In February 2016 Lancome released (in Asia) a new version of its Blanc Expert Cushion Compact.
The new version is labeled as "cover" and has SPF 50.
The old version reviewed below has been re-labeled as "natural".
The new Lancome Blanc Expert Cushion Compact SPF50 (cover) uses the same non-woven fiber matrix technology as the cushion from another L'Oreal brand - Shu Uemura (reviewed here).
Non-woven fiber matrix is basically a fancy name for fiberglass (including glass wool, a common wall insulation material). Yep, instead of a piece of sponge, these cushion have chunks of wall filler in them. I suppose we should consider it a step up from the low quality, extremely porous sponge of the "natural" version cushion.
The folks at L'Oreal Group were careful to cover it with a net, no doubt to disourage people from investigating what's underneath.
This is the surface of the new Lancome Blanc Expert Cushion Compact SPF50 (cover version):
Using wall filler, oh pardon moi, fiberglass, instead of sponge allows for packing the cushion with much heavier foundation. That in turn allows for fuller cover.
I was very interested in this "new and improved cover" version and I was ready to buy it, but...
The shades do not correspond to the "natural" version.
Let me repeat it - they do not match.
The cover version is a lot darker. Because apparently Lancome thinks there are no people in Asia who are around NC15 or NW10. Well played, Lancome!
So here you have the reason why I didn't buy this new cushion.
Hence you will not get a full review.
And here you have a closeup of the netting - you can clearly see the fibers below:
For what it's worth, sponsored shills are bending over backwards to praise this cushion, for example, this one.
Sponsored and paid reviewers also seemed to have fallen for the "new and revolutionary glass wool in the cushion technology" PR spin. Oh well...
And this is what it looked like inside the sister brand's cushion (Shu Uemura blanc:chroma), which uses the same "revolutionary" concept:
That's the end of the update.
If Lancome makes a lighter shade, I will totally buy it.
But as it is now, I'll pass.
Continue below for the review of the "natural" SPF 23 version released in 2015:
Lancome Miracle Cushion review can be found here.
This is a side by side comparison of Lancome Blanc Expert Cushion Compact (Japan version) and Lancome Miracle Cushion (European version).
If this is the first time you are hearing about cushion foundations, please click on the "Cushion Foundations" tab in the top menu to learn more.
Recenzja poduszki Lancome - Lancome Miracle Cushion jest tutaj.
Wpis ponizej to porownanie poduszki na rynek azjatycki (japonski) - Lancome Blanc Expert Cushion Compact z poduszka na rynek europejski - Lancome Miracle Cushion.
Jesli to pierwszy raz, kiedy czytasz o podkladach w formie poduszki, kliknij na zakladke "Cushion Foundations" w gornym menu, aby dowiedziec sie wiecej.
~~~
Yesterday the long awaited Lancome cushion finally hit the stores in Japan. Having had a chance to play with it very briefly a week before, I thought it might be a good idea to stick it next to the European version of Lancome Miracle Cushion and see what happens.
And this is what happened:
Wczoraj, dlugo wyczekiwana poduszka Lancome w koncu trafila do sprzedazy w Japonii. Mialam okazje pomacac ja juz w zeszlym tygodniu i pomyslalam sobie, ze moze warto byloby postawic ja obok Lancome Miracle Cushion dostepna w Europie i zobaczyc co wyjdzie.
A wyszlo to:
Ha! Ten points if you can spot the difference.
Yep. You're right. It's "same, same" but different.
The same outer packaging, a different name.
Europe - Lancome Miracle Cushion.
Japan - Lancome Blanc Expert Cushion Compact, which also claims to have a "fresh brightening effect".
Ha! Ekstra punkty jesli zauwazysz wszystkie roznice.
Tak, zgadza sie. Niby taki sam, ale jednak inny.
Takie samo pudelko, ale inna nazwa produktu.
W Europie - Lancome Miracle Cushion.
A Azji - Lancome Blanc Expert Cushion Compact, ktory ponoc ma nam dac "swiezy, rozjasniajacy efekt."
~~~
According to the Lancome website, "the Blanc Expert range features the latest brightening technology designed to regulate melanin production and awaken the luminosity of the skin."
OK, so it would seem that Europe got the no frills version, while Japan - the brightening bells and whistles.
I wonder why? Was it the convoluted logic of a Western cosmetics company convinced that if you label it "blanc" or "brightening", and imply skin whitening properties, it would sell better in Asia?
Or was it simply the fact that there was no other way to dress up this very average, drugstore quality product to make it seem worth the high-end price?
Your guess is as good as mine.
This is interesting:
Wedlug strony Lancome "linia Blanc Expert zawiera najnowsza technologie rozjasniajaca sformulowana do regulacji produkcji melaniny i do obudzenia naturalnej jasnosci cery", czy jakos tak.
Wiec wychodzi na to, ze poduszka na rynek europejski to nic szczegolnego, ale ta na rynek azjatycki ma dzialanie rozjasniajace.
