A while back, in Korea, I did a bit of haulin’ from G-Market. For those who don’t know, G-Market is the mecca of online shopping in Korea: you can get anything, anytime.
As I fell in love with the incredible cushion range that Korea has to offer — I’m talking makeup, not home decor — I was very intrigued when I saw a mint green cushion int he midst. I’ve known for a while now that mint is great for counteracting redness, which is something I often experience in this muggy, humid climate in Malaysia.
So, naturally, I had to pick up the Etude House Magic Any Cushion in mint, seen here:
Firstly, I just want to take a moment to appreciate the sweetness of the packaging. Etude House isn’t necessarily my favourite K-beauty brand, in part because I’m about 15 years above the target demographic, and partly because their focus is much more on makeup, rather than skincare (which I prefer). Nonetheless, I was curious to try a mint cushion, as I’ve loved all most of the cushion foundations I’ve owned, and am generally a fan of the finish a cushion gives to the face. And that’s my detailed side note!
So, if you’re not familiar with cushion makeup as yet, I took a little pic to introduce you to their beauty. I really do find cushion makeup so ingenious, because it provides coverage, isn’t too heavy, and is actually convenient for touch ups on the go. As someone who always forgets to touch up their makeup or even look in the mirror (and who may have a penchant for touching their face a little too often), this bodes very well.
Once you take the cushion out of its cute box and pop the lid, you’ll see the puff sitting inside, like so:
Of course, Korea has got packaging down to a fine art, and at this point in the game I really shouldn’t be so awed… but I’m just ever-thankful that cushions came into my life. If you don’t exactly love smearing foundation on your face or feeling cakey makeup sitting on top of your skin, you should definitely check out cushions (if you haven’t already, that is).
As for the colour, it’s really, really light mint — so it may not/definitely won’t be for everyone. Sometimes, pale mint comes off as almost white, and even I, with the fairest of skin, has to be careful not to wash myself out. Instead, I recommend that you focus this product only on the places where you actually have redness — and lay off everything else.
And now that I’ve explained my thoughts on the product’s packaging and colour, let’s get into the more substantial part: how it actually works on the skin.
It’s a little odd to use a cushion simply as a base, rather than the main product, and I will say that adding an extra step in my makeup routine isn’t my idea of a good time. I did find that on the days where I wore this under my normal makeup (currently Hanskin’s Bio Origin Radiance CC Cream, for those interested), I had a smoother tone and yes, less redness. But on the other hand, most of my makeup does a good job at neutralising redness and evening skin tone anyway, so this is best for those who want to get a bit more particular with their makeup placement.
On the other hand, when you live in such a hot climate as I do, things can go from zero to 100 real quick. Even just today, I found myself getting unreasonably sweaty — hot, uncomfortable, and just a little tomato-ish. It can get a bit out of hand, and this is where products such as this one come in to save the day. There is something weirdly calming about having unevenness and redness under control (if you’ve ever experienced acne, y’all would know this), and if you have blemishes, this would definitely help to diffuse their appearance.
Here’s a little swatch to show you how light this product is, both in colour and texture:
Overall, I found the Etude House Magic Any Cushion in mint to be a super cute and convenient, if not 100% necessary, product. It’s definitely useful to neutralise redness, and to balance out skin tone, although it does add that extra step of faff to a makeup routine. I don’t use this everyday, it’s true, bt if you’re in the market for a simple way to even out redness, this could be worth a go. Plus, it’s just so cuuuuute!
You can pick up this cushion on Amazon here, or at W2Beauty here.
Have you tried the Etude House Magic Any Cushion cushion? What were your thoughts? I’d love to hear in the comments below!
Steph x