Hey Dreamers and Creators!

What's your go to cushion foundation? I have a couple at the moment and one of them is this Iope Air Cushion. I have been using this for almost 8 months now and with the 2 refills (I still have 1 unopened refill), it'll surely last me for a few more months. I got this cushion set and more in my first Lotte haul and at the time I was confused as to why I was getting such a good deal (lol). However, seeing as Iope upgraded their cushion and released their 4th generation cushion early this year it made a lot more sense. The one I'm reviewing today is the 3rd generation cushion. I wasn't sure if I was going to post this review or not since a new edition was released and all. However, since I am getting the 4th edition soon and I want to be able to do a comparison post, to show you guys the differences between the two, I thought it would be best to post this anyways.


Iope Air Cushion XP Natural (3rd Gen.)
shade N 23

Product Description: The Iope Air Cushion XP Natural is a cushion foundation that provides natural coverage while protecting the skin from UV rays. Giving the skin a natural, glowy and flawless finish. The cushion contains 30% of mineral water to help maintain the optimum water-to-oil balance of the skin while keeping it moist and nourished. It also contains ingredients to help rejuvenate the skin, improve skin elasticity and overall skin complexion. The Iope cushion foundation contains various vitamins to nourish the skin and it has sun protection of SPF 50+/PA+++ to protect the skin from harmful sun damages.

To Use: Apply primer if needed. Dab the puff into the cushion foundation lightly and apply the product onto the skin. Touch up using the same method when needed.


Ingredients: mineral water, cyclopentasiloxane, cyclohexasiloxane, phenyl trimethicone, peg-10 dimethicone, propylene glycol, butylene glycol dicaprylate/dicaprate, lauryl peg-9 polydimethysiloxyethyl dimethicone, arbutin, propanediol, dimethicone, arcylates/ethylhexyl acrylate/dimethicone methacrylate copolymer, polyhydroxystearic acid, sodium chloride, disteardimonium hectorite, aluminum hydroxide, stearic acid, phenoxyethanol, polysilicone-11, triethoxycaprylylsilane, ispropyl palmitate, isostearic acid, lecithin, ethylhexyl palmitate, glycerin, polygylceryl-3 polyricinoleate, dimethicone/vinyl dimethicone crosspolymer, ethylhexylglycerin, acrylates/stearyl acrylate/dimethicone methacrylate copolymer, HDI/trimethylolhexyllactone crosspolymer, disodium edta, trimethyxiloxysilicate, methyl methacrlate crosspolymer, adenosine, nelumbo nucifera flower extract, hesperidin, tocopheryl acetate, panthenol, prunus mume fruit extract, silica, citric acid, lactic acid, glycoproteins, lipase, chitosan, fragrance, titanium dioxide (Cl 77891), iron oxides (Cl 77492,77491,77499)

Please Do Not use if you are sensitive to any of its ingredients.

The manufacturing date is printed on the back of the cushion.

Packaging: The cushion compact itself comes in a travel-friendly case that includes a built-in mirror, and removable puff & cushion compartments. The compact is white and silver in color and it looks nice and sleek. Every cushion has a pop-out container (which is the section that contains the puff and cushion), it's made to pop-out so that it can be replaced with a refill. Most cushions also comes with a refill as a set in the box packaging. (In my case, I got an extra refill on top of the refill included in the box.) Aside from the cushion products, there's also a pamphlet included in the set that provides information about the product in 3 languages which are Korean, English, and Chinese.

Scent: Fragrance has been added to the cushion. It has a sweet floral scent, which I don't mind. However, it might not be suitable for those sensitive to fragrances as it is slightly strong.


Color: The shade I have here is N 23, which is a natural beige color that provides a natural finish. Iope cushion also has shades 13 and 21 (also 22 but only for Shimmer). Like Many other cushion foundations, Iope has rather limited shade options, which can be inconvenient for some. However, if your skin tone falls into the shades they provide, you might be happy to find that they offer a wide range of coverage options. Aside from Natural, there's also Shimmer (which provides a vibrant and luminous finish), Cover (which can be used to cover blemishes), Intense Cover (provides even more coverage), and Matte Finish (which provides a smooth and matte finish).

Texture: With N 23, the texture of the foundation is on the watery side. It's very similar to a liquid foundation. It feels lightweight and it's easy to apply as well.


