A: Concept All In One Essence A Cushion & Everything In A: Pink Lip&Cheek

Hello, Everyone!

Exams is only a week left but I still feel lazy and have been procrastinating. Someone please slap me so I get back to my senses.

Blogging is more fun than doing revision.....

A: Concept Korea

A:Concept. a Korean indie makeup brand, kindly provided me two of their products to review which are their All In One Essence A Cushion and Everything In A: Pink Lip & Cheek. I also received a hand written card which has cute graphics of their items.

I can't really find about the brand's story in English so I am sorry for that. It seems like the brand is obsessed with the letter 'A', haha because literally all of their products have 'A' in their names and their products main color is black which I like because it looks badass.

I try to distinguish the meaning behind their logo. Could it be that it represents three triangles? A crown? Or three of the letter A? Any guesses?

I've used the cushion since I think November of last year and I recently emptied the cushion as I've been using it diligently (spoiler: I LOVE IT). So without further ado, lets get on to the cushion review!

A:Concept All In One Essence A Cushion

The left is the box and the right is the actual cushion. The shape of the cushion is unusual than other cushions which are commonly circular in shape. I think that the shape of this A:Concept cushion is unique.

There is only two shades available; Light Beige (21) and Natural Beige (23). Mine is no. 23.

The cushion casing is plastic, it has that 'toy-ish' feeling where the casing feels like a toy product and feels cheap.

It is light too and does not feel bulky.

By means 'All In One Essence', the cushion is a multi-purpose product where you get Whitening + Anti-Wrinkle and UV Protection with SPF 50+ PA+++.

The cushion contains a complimentary puff and a mirror. Previously the mirror is protected with a plastic and I took it off. There was actually 'A:Concept' written in silver on the puff's ribbon but it got washed off while I was washing it a couple of times.

The actual cushion was sealed with a plastic before opening.

Swatch of the cushion. It feels lightweight. From the swatch above, it doesn't look as the cushion is really soaked.

You know how most newly opened cushions are super soaked and damp when grabbing it with a puff, but it is not the same case with this cushion. Since the very beginning, when I grabbed the cushion with its puff, it didn't feel soaked and I couldn't have the entire puff to be covered by the cushion. Most cushions even caused some spillings. I feel that this cushion is not really soaked.

Cushion application on my hand. You can see that it brightens my hand a bit and provides slight dewyness. The shade blended well with my skin color.

My full face with the cushion on, under natural lighting and no filter.

The Review

First I did patch testing on my neck then towards my whole face. I am glad that it did not break me out so I had been using it diligently for 2 months until I finished it. It was my go to cushion.

I like how the natural beige shade blends well with my skin tone.

The finish is mild dewy, not overpowering one. I normally used 1~2 layers and it did not cake up. It brightens my face and made it to look less dull. The finish is smooth, even and natural. On my face it feels light as if I do not have any makeup on.

Coverage is minimal but it still make my skin looks good that I did not feel the need to use a concealer. I did not manage to cover my acne scars fully with this cushion but I was satisfied with how it made my skin look despite minimal coverage. If you have angry acne scars or acne, the coverage of this cushion may not be desirable for you.

In terms of longevity, it lasts until a few hours to half of the day. When it wears off, it does not wear off ugly. It wears off as if you did not have a makeup on previously...like it is your bare face once again. I can touch up again with this cushion without causing any cakey-ness. It did not oxidize throughout wearing too.

The cushion felt moisturizing and it did not dry up my skin, so it contributes to anti-wrinkle. It is indeed whitening without being obvious and sun protection indeed because I did not experience any sun burns.

My Final Thoughts

Overall it is a perfect go-to cushion for an instant natural looking dewy look with minimal coverage. I have an oily skin but the cushion did not make my skin any oilier nor clogged or settles on my pores. If your skin is happy (less or no acne scars) then you might like this cushion but if you are looking for a full coverage, then this cushion may not be able to cater that.

The cushion costs 30,000₩ (approx USD 25) without refill and considering that the cushion is not really soaked, I think it is a bit pricey but I would love to use this cushion again. I hope the brand can make the cushion super filled with its content in the future.

Everything In A: Pink Lip & Cheek

The Everything In A: Pink Lip & Cheek is a multi-purpose product too where you can use it as a lipstick or as a blusher. It claims to be long lasting, smooth, vivid and easy to carry.

Packaging features a clear plastic cap and you twist the bottom silver end to raise the product.

By the way~ do you guys notice the hole on the side of the cushion in the above photo? Now refer to the next photo below.

You can insert the lip & cheek into the hole of the cushion! With this, you can carry the cushion, lipstick and blusher on the go.

Convenient, eh?

Push inside the lip & cheek into the hole until the end.

To retrieve the lip & cheek, open the cushion and it will reveal the lip & cheek. Talking about ala Transformers.

Swatch of the lip & cheek on my bare hand. It feels smooth, provides a slight glossy finish and is actually more pigmented in real life. The color is bright raspberry-ish pink that looks cool toned.

Application on my lips~ left; gradient. right: full lips.

The lip & cheek does applies smoothly on the lips but it actually feels drying, it produces cracking while I was using it, due to this, I think that it is not really long wearing because it wears off.

Using the lip & cheek as a blusher~ by referring the above photo with my hand covered with the cushion underneath, you can imagine how the application will be if I use the product as a blusher. It blends easily and the finish gives a slight pink flush that can look natural. I feel that application as a blusher is better because it is smooth and does not dry/flake my face.

My full face with the cushion + lip & cheek. Sorry for a bad quality photo >< I needa ring light.

My Final Thoughts

The lip & cheek is better to be used as a blusher than a lipstick. The color is showing on the lips but unfortunately it is drying for me where as it does not dry when I use it on my cheeks, it blends easily too and gives a natural finish. I am not sure if it is long lasting on both lips and cheeks. It is smooth to apply, vivid and easy to carry indeed. The size is small and can definitely fit into many bags. Furthermore, you are carrying a lipstick + blusher in one!

Cost of the lip & cheek is 12,000₩(approx USD 10) and they actually have more beautiful colours available. You can check out the official swatch of the pink colour HERE.

They also have a promotion where you buy their cushion + cushion + one lip & cheek for only 37,800₩ (approx USD 32). I recommend getting this deal because it is way cheaper than buying their cushion alone without the refill.

I would love to have the other colours such as the red brown and pink brown but if only A:Concept improves on the formula for using them as lipsticks. Their brown shades are beautiful and diverse than the typical red, pink and coral shades that most Korean brands have. They also have a contouring kit which looks sleek!

Thank you for reading! For more information, you can head over to A:Concept official website at www.aconcept.kr and check out their Instagram at @aconceptkorea

Disclaimer

Products were provided to me by A:Concept to review. I did not and never get paid to review though I wished to. My thoughts and experiences are all honest and true. What works for me does not necessarily will work on you and vise versa.

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