Finding a perfect match foundation is pure hell for me since my skin is pale and more on the oily side. Laneige cushion became a hot makeup item, why not give a chance to Laneige Neo Foundation Matte? This foundation is not only a liquid version of the famous Laneige Neo Cushion, but it's a tiny piece of art. Laneige did not only a good job creating a makeup line but also created a unique design. Should Laneige Neo Foundation Matte be your next foundation?
Do you also have a problem with finding the ideal match for your skin? I have very pale skin - I'm almost albino and my skin is transparent - you can see all veins on my skin and I bruise easily. When I was studying the Italian language at the university I had a friend who wanted to see me since he saw someone with lighter skin than his - I was the first person to have lighter skin even if I was a bit tanned. I usually don't tan, but during the summer season sometimes sunscreens don't fully protect me and my skin gets a bit of "colour". I have a cold undertone so finding a match can get even more tricky, I see that brands usually go for warmer undertones.
There are some positive aspects of the popularity of Kbeauty - even if it's hard to find Korean cushions or makeup in general in Europe, I see more brands are going away from matte finishing to glow or natural finishing.
On the other hand, there are a few things that Western users don't like in Kbeauty. Laneige Neo Foundation Matte has quite a wide range of colours - in Korea, you can choose between shades 13N1, 17N1, 17C1, 21N1, 21C1, 23N1, 23C1 and 25N1 and in the US between shades 13N1 Ivory, 17N1 Vanilla, 17C1 Cool Vanilla, 21N1 Beige, 21C1 Cool Beige, 23N1 Sand, 23C1 Cool Sand, 25N1 Tan, 31N1 Brown and 33N1 Cinnamon. If you're used to Western brands like Nars, Fenty, and KVD Beauty - this range of shades will be small to you, but the majority of Kbeauty brands offer 2-3 shades, usually shade 21 and 23. Laneige BB Cushion Anti-Aging and Layering Cover Cushion have shades 37 available. I believe some people won't be able to find an ideal match for them with the 33N1 shade being the darkest shade available on the market. If you expect Matte foundations to look like for example Estee Lauder foundation - you might be disappointed. For me Estee Lauder looks super unnatural - it looks like a mask on the skin. I hate this kind of finishing, but for example, my cousin loves it. I feel like Matte finishing in Kbeauty products still gives a glow to the skin.
About the brand
Laneige
Laneige has lately stepped up its game. New foundations, new skincare line with vitamin C and retinol line. I expect to see this series in 2022 in Europe since this series got introduced to the US market lately. Laneige is a brand with 28 years of tradition. Laneige was established in 1994. The owner of this company is Amore Pacific. The name Laneige comes from French "La Neige", which means snow. Laneige focuses on water and technology. This brand knows how to make your skin hydrated while fighting other skin problems, but it's not only about skincare! The Two-Tone Bar Lipstick used by actress Song Hye-Kyo in the K-drama Descendants of The Sun sold out quickly. I remember Two Toner Bar Lipstick better from Weightlifting Fairy Kim Bok Joo with Lee Sung-Kyung. Both actresses made an appearance in Laneige commercials. Actress Kim Yoo-Jung is currently the face of Laneige and Radian-C Cream and other Laneige lines - she's been a brand ambassador since 2017. It's quite an affordable brand with sweet but not too sugary packaging. The packaging makes me believe that the main targets are teens and young adults. It's like a transition between Etude House and Sulwhasoo if Etude House is a teenage girl and Sulwhasoo is a mature lady.
Laneige Neo Foundation Matte - Packaging
I have to admit - Laneige is a master of design. Laneige Neo Cushion got reddot Design Award in 2021. I still remember reading about it when I was at work. Thanks to my good memory, I found out that the design of both - the cushion and foundation is a collaboration of Amore Pacific and cloudandco - a design studio. I have to admit - Laneige Neo Foundation design is one of the most creative but also functional designs ever. I'm pretty sure you won't find 2nd similar design to Laneige Neo Foundation. It reminds me of solid figures and architecture. It's a cylinder-shaped product made out of two pieces. The upper piece - the lid has a magnet that makes it super comfortable to close the lid. While cushion gives me retro vibes, Foundation has a very fresh feeling. The pump is a thing I enjoy a lot since it has tiny details and it works perfectly.
