Long seen as the luxury of Korean skincare, Sulwhasoo is a brand I have been wanting to try! I have had some exposure to Korean beauty brands but mostly the more youthful ones like Laneige, Too Cool for School and Tony Moly. The Sulwhasoo Perfecting Cushion Intense is my first foray into luxury Korean beauty products.
Basics
Name: Sulwahsoo Perfecting Cushion Intense
Shade: 7 shades, I have 21 Medium Pink
Price: $80 USD
Size: 15g x2 (there is a backup refill)
Available at Nordstrom and Sulwhasoo online
From the Brand: A nourishing anti-aging cushion foundation that reflects youthful luminosity
Packaging
Sulwhasoo products have an understaed elegance and this cushion foundation is no exception. Inside the cardboard box is the cushion compact as well as a refill sealed in a separate package. The Sulwhasoo Perfecting Cushion Intense has a beautiful glossy brown top contrasted with gold trims. The bottom of the cushion shows the identification lots and the expiry date.
There are some definite luxurious touches to the packaging like this gold embossed aluminum foil that covered the product. The actual mechanic of the compact though is exactly the same as all other cushion foundations I’ve tried which includes a flap that separates the sponge and the product.
Formula
As this is the most expensive foundation I’ve ever used, I had a lot of expectations going in. There are some things I liked about this foundation but also some things I did not like.
Shade
First off, I am quite happy with the shade selection. Although 7 shades sound very limiting, Asian skin tend to be around the same tones so less of a range is necessary. The shade No.21 is Medium Pink and there is a darker shade available as well.
Skincare Benefit
There is actually a product called the Sulwhasoo Perfecting Cushion which retails for $60 USD. I tried to look up online to see whether the “Intense” version has more coverage but I believe it has to do more with the skincare benefits than the coverage. Part of why it is so expensive is the Red Pine extract from Sulwhasoo’s Timetreasure collection. The serum in that collection is $335! So not only is the formula helping to provide coverage, there is decent skincare properties as well.
In terms of coverage, it is between a light-medium coverage. It is actually very buildable though so you can easily pat on a second layer in the spots you want. I love the weightless feel and the satin finish. The only thing I wasn’t happy with is that the formula clings to dry patches. I find this is the case with most cushion foundations because they leave such a light layer of product on the skin. If there’s flakes, the product tends to catch onto them.
The wear time was good but not incredible. It stays on pretty good for 4-6 hours, but after that it starts to slowly fade. I’m usually okay with that length of time of wear, but since the product was so expensive I was expecting it to be dramatically different.
Demo – Sulwahsoo Perfecting Cushion Intense in No.21 Medium Pink
I choose the left cheek as a demo for this product. My main issues are the pores around my nose and the redness in my cheeks. In general, I’m happy with how my skin looks here without makeup. Below is how my skin looks after one layer of the Sulwahsoo Perfecting Cushion Intense.
The pores and redness are covered nicely resulting in a more polished look. There is no shine to the finished look
Ratings
Shade: 10/10
Coverage: 5/5
Finish: 3/5
Packaging: 4/5
Value: 3/5
Total: 25/30 B
Overall, I do love how this applies and looks on the skin. The downside is that I have pretty dry skin so the formula clings to those dry spots. This product would be especially good for more oily and aging skin because of the skincare ingredients and the SPF 50 sunscreen. I think the value of this product comes from the skincare properties of the Red Pine Extract. Since there is a refill included, it will be a good buy if you use the product every single day and tend to run out.
What’s the most you’ve splurged on makeup?