Michelle's Thoughts: My mom and I bought the set of Iope Air cushion (my limited edition set came with a cushion plus 2 refills and more) to try together. However, shade 23 turned out too be too light for her skin tone (although she's also tried the Innisfree cushion in shade 31 which turned out to be too dark) so I ended up with the cushion and the 2 refills. I'm not complaining except shade 23 isn't my perfect shade either. It's pretty close during the summer time but a tad too dark for me for the winter time. Still, I managed to make it work because I really like the formula.

This is my good skin day cushion. By that I mean I use this cushion when I don't have to worry about covering up any big blemishes. Since the shade I got is N 23, it only provides a natural coverage and won't do much to cover up spots. Although Iope does have cushions with better coverage like C 23 or their intense cover cushions, I didn't get it because I wanted something more natural. Generally I like to use a color corrector primer (green to cover up redness) underneath before applying the cushion foundation on top. This helps the cushion foundation to last longer and stay put better. If you have combination to oily skin like me, it might also be good to have sebum control powder on hand as it will help to prevent the cushion foundation from breaking down. What I love about this cushion is its formula and how it leaves my skin looking healthy and glowy after application. It's really moisturizing on the skin and it provides great sun protection as well.

The Iope cushion claims to be sweat-proof as well, but I don't think they tested it under the California sun. Summers in SoCal can get quite hot and for us combination to oily skin peeps, keeping that foundation (whatever brand it might be) from breaking down or melting off is a feat in itself. Unfortunately, the Iope cushion doesn't withstand SoCal summers well. The cushion's formula might help to withstand a bit of sweat but I wouldn't call it sweat-proof. Other than that, the cushion fares pretty good during the cooler months.


Eek! I know, that puff looks like it needs to be thrown out. I've actually washed that thing a couple of times before I finished that container of cushion foundation. Here I've popped out the inner container to show you guys what the compact looks like without the refill container.

Below you'll see what a fresh refill looks like compared to one that's been used for a couple of month. Ah the pristine refill looks great doesn't it? My refill came with the below cushion puff as pictured, however, it broke after just 2 uses. So I had to switch to the Amore Pacific puffs instead and those works really well. I'm not sure why my puff broke, maybe I just got a bad one but it was really stiff and the top white part just fell apart. That's never happened to me with any other puffs before, so it was a bit confusing.


Look at the still soaked cushion foundation versus the finished cushion, big difference huh? The cushion on the left is the one I just finished. I've already flipped the sponge a few times to make sure I really finished up all the foundation inside. It's good to flip the sponge because sometime foundation could be trapped on the underside of the cushion. If you don't flip the cushion, you might miss a lot of foundation. Just remember to use a pair of sanitized tweezers to flip them.

Personally, each cushion foundation lasts about 4 months (more or less) before I need to replace it with a refill. That's a pretty great time frame but it will differ per person as it depends on how often you use your cushion etc.


Pros:
-SPF50+/PA+++
-natural finish/coverage
-provides a healthy glow
-moisturize and rejuvenates the skin
-lightweight formula
-easy to use
-travel friendly

Cons:
-scent might not be suitable for everyone
-limited shade options
-not sweat-proof

Michelle's Rating: ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ♡ 

Final Thoughts: If you can't tell, I really like this cushion foundation. Its formula is great for my skin and with a few other products to help it along the way it can stay put for an eight hour day with maybe just 1 touch up in between. The compact is travel friendly and the product is easy to use as well. It provides great sun protection and good skincare benefits too.

There are a few downsides to this cushion as well, as it isn't perfect. With many cushion foundations, the biggest problem is always limited shade options and Iope falls into this category too. Which means no matter how great their formulas are, if your skin tone is not within the color range they offer you are kind of out of luck (at least until they release more shades). If you are sensitive to fragrances, this cushion might not be the best choice for you as it does have a slightly strong floral scent. Finally, the cushion is not as sweat-proof as it promises to be as it failed in the California heat.

Where to purchase:
-Amazon.com (newest edition)
-Aritaum/ Amore shops
-Koreanbuddy.com (This is a shopping service that can help you purchase the mask through Korean websites. Use referral code: DTC to get 50% off KB's service fee on your first order!)