Saturday 9 January 2016

Philosophy Take A Deep Breath Cushion Foundation & Cushion Color For Cheeks

Ulta will be offering all Philosophy's foundations at the special price of US$29 on Saturday 9 January. My local Ulta had the sign up yesterday by mistake so they sold the new Take A Deep Breath Cushion Foundation to me at the sale price (usual price is US$40).

This is made in Italy and contains 15g of product with broad spectrum sun protection of just SPF20 (Octinoxate 4% and Titanium Dioxide 4.83%), significantly lower than the typical SPF50 found in Korean-made cushion foundations.

Philosophy describes it as being based on 'clean air technology' with a blend of antioxidants to neutralize skin-agers while forming a unique moisture barrier on the skin to lock in hydration. This is supposedly has a 'breathable finish'. The instructions advise reapplying at least every two hours but I suppose this is necessary only if you are depending on only this foundation for sun protection.

Although it is called a cushion foundation, it is not the usual Korean design of a porous sponge soaked in liquid foundation. Instead, there is a mesh net covering what looks like a chunky block of creamy foundation that has slid to one side of the space under the net. The included applicator is just a standard foundation sponge, instead of the slimmer Korean cushion sponge variety. The case design is similar to the usual Korean cushion cases though, with the black plastic insert popping out easily although individual refills are not sold by Philosophy for now.


I picked the lightest of 8 shades available, #3 which on hind sight is a tad too pink-toned for me.

I also purchased the Take A Deep Breath Cushion Color For Cheeks in Shade 5.5 (US$30), a very wearable sheer peach pink with subtle shimmer. This also has a mesh net covering the blush. I usually just take a dab of the product from under the lid instead of touching the mesh.


The packaging is virtually identical to Stila's Aqua Glow Watercolor Blush (top in pic below), which is made in Korea whereas the Philosophy blush is made in Italy. The Philosophy version contains slightly more product - 7ml versus 6.1ml for Stila which retails at US$26.

The Philosophy blush is more sheer and easily wearable as it melds effortlessly into the skin for a healthy tint of glowy colour without any obvious shimmer.


My first impression of the Philosophy cushion foundation is that it has a nice, lightweight cream texture that is easy to apply and blend, with light to medium coverage and a soft matte finish. It does a decent job of evening out my skin tone but does not completely conceal all the pigmented spots on my cheeks. It is probably more suited to dry and normal skintypes as on my oily skin, its oil control properties were pretty dismal. My T-zone and cheeks started showing significant oil breakthrough by the 4-hour mark, even though I did not use a moisturiser beforehand (only toner and a Shiseido primer). The redness at the sides of my nose also re-surfaced.

Overall, I can't say that this has truly wowed me and I'm glad that I did not pay full price for it. I'm more taken with the Cushion Color For Cheeks, which I can see myself reaching for more frequently.

Ingredients list for the Philosophy cushion foundation is below.



Below is a video showing the makeup collection in action.

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