Laneige Neo Foundation Matte - Texture & Scent
The texture of Laneige Neo Foundation Matte is liquid and easy to apply. It doesn't have any flower scent - it smells like a typical foundation to me.
Laneige Neo Foundation Matte - Ingredients
Water/Aqua/Eau, Methyl Trimethicone, Titanium Dioxide (Ci 77891), Dimethicone, PEG-10 Dimethicone, Alcohol Denat, Glycerin, Polymethylsilsesquioxane, Propanediol, Polymethyl Methacrylate, Trimethylsiloxysilicate, Lauryl PEG-10 Tris(Trimethylsiloxy)silylethyl Dimethicone, Titanium Dioxide (Nano), Trisiloxane, Diphenylsiloxy Phenyl Trimethicone, Caprylyl Methicone, Isododecane, Diphenyl Dimethicone/Vinyl Diphenyl Dimethicone/Silsesquioxane Crosspolymer, Lauryl Polyglyceryl-3 Polydimethylsiloxyethyl Dimethicone, Iron Oxides (Ci 77492), Synthetic Fluorphlogopite, Acrylates/Polytrimethylsiloxymethacrylate Copolymer, Sodium Chloride, Dimethicone Crosspolymer, Disteardimonium Hectorite, 1,2-Hexanediol, Polyethylene, Boron Nitride, Triethoxycaprylylsilane, Iron Oxides (Ci 77491), Alumina, Caprylyl Glycol, Lactobacillus Ferment Lysate, Panthenol, Fragrance/Parfum, Glyceryl Caprylate, Butylene Glycol, Iron Oxides (Ci 77499), Lauroyl Lysine, Disodium EDTA, Simethicone, Silica, PEG-15/Lauryl Dimethicone Crosspolymer, Polyquaternium-10, Lactic Acid/Glycolic Acid Copolymer, Tocopherol, Propylene Carbonate, Aluminum Hydroxide
Water hides in a cosmetic product under names such as Aqua or Eau. It's a solvent, but it's not your regular drinking water. If we want to use water in skincare products, we need to make sure this water is clean and free from minerals, any microorganisms or other substances. Usually, water makes up the majority of the content of the product. Methyl Trimethicone is a solvent and light, volatile silicone. It evaporates from the surface of your skin quickly, so there's nothing to be scared about. Titanium Dioxide (Ci 77891) - is a mineral sunscreen. It protects your skin from UVB and UVA (II) radiation. Usually, Titanium Dioxide leaves a white cast on the epidermis. Many people with sensitive skin prefer to use Titanium Dioxide and Zinc Oxide instead of organic sunscreen (organic sunscreen agents contain carbon, inorganic sunscreens aka mineral sunscreens doesn't contain carbon). In this case, Titanium Dioxide works as a pigment. Dimethicone is a dry emollient. Some people might find clogging, but it keeps your skin moist and protect it from dehydration. It has a positive effect on the skin barrier by creating occlusion, and it helps with scars. It can also smooth your skin visually. It's also silicone that's why some people like to talk badly about Dimethicone just because of this fact, but there's no reason to be frightened. It gives your skin an occlusive film, but it doesn't suffocate your skin. We need occlusion to prevent water from TEWL (Transepidermal Water Loss) - to keep the skin moist. It protects your hair from dehydration and weather, and it makes it easier to brush your hair. PEG-10 Dimethicone is silicone, it's mostly used in skincare as an emulsifier but it can have some mild moisturizing properties. Lots of people are scared of silicones even if silicones used in skin care product has to fit restrictive norms. Silicones have a positive meaning to your skin - they make products easier to spread, make the formula more elegant or even protect skin and hair.
