Today I’m reviewing the Troiareuke ACSEN A+ Cushion! (wow that’s a long name). I was kindly sent this cushion to review by Jolse.com, after they held an open call for 20 reviewers for this product. I’m thankful I was chosen to be one! This will be my third item from Jolse I was sent to review. Thank you very much, Jolse team! ❤
And, just like before, I wanted to clearly state that even though I received this item free of charge for a review, this DOES NOT affect my review or rating of this product whatsoever. Honesty is very important to me, and this review is 100% honest. I do not receive any monetary (or other type) of compensation from this review, only the free cushion itself. So, please trust my review that it is completely my own opinion ^^
So! Moving on~
*warning! Long review ahead! ^^;;*
I’ve been quite curious about this brand and its line of cushions. If I’m not mistaken, it seems that this brand’s products are targeted towards those with troubled and sensitive skin, so their formulations are more gentle than the typical cushion foundation.
(outside of the box, very minimalistic design.)
(side of the box, securely sealed with a sticker. both ends are sealed this way ^^)
This cushion is advertised to be 99% skincare and 1% makeup, meaning it should be really good to your skin, and would be like taking care of your skin at the same time you wear makeup. Because of this, this cushion should be good for sensitive and acne-prone skin types.
My skin is sensitive and does not react well to a lot of cushion foundations, whether it be that it settles badly on my skin, or just outright makes me break out. For this reason, I think my skin was a good candidate to test this cushion out. I was able to test this cushion for a few weeks before writing this review.
(case design mirrors the simple box design.)
The packaging is nice and sleek, and comes with two puffs instead of just one. Very good for hygiene! As expected from a brand who makes products that takes care of your skin. ^^ The packing is quite plain though, if you’re used to the usual pretty packaging that a lot of Korean makeup and skincare products have. But, this minimalistic packaging is nice, because anyone can be comfortable with using it, especially those who may be shy to use a cushion foundation that has a cuter case.
The adhesive seal on the cushion that I had to remove before using the cushion was particularly strong, which was good, since it sealed in the cushion’s moisture well! The cushion cover (where the puff sits) also really seals well, better than any other cushion I’ve tried! It really seems to lock in the moisture better than other cushions I have. It seems that Troiareuke was very thoughtful in designing this cushion’s case ^^
(back of the case.)
This cushion worked really well with my skin! No breakouts or adverse effects whatsoever. The first few times I used this, I had a curious “warmth” or slight tingling on my jawline. It went away after a few minutes, but I didn’t have any other reactions otherwise. I’m not sure why I felt that little warming sensation, but it doesn’t happen anymore. I admit to even falling asleep with this cushion foundation still on my face (more than once… really bad, I know), and I did not get any bad breakouts afterwards. There was some roughness of my skin in the morning, but that happens with nearly any other of my foundations that I have fallen asleep in before.
I find that the coverage of this cushion is really good. I’m not the best candidate to judge coverage as I don’t have very many blemishes (just some uneven skin tone), but from what I can tell, the coverage is quite great. Because of this level of coverage, I’m not quite sure how it can be really be 99% skincare and 1% makeup? Because, 1% of makeup doesn’t seem like it should have coverage this good ^^;;
The cushion feels and wears like most of my other foundations, and I haven’t noticed any skin benefits, at least for now. It doesn’t feel that much different than the foundations that I already wear. Then again, I wear only light foundations that are moisturizing, so maybe that’s why the way it wears isn’t too different for me. This cushion lasts the whole workday for me with no need for a touch-up (I rarely, if ever, touch-up my makeup at work), with no creasing or awkward oxidation at all. I just need to blot my face once during the day if the weather is warm, but nowadays in the winter, I don’t need to blot my face at all. My face doesn’t really get oily, but just slightly dewy on my nose. For reference, my skin is typically combination-dry, and this rather moisturizing cushion is good for my skin, especially since it’s winter now here in Canada.
(this is what the cushion looks like before it is used. the liquid foundation kind of ‘sandwiched’ in the centre of the cushion, so it looks quite white, unlike your typical cushion sponge that is entirely soaked in the foundation. when this cushion sponge is pressed it will dispense the foundation! ^^ I suppose this keeps the foundation fresher somehow.)
The scent of this cushion foundation is a faint typical cushion scent—slightly smells like sunscreen but it’s not overpowering. The smell wears away over time, and it did not irritate my sensitive nose.
