W.Lab Honey Beam Cushion #21 Light Review and Q-Depot Offers

Q-Depot offered me a chance to try the W.Lab Honey Beam Cushion Pact and I couldn't say no. If there's one thing I love, it's Korean beauty products and I've always wanted to try a cushion. I've noticed that mainstream cosmetics companies are now copying the cushion idea (I just saw MAC is debuting one) but these have been around for years in Korea.

Q-Depot
If you're looking for ways to purchase Korean beauty products, Q-Depot is an online kbeauty merchant based in Korea.  They offer free shipping for any order over $69USD. Shipping starts at a flat rate of $2.99 depending on your country. Sale pricing is somewhat competitive but the free shipping at $69 is where the savings really are in comparison to other shops. Use code PREXMAS10 for 10% off.

Q-Depot has great brands like Banila Co, Missha, The History of Whoo, Secret Key, Leaders, Tony Moly, etc. If you're looking for cruelty-free brands, Q-Depot is very proud to offer Etude House, Laneige , Mamonde, Sulwhasoo , IOPE , Hera and Innisfree. And of course, W.Lab!

LOVE THAT GRUMPY GIRL
You can't tell me that face isn't just like a two year old who didn't get their way. I'm sure I sported that very look from time to time. Korean makeup has some of the cutest (and most random) packaging ever.

INGREDIENTS, PLEASE

The Honey Beam cushion is so named because it has a large percentage of honey in it. I love honey in my skincare so that's a big bonus. It's the number one ingredient. This cushion is rated SPF50 and uses titanium dioxide and zinc oxide to protect the skin. It also has niacinamide to even out the skintone, along with the less effective adenosine. There are antioxidants in the form of plant extracts (one of which is lavendar) and citrus oils, too.

The Honey Beam Cushion is a super cute, sturdy compact. It opens with a push button, has a great mirror and the pad is separated from the cushion compartment by a white plastic "door" that flips open to the left. I love the gold accents.

WHAT THE HECK IS A CUSHION?
Basically it's a pool of foundation with a spongy cushion on top. The goal is to prevent sloppy messes (I'm looking at you Bobbi Brown) and help evenly apply the perfect amount of liquid onto the pad. And then your face, of course.

Here's my first dab with the application pad into the cushion. I believe that dabbing at it until it's full of color is the proper thing to do. I felt this sponge allowed for an even distribution of product onto the pad. There was no leaking at all (I stored it upside down accidentally). The white flap seals the sponge inside perfectly.

The reason I have not yet shelled out the money for one of these is that, well, they aren't cheap and if the color doesn't work, there's no real way to return it. Korea is pretty far away. Also, I am very light. I'm pale like a ghost and I go cool with my undertones. I find that yellow undertones are prevalent in Kbeauty which means most foundations won't work for me.

I chose the H.L 21 Light version of the W.Lab cushion. There were two options: light and medium. I'll tell you right now that I nearly fell over when this color worked perfectly for me. It's actually the exact color of my skin. Please notice that this has an SPF of 50. This is some serious sunscreen. :D

This is not a matte cushion but it's not ridiculously dewy either. It actually has the PERFECT amount of dewy/glow for me. A hint of glow when the light hit my cheeks right but none of that super glowyness that just looks like a greasy face. I wore this several times while testing and always appreciated the "dew." I also appreciated the fact that the pad has soft edges so there was no slicing of my undereyes or nose when applying product.

Now keep in mind that I have dry skin and it's winter. I found this particular formula to have buildable coverage but it also felt like a mask on my skin. There was a little bit of stickiness to it for about five minutes after I applied it. I didn't like that either. You can see that it completely evened out my skintone and got rid of the redness but it settled into my wrinkles and skin cells and made them more visible to my eye.

THOUGHTS
What I did like was the adorable packaging, the ease of application, the color, the perfect amount of "glow" and the level of coverage. I did not like the fact that it sat on my skin, the length of time it was tacky. It's possible that I could add moisturizer to the cushion and get rid of the mask-like feel but up close it's just not how I want my skin to be perceived.
From a distance, it looks glorious (love that glow!) but I just don't like caking in my wrinkles. That's what usually happens when a foundation isn't moisturizing enough (or I slacked on my moisturizing routine). I also felt like it wore off much too quickly. I don't expect it to last 12 hours but I do expect it to last six!

I'd be curious to see how this works for someone with normal/combination skin. I feel like this could be so perfect for another skin type.

*This product was sent to me for review purposes. All opinions are mine.