Hera x Nicholas Kirkwood UV Mist Cushion Review

The most beautiful cushion I have purchased to date? Easily the Hera x Nicholas Kirkwood collaboration cushion in gold. Just a pretty face (cushion)? Or a quality piece of makeup? Let’s find out.

Hera are a luxury Korean brand that produce some fantastic skincare and quality makeup. My first experience with Hera was my Hera UV Mist Longstay Cushion. I adore this cushion, as it really is longstay and a perfect seasonal base in the humid Korean summer. I went on to try their Magic Starter base, and some of their skincare in luxury samples, and was equally impressed. Needless to say, when I first got a glimpse of this beautiful collaboration with Nicholas Kirkwood, I was sold. I saved my pennies during my nospend month, and purchased the cushion last week, much to my excitement.

You can find the official information for the cushion here.

First we have to talk AESTHETICS:

IMO, the case is just stunning- especially when you see it in real life. When I had only seen the photos, I wanted the pink. However at the store, the pink metallic bottom of the case was not appealing to me, and I ended up going for the gold. The blue and red was not to my taste, but each to their own!

Back to the design…the combination of floral with the chevron overlay to me shows classic with an edge of stylish modernity. Perhaps I’m looking into it too much…but I really just can’t get enough of the design, and every time I whip it out my bag I admire it even more.

Shade:
I bought C21. This means that the cushion is a cover formulation (it only comes in C), in shade 21, which is the lighter option. This cushion unfortunately only comes in 21 and 23, as so many Korean bases do. Brands are very gradually catching onto the understanding that they need to add more shades, but it seems to be a slow process. The undertones are fairly neutral although they seem more yellow than pink. My skin is pink under toned, and even though the cushion comes up slightly yellow on my hand, it blends well into my face and works.

Price:

45,000 Korean Won for the cushion case, with a cushion inside, and a refill. I also received a luxury sample set. Personally I don’t think it’s an outrageous price for effectively two products. The actual case can also be used with some other Korean brand’s cushion refills such as Laneige and Iope (I couldn’t seem to find out for sure which others, if you have definite information on this please comment!). I saw this cushion as a beautiful investment and something to keep.

Performance

Coverage:

The cushion gives decent cover. It’s a very light formula, which means I can apply thin layers to build coverage. It doesn’t give the coverage a thick foundation would, but I think it provides a natural covered finish. I generally don’t suffer from acne, so can’t comment on coverage for acne prone skin, but I do have an uneven skin tone and some redness. The cushion sufficiently covers this as you can see in the photos below.

Texture:

Like I said, its very thin. This means that the cushion does not cake, even after applying several layers. The thin texture also gives a much more natural, airbrushed finish. We’ve all been there- applied a ‘great’ coverage foundation in our room, admiring our perfectly cleared complexion, only to step outside and find our faces look like we slapped on some hideous paint in thick uneven strokes, further highlighting our dry patches, breakouts, and making us look like clowns (can you tell these teenage experiences have haunted me?). I have since learned my lesson, and I can assure you, this cushion would never cause a similar makeup disaster to occur! The thin texture allows even inexperienced cushion-ers to achieve a great base.

Dewiness and moisture:

The dewiness is fair…it’s not a shiny, extremely dewy cushion, but just the right balance for me. It doesn’t dry out my skin nor make it oily. It definitely gives glow, which is what Korean makeup strives to achieve. I did have a comment on my instagram from a girl with dry skin who said the cushion really highlighted her dry patches and clung to these. She said she hadn’t properly moisturized or prepped her skin, so that may potentially have been the problem, but that’s something to keep in my mind if you have dry skin. For my normal/combo skin, the dewiness and moisture have been well suited. 

How well does it last?

I tested this on several occasions and have found it lasts, for me, for about 6 hours without a real need to top up. It obviously isn’t as well presented after this time, but I haven’t felt a major need to reapply up until around the 6 hour mark. This is after a day at work, so that includes commute, lots of moving around, talking, stressing about children…personally I think that’s pretty impressive!

Where I bought it:

I purchased it in the Hyundai Department Store, Sinchon. It should be available in all departments stores here in Korea that stock Hera. For foreign customers, I have seen the cushion on eBay, but as of yet nowhere else- please correct me if you have seen it elsewhere.

Concluding thoughts:

This is definitely up there with my favourite cushions. I currently own this cushion, Hera UV Mist Longstay, Clio Kill Cover Liquid Founwear Ampoule, Missha Line Friends Magic Cushion Moisture, Missha M Magic Cushion, Innisfree Long Wear, and Etude House Precious Mineral Moist Any Cushion. I’m not a cushion expert, but I’m slowly growing my collection and I regularly test a wide variety of cushions in the stores to try and get a better idea of the cushion spectrum! My Hera cushions plus my Clio are my top three, but I think this may just come in first place for favourite, taking everything into consideration! It’s certainly not just money in exchange for a pretty case; the performance (for me and my skin) is quality, and I know that I will be repurchasing Hera cushions in the future. After a long no-spend month, this cushion was more than worth the purchase! What are your favourite cushions? I’m looking to get an Iope or Laneige next!