(pressing the cushion to dispense the product. the photo lighting is a little weird, so the swatch looks a little lighter than it is in real life, and my hand looks more pink/red than normal o__o;; )
This cushion seems really great, and would have been quite perfect for me, but… there was one dealbreaker that was immediately apparent to me as soon as I first swatched the cushion. The shade is a bit too dark for me! ㅠㅠ I usually use a no. 21, sometimes I can go lighter, depending on the product. This cushion definitely seems closer to a no. 23 shade to me. I can wear a no.23 shade without it looking too out of place on my skin, but it makes my face slightly darker, and it dulls my skin slightly. I can get away with wearing this cushion without it looking too strange with the rest of my skin, since it adjusts a little to my skin tone after I apply it.
I would wear this so much more often if it was lighter, or if this cushion at least came in more than one shade. The product photos and advertising photos of this cushion is a little misleading, as many of the girls who posed with the cushion had super fair skin… like NC15 looking shade of skin (for reference, I am between NC15 and NC20 in MAC). if their skin was really that light, they wouldn’t have been able to use this cushion and have it match to that Snow-White type of skin. So maybe, those photos were brightened? ^^;; just something to keep in mind, that product advertising photos aren’t always accurate when it comes to shade. Anyways, this is just something to note, if you want to use this cushion but have very fair skin—it most likely won’t work the best for you. However, if your skintone fits a no.23, or if you are between a shade no.21 and no.23, rejoice as this would work quite well for you!
(it’s a little hard to see because the swatch blends in with my skin at the edges and the lighting was quite bright, but I circled where you can see the stripe of cushion foundation that I had swatched on my arm.)
(here is a swatch photo with slightly darker light than the photo above. I think the swatch line can see a bit more clearly here, that it is slightly darker than my skin tone. I just now realized I should have laid a thicker swatch than this so that the color is more visible…)
One other thing I wanted to mention is the puff—there are two of them, like I mentioned earlier, but to be honest I’m not super fond of their quality… after washing just once or twice it doesn’t feel as solid as it did before. How do I describe this… it kind of felt like the inside foam filling and the outside covering kind of… separated? It feels similar to the puff I have from a super inexpensive cushion I had from The Saem. It’s not quite as durable as, say, Laneige or even Missha cushion puffs. Surprisingly, the sturdiest puffs I own are from Missha. I have around 4 from their Line Friends edition and have used and washed them countless times, and they still spring back like new.
Now… the last thing to discuss is… the price. I remember watching a youtuber review another cushion from this brand before and they said it was amazing and they would buy it all the time, but the problem is that it’s expensive… and it really is ;; It’s the same story for this cushion. It is $38 USD for this cushion, which is around $48 CAD. For a cushion, it is really expensive, especially since it does not come with any refill. You only get the 13g cushion the case is installed with. Cushions are typically 15g, so this is a little less content. To my knowledge, there doesn’t seem to be any refills sold separately. If you were to compare that price to more known “luxury” brands, such as Sulwhasoo for example, their Perfecting Cushion is around $48 for a cushion and a refill (2 x 15g). Just $10 more than the Troiareuke Acsen C+ cushion. It also makes out to be more expensive than higher-end or even luxury western makeup brand foundations— for example, a bottle of Too Faced’s Born this Way Foundation is $49 CAD for 30ml and Guerlain’s Lingerie de Peau Fluide Foundation is $69 CAD for 30ml (which makes up to be $34.50 per 15ml, in contrast to the Troiareuke cushion’s $48 per 13g/ml).
So, does this cushion’s skincare benefit justify this cushion’s higher price? To me, unfortunately it doesn’t, but to some people, it may be worth it, especially if you have troubled or extremely sensitive skin– this may be really excellent for you. The cushion formula is gentle and non-irritating, and has excellent wear time and quality. Also, if your skin tone fits the shade of this well, it may be worth it. I could recommend this for people who want their makeup to have skincare benefits, especially with the ease of using a cushion. However, for myself personally, I wouldn’t purchase one after the one I have runs out, since the shade does not suit me entirely, and it wears very similarly to more inexpensive foundations that I already have.
If you would like to try out this cushion for yourself, you can buy it here at Jolse (click for the link)—they often have sales, and they have free shipping! I’m not sure if this particular brand goes on sale (some brands they carry don’t go on sale regularly, but most of them do). Please check it out if you’re interested! ^^
If you’ve made it this far in my massive review, thank you! 😀 I hope this review has been helpful and informative to you in some way ^^
The Troiareuke ACSEN A+ Cushion gets 4 hearts out of 5 from me.
❤ ❤ ❤ ❤
Thanks for reading! And a big thank you again to Jolse.com for kindly sending me this product to review ❤
❤ raindrop ❤
a raindrop harmony 