Alcohol Denat is an immense topic in skincare. Alcohol can be good or bad for your skin, but sometimes the amount makes a poison. Alcohol, after all, is a prominent solvent. It makes active substances penetrate the skin deeper. This effect has its cost - the skin is getting a bit irritated. Some substances can be dissolved only in alcohol. This ingredient has antibacterial properties. It works as a preservative by preventing microorganisms from growing in the product. It has some awful sides too - it can dry your skin, mainly if we use it in large amounts. Sensitive skin is not a fan of this ingredient. Glycerin or Glycerol is a humectant. Its origin can be natural or synthetic - depending on the product. It protects TEWL (transepidermal water loss) and naturally occurs in the skin. It's one of the NMFs - natural moisturizing factors. It's practical in haircare. Glycerin won't clog your skin or irritate it just the opposite - it protects your skin from irritation. Polymethylsilsesquioxane is quite an unusual ingredient. It's a powder and it gives the skin silky finishing. Propanediol is also known as natural glycol - an alternative for propylene glycol. Propanediol is a solvent with additional moisturizing properties. It makes the texture of the product smooth to touch, and it can even improve the effectiveness of active ingredients. Polymethyl Methacrylate or PMMA is a synthetic polymer, it fills the wrinkles and leaves a film on the skin. It makes the texture easier to apply to the surface of the skin. Trimethylsiloxysilicate is a dry emollient and silicone. It creates a film on the surface of your skin. In makeup, it solves the problem with a longer life of your makeup during the day. Lauryl PEG-10 Tris(Trimethylsiloxy)silylethyl Dimethicone is an emulsifier. Titanium Dioxide (Nano) - is a mineral sunscreen. It protects your skin from UVB and UVA (II) radiation. Usually, Titanium Dioxide leaves a white cast on the epidermis. Many people with sensitive skin prefer to use Titanium Dioxide and Zinc Oxide instead of organic sunscreen (organic sunscreen agents contain carbon, inorganic sunscreens aka mineral sunscreens doesn't contain carbon). The Nano version of Titanium Dioxide fixes the problem with the white cast (not entirely, but you can spot the difference). You might not know that, but Titanium Dioxide is a super useful colourant and sunscreen agent. If you have melasma, you want this ingredient in your sunscreen and makeup. It gives your skin a "barrier" that protects your skin from UV radiation. Diphenylsiloxy Phenyl Trimethicone makes the product easier to spread.
Caprylyl Methicone is an emollient and volatile silicone. Silicones are good for the skin since they work as occlusives - what they do is protect the skin from dehydration. Volatile silicones are evaporating from the skin, they won't get absorbed by the skin, that's why you shouldn't be scared. If you're allergic then the good news is that the chance of getting allergic reactions to silicones is ultra-tiny! Still, every skin reacts differently that's why it's better to test on your own what ingredient works better for you and then decide if you want it in your makeup (or skincare) or not. Isododecane is a light emollient, mostly used in hair products. Diphenyl Dimethicone/Vinyl Diphenyl Dimethicone/Silsesquioxane Crosspolymer is a thickener. Iron Oxides (Ci 77492) is a pigment used to create skin-matching formulas. Synthetic Fluorphlogopite is a synthetic mica. Sodium Chloride is a regular salt that you know from the kitchen. What does it do? It's a thickener, but it's also an exfoliant. Dimethicone Crosspolymer is a thickener. It makes the formula feels nice. Have you ever seen a thickener made out of hectorite - a white clay? Meet Disteardimonium Hectorite - it works as a stabilizer, gives your skin a sheer look, and in sunscreen formulas, it makes your UV protection even better. 1,2-Hexanediol is a synthetic solvent and preservative - it protects products from microorganisms by boosting other preservatives. At the same time, it can moisturize the skin, and it has no unpleasant effects on your epidermis. Polyethylene is a thickener. Boron Nitride absorbs the sebum. Triethoxycaprylylsilane helps to spread pigment evenly. Iron Oxides (Ci 77491) is a pigment used to create skin-matching formulas. Alumina is an ingredient that you might remember from chemistry lessons. It has various positive effects on products like absorbing the sebum or helping with pigments. Caprylyl Glycol is a moisturizer and an oily emollient. It leaves a delicate, protective film on your skin. But that's not all, Caprylyl Glycol is useful when you want to keep your product free from unfriendly stuff like microbes. Lactobacillus Ferment Lysate is an ingredient that a few years ago was a cult ingredient. Nowadays, I feel like its popularity decreased after people started to self-diagnose themselves with so-called fungal acne. If you think that your skin problem might be related to Malassezia then instead of self-diagnose, visit a dermatologist. It's a probiotic, ideal for sensitive skin, but it also helps with acne. It makes your skin barrier stronger.
