I love the summer season of makeup launches – not only are the colours very bright and cheery, but also because they’re tailored for a season that’s very much like Singapore’s climate. This means an influx of everything-proof makeup – sweat, melt, transfer and budge proof. Yasssss. If only they were wallet-depleting-proof. Heh.

Laneige Water Glow Gel Foundation – SGD$59

The spiel of this product (taken in whole from Laneige, grammatical errors and all included):

1. Tailored Water Gel Matrix (74% of moisture)

The innovative texture, which gives water bursting feeling when you touch, offers comfortable and long-lasting effect.
Incredible adhesion to skin makes it look just like your own skin and gives off glowing effect.

2. Micro Tailored Color

Amino acid coating micro color powder, processed and grinded 200 times more than the original one, will be absorbed into your skin when layered on. It sets the best color for your natural skin tone by itself.

3. Layering Cover

From the first layer of ‘Tinted Moisturizer Effect’to the fifth layer of ‘High Coverage Foundation Effect’, our magical foundation doesn’t get thick, even when you continuously layer it on till reaching your desired coverage.

For the ingredient list (which apparently differs between shades), check out Laneige’s website

Tried on shade 21 Beige

I say…

The Packaging: A standard-issue glass bottle that measures about 11cm including the cap, but about 6cm of that is the actual portion that contains the foundation (the base is rather thick at about 1cm). There’s a cap as well as a pump dispenser that makes for hygienic dispensing.

The Scent: It’s a very distinctive Laneige scent that you can also find in their BB cushion, which I love. It’s not too overpowering and yet obvious enough for you to notice. 

The Texture/Finish: Now upon first application, it spreads really easily, and feels rather watery – you can spread it rather far (it goes quite the distance from say… your chin to near your ears). It appears watery too, but continue blending it into the skin (I use fingers), and it surprisingly becomes a rather high-coverage finish. Once it sets in, you’ll notice that it can have a rather “sticky” finish i.e. hair strands tend to get stuck on your face more easily than usual. However, give it a while more, and it’ll settle into a less “sticky” finish. I also do love the sensation when you’re applying it – it’s cooling and soothing, almost akin to applying some sort of skincare.

Note: When applied on areas with uneven, dry, bumpy skin texture (i.e. the corners of the nose, the chin, places where you have black/whiteheads, healing blemish scabs), it tends get patchy and draw unwanted attention to them instead. Also, if you were to exert some pressure on your skin (for example, if you were blowing your nose with a sheet of tissue, or accidentally scratched your face cos it was itchy), you’ll find that it’s actually rather.. watery/moist under the surface. i.e. the finish is mostly powdery on top, but in between that and your skin, there seems to be a layer of moisture/hydration (which can sometimes be confused for facial sebum).

The Verdict: This is one of the rare moments that a Kbeauty brand gets the balance between matte, dewy, and coverage right, without comprising on the other. First up – the coverage is rather high, and covers most of the dark eye circles (if one layer doesn’t do the job, then slather on another layer. This is touted to be buildable). It also does cover enlarged pores to a certain extent, so the skin looks smoother than usual. Secondly, it’s mostly matte – those who have oily skin or live in countries with humid climates will gravitate naturally towards products with such finishes. Thirdly, there’s a touch of dewiness –  perhaps it’s the particles, but I notice strategic dewiness at areas such as the nose bridge and the cheek bones, so your skin doesn’t look so “flat” and two dimensional. The oil control factor is medium – I went about 4-5 hours before the shine started showing up. Dab with a sheet of tissue to absorb excess sebum, and you’ll also find that the foundation is better “set”. Generally it gives a bright, radiant finish without oxidising, gives  good coverage and is worth trying out.

Filed under: - Laneige, : BB Cream / CC Cream / Foundation