dry spots and also does not look as fresh by the end of the day. In terms of Shade range, Lancôme Miracle Cushion is available in 11 different shades, while L’Oreal Nude Magique Cushion only comes in 7 shades. Fortunately, I’ve managed to find a perfect colourmatch from both products, and I don’t have any issues with either foundation changing colour or oxydising during the day.

All in all I’d say if your budget can afford Lancôme Miracle Cushion, I’d recommend it over L’Oreal Nude Magique Cushion, just because for me the finish is more beautiful, the longevity is slightly better, and most importantly because of the pleasantly lightweight feel on the skin. Also I think if you have oily skin, you might find the finish of L’Oreal Nude Magique Cushion too wet and shiny, whereas Lancôme Miracle Cushion will give enough dewiness without being too OTT. Having said that if you are on a budget, there is absolutely nothing wrong with L’Oreal Nude Magique Cushion, as it is a really good drugstore alternative that does the job just as well. Also if you are someone who needs more coverage with your foundation, L’Oreal Nude Magique Cushion might be a better option for you.

Have you tried either Lancôme Miracle Cushion or L’Oreal Nude Magique Cushion (or both)? Which one do you prefer?

It seems impossible for me to go for a month without trying out a new foundation and blogging about it. But with the summer rolling in and the temperature rising, the last thing I want is to layer on heavy duty foundation only to have it melt down my face a few hours afterwards (not an attractive look).

Lancôme Miracle Cushion Liquid Foundation Compact seems to tick all the boxes when it comes to an ideal summer foundation. It is a sheer liquid foundation in a compact, which promises to provide that desirable fresh summer glow, with lasting hydration and weightless buildable coverage that makes your skin look invisibly flawless. Lancôme’s first liquid cushion compact also has SPF 23/PA++, which protects your skin from both UVA and UVB rays.

What intrigues me most about Lancôme Miracle Cushion Foundation is the packaging and application. Lisa Eldridge, world renowned makeup artist (my all time favourite makeup artist to watch on YouTube) and global creative director of Lancôme, is the brain behind the concept, having been inspired by Korean makeup, which seems to be all over the beauty industry at the moment. Cushion Foundation is by no means a new concept in the Asian beauty scene and has been around for quite some time. It is a simple yet genius design of a lightweight, moisturising liquid foundation saturated onto a built-in sponge that sits inside a compact. The foundation can then be applied by pressing the sponge into the liquid cushion and pat on to the skin. You can also build up the coverage by pressing harder into the cushion to get more product on to the sponge.

In my opinion Lancôme Miracle Cushion Foundation completely makes good on its claims of providing a fresh glow, hydration, and ‘weightless’ buildable coverage. This is ideal for someone like me with normal to dry skin, which will benefit from the hydration and beautiful glow that the foundation provides. The coverage is sheer to light so it won’t cover any breakouts or redness or any noticeable uneven skin tone, but this can always be resolved with a good heavy duty concealer.

What I love most about Lancôme Miracle Cushion Foundation is how it feels incredibly lightweight and undetectable on the skin, and how it manages to give a very natural, skin like finish with a touch of dewiness desirable for the summer. The packaging is another winning point for me; the sleek, mirrored compact makes it so easy to carry around for touching up or reapply throughout the day and absolutely perfect for traveling.

Although Lancôme Miracle Cushion Foundation is designed to be used with the sponge applicator that comes with the compact, I’ve opted to use my trustee Real Technique buffing brush instead, just because I prefer the finish of the brush more than the sponge. But I see no real issues with using the sponge. Some people say it can be less hygienic to use the sponge but if you wash the sponge as regularly as you wash your makeup brush then I see no difference in terms of hygienic issue.

To sum up, Lancôme Miracle Cushion Foundation is an ideal foundation for the upcoming warm summer months or for those who live in a warm climate all year round. It hydrates, looks natural, feels comfortable and lightweight on the skin, is packaged well and comes with a great shade range that will suit most skin tones. I would highly recommend Lancôme Miracle Cushion Foundation to anyone with normal to dry skin, and even those prone to breakouts. I can already tell that this foundation is going to be my holy grail this summer.