Panthenol is a humectant. It prevents skin from TEWL (Transepidermal Water Loss). Panthenol is also known as vitamin B5, and it helps with irritation. Panthenol can soothe the skin irritated by preservatives, scent ingredients, and chemical sunscreens - it might have a meaning for lipids in our skin and skin barrier. It speeds up the healing process. It's good to use it after sunbathing. In haircare, Panthenol has moisturizing properties. If you have problems detangling your hair or hair growth go for Panthenol. It is good to mix it with niacinamide and zinc oxide. You can see it in products for atopic dermatitis or psoriasis. Fragrance (Parfum) is a scent composition. It can cause allergic reactions. Glyceryl Caprylate is an oily emollient and emulsifier. It derivates from plants, that's why it's Ecocert approves it. Butylene Glycol is a common ingredient in products. It's not only a solvent. We use butylene glycol because it helps with the penetration of active ingredients, protects products from drying and moisturizes skin and hair. This ingredient can prevent hair loss and make your hair stronger. Iron Oxides (Ci 77499) is a pigment used to create skin-matching formulas. Lauroyl Lysine is a thickener. Disodium EDTA neutralizes metal ions in the formula to keep products fresh for a longer time. Simethicone is an emollient and silicone - actually a composition of Silica and Dimethicone. It's an anti-foaming ingredient. Silica is a thickener with magical properties for acne-prone and oily skin. It absorbs sebum, but at the same time, it can reflect the light to make your skin look healthy. Tocopherol is an antioxidant known as Vitamin E. It's an oil-soluble vitamin that fights free radicals and makes UVB protection and the natural lipid barrier stronger. It's good to mix it with vitamin C for better effects. Oily skin might react with pore-clogging to vitamin E. It is not true that vitamin E works as a preservative or helps with scars. Aluminum Hydroxide is an emollient, but it can be used as a colourant or... a tiny help for your sunscreen. Aluminum Hydroxide is a coating for Titanium Dioxide.
Is Laneige Neo Foundation Matte worth a try?
We should discuss some claims first. You know how much I love to analyse what Laneige writes on their website. It's not a surprise that I'm a huge fan of Amore Pacific and all their creative ideas, and at the same time, I'm super jealous of people doing marketing for Amore Pacific brands - maybe because my creativity is limited and I'm usually the person who controls projects than participate in creating them so for me my social media and website are an outlet for my creativity. Let's go straight to the details.
48H long-lasting coverage - I'm not sure about you, but my makeup usually stays on my face for just a few hours. I don't wear makeup at home (my skincare ends on sunscreen when I stay at home). I barely ever use foundation at home - maybe if I have a call and my client needs to see me, but it barely ever happens. I'm not leaving the foundation for 48 hours to check if it works, but I can tell you, after 5-6 hours I can see the foundation looking a bit worse near my nose and forehead area. A typical thing for T-zone in combo & oily skin types. But I have to agree with Laneige - the foundation is a professionalist if it comes to uneven skin tone and redness. Another thing we need to mention is Water Color Solution - a patented solution by Laneige, it prevents foundation from oxidation to provide the same clear and radiant tone of the skin. This point is super right! I'm pale so I usually see a huge difference when I apply the product and then how dark it can get. Laneige didn't oxidize - or the oxidation was so low I didn't even see it.
Amore Pacific - the mother company of Laneige has many patents. One of the patented solutions in Laneige Neo Foundation is Electro-filter. This foundation is supposed to be city-friendly. I live in a big city, but there's a huge difference between when I stay at home and when I go 300km away to my university. I barely ever deal with smog at home, the situation is different when I go to my university. During the winter, there's no air to breathe and it's not the most polluted city in Poland. Laneige Neo Foundation has to protect the skin from harmful substances like fine dust, but also blue light. When I started my studies, we had an entire lecture on how bad some metal particles can be for skin, and how living in areas full of mines is worse than living in areas without them. The formula uses Panthenol and Lactobacillus Ferment Lysate. Does it work? I don't think that Laneige or Amore Pacific had a press release related to this patent, but I kinda wish to know how AP's team figured that idea out.
What I love about Laneige's website - Laneige advises using foundation after sunscreen, but also gives us tips on how to use cushion and foundation together. You can use them both together or use only the foundation. I got a cushion as well, but I tested it separately since my cushion and foundation don't match. Laneige Neo Foundation in many stores that sell products straight from Korea exists only in two shades, and 21 is the lightest. It's easier to find cushions in lighter shades than foundation.
The brand recommends using it in two different ways.
Use Neo Foundation first and touch up with Neo Cushion
Neo Cushion daily and Neo Foundation for special occasions
If you check the Korean website you can find another option which we will mention later in this post.
Since the first release of Neo Foundation, Laneige released two other makeup products. Laneige Skin Veil Base_EX - No. 60 Mint Green is a tone-up base, and it fits the Neo Foundation Matte design scheme. Even if No 40 Pure Violet can be used instead Mint Green - depending on your skin needs, Mint Green seems to fit this version better since it helps with skin redness. On the Korean website of Laneige, you can find another hint on how to use Neo Foundation - Foundation or Cushion + Neo Powder. The idea of powder is nothing new - Innisfree No Sebum powder is one of the "go-to" makeup products bought by foreigners, but you don't see as many transparent/setting powders being promoted in Korean media as in Western media. I swear, every time I buy foundation at a local drugstore, I'll end up hearing "you should buy powder to set the makeup" - even if I prefer setting spray or "your skin is glowing, you should make it look like a scratchy piece of wood" - maybe not fully like that but I hate how in Europe you must look flakey but matte".
Since I'm not a fan of Matte finishing, why did I choose Laneige Neo Foundation Matte? Because my skin is full of sebum - it naturally glows, but during the day sebum is living its own life. Especially during wintertime, it's hard to control sebum and deal with it - just look at yourself, doesn't your skin act out during winter months? What I love about Kbeauty - finding a true matte finishing like Estee Lauder (which I hate since for me it looks like you have wrinkles in places where wrinkles would never exist) is hard. You're more likely to find some products with very natural finishing and for me, Laneige Neo Foundation Matte is one of these products. It looks well on the skin, it covers some stuff that I want to hide quite well, it's quite lightweight and in general, I feel like I could easily love it. It's a foundation that I was searching for a while. It stays on my skin for about 6 hours, then I need some touch-ups, but besides that - I love it. The problem is the shade - I bought the lightest available shade on Jolse (I checked other stores too). The shade range available on Jolse and many stores is poor- the two most common shades are 21N1 and 23N, and only these shades are available. Usually, shade 21 fits my skin well, but 21N1 is a bit too warm for me, a bit too yellow and even if I use purple shampoo regularly, this shade is not my fit. So if you'll ever see shade 13 with shipping to Europe - let me know, I need it.
Laneige Neo Foundation Matte - Price & Where to get Laneige Neo Foundation Matte?
The elegant bottle of Laneige Neo Foundation Matte costs right now on Jolse $29.75 for 30 ml. Normally, you can get this foundation for $35/30ml. Laneige sells a special brush to apply the product - the cap can be used as a brush holder. Great idea - I wish we could see more Laneige brushes since Laneige has eyeshadows and other makeup products. Still, we know this brand the most as a skincare brand.
Overall, Laneige Neo Foundation Matte is a foundation that I was searching for a while. Unfortunately, the shade range at Jolse didn't fit me the best, but I hope one day I'll try shade 13.
Let me know if you tried Laneige makeup products
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