Ciekawe dlaczego? Pewnie dlatego, ze zachodnie firmy sa swiecie przekonane, ze Azjatki kupia byle g*wno, jesli tylko w nazwie bedzie widnialo slowo "rozjasnianie".
A moze dlatego, ze po prostu Lancome nie moglo wpasc na zaden inny pomysl jak usprawiedliwic wysoka cene tej bardzo przecietnej poduszki w Azji, gdzie tyle innych, duzo lepszych poduszek jest dostepnych o wiele taniej.
Ciort ich wie.
Ale to jest ciekawe:
While initially the ingredient lists seem different (due to a slightly different layout, which fooled me as well), they are in fact identical.
You have Miracle Cushion on the left, and Blanc Expert on the right. They're the same. Only the very final item, in the "may contain" category is different.
Yet the one on the right, upon landing in Japan, suddenly acquired a fancy "Blanc Expert" title.
Hmmm... the plot thickens...
There have been voices that Lancome Miracle Cushion is nothing else that Teint Miracle Foundation in a cushion form. A quick look at the ingredients lists for both products tells us that that is not true. Despite sharing the name "Miracle", those are, in fact, two different cosmetics.
Na pierwszy rzut oka, lista skladnikow wydaje sie byc inna (to z powodu innej czcionki, sama nawet sie na to nabralam), ale w rzeczywistosci obie listy sa identyczne.
Miracle Cushion po lewej, Blanc Expert Cushion Compact po prawej. Takie same! Tylko ostatni punkt w liscie skladnikow, na szarym koncu w dopisku "moze zawierac" jest inny.
Ale jakims cudownym trafem, poduszka po prawej, po wyladowaniu w Japonii nabrala nagle mocy rozjasniajacej i dostala nowa nazwe - Blanc Expert.
No niezle, Lancome, niezle...
Pojawily sie rowniez glosy, ze poduszka Lancome Miracle Cushion to nic innego jak lancome'owski Teint Miracle podklad przelany w poduszkowe opakowanie. Ale rzut okiem na listy skladnikow obu tych kosmetykow i od razu widac, ze sa to dwa rozne produkty, pomimo tego, ze oba maja slowo "Miracle" w nazwie.
~~~
To fleece you in a typical Japanese fashion, this cushion is sold here piecemeal - you have to buy a compact case and a refill separately. While this is the usual way cosmetics are sold in Japan, this is nothing but an elaborate scam to make you part with as much money as possible.
Aby oskubac cie do maksymum, w typowym japonskim stylu, ta poduszka sprzedawana jest tutaj "po kawalku" - trzeba kupic osobno kompakt i osobno wklad. Innej mozliwosci nie ma. To jest normalny sposob sprzedawania kosmetykow w Japonii, ale w rzeczywistosci to po prostu typowa sciema, aby wyciagnac od klienta jak najwiecej kasy przy jak najmniejszej linii oporu.
And they don't come cheap.
The Blanc Expert Cushion Compact Case will set you back 1300 yen plus 8% tax.
The Blanc Expert Cushion Compact Refill costs an outrageous 5200 yen plus 8% tax.
So, in all, after getting the entire set you will be 7020 yen poorer (tax added). That is nearly 52 euro, or USD 59.00 (according to Yahoo currency converter).
A kase ciagna az milo.
Blanc Expert Cushion Compact obudowa kosztuje 1300 jenow plus 8% VAT.
Blanc Expert Cushion Compact wklad to 5200 jenow plus 8% podatku.
Wiec aby zaczac uzywac ta poduszke, musimy pozegnac sie z 7020 jenami (podatek juz wliczony), co wychodzi przy obecnym przeliczniku na 52 euro lub 59 dolarow (wedlug Yahoo currency converter).
Unlike in Europe, where Lancome Miracle Cushion comes in six shades, there are only two available in Japan.
As you can see, I got BO-01. I don't know, but somehow when I see "BO", I instinctively start sniffing. Despite this unfortunate color name, this cushion doesn't stink.
The other shade on sale in Japan is this:
Choc w Europie Lancome Miracle Cushion jest dostepna a 6 odcieniach, w Japonii Lancome Blanc Expert Cushion Compact ma tylko dwa kolory.
Jak widac, ja wybralam BO-01.
Ten drugi dostepny to O-01.
BO-01 has beige tones, O-01 is yellow.
The lovely ladies at the Lancome counter swatched them for me and even helped to take a photo:
BO-01 ma bezowe tony, O-01 jest zolty.
Panie w stoisku Lancome byly bardzo mile i zeswatchowaly oba odcienie dla mnie i nawet pomogly zrobic zdjecie w jak najlepszym swietle.
I brought my Miracle Cushion for comparison purposes, and it turned out to be a great idea. The ladies were quite surprised to see that the cushion sold in Europe is "same, same, but different". You should have seen their faces when I pulled out the A-True compact out of my purse. And the Banila Co compact. And then my new Hera. They honestly had no idea that cushion foundation was not a Lancome invention.
The sales lady assembled my new cushion for me:
Wzielam ze soba moja Lancome Miracle Cushion dla porownania i okazalo sie to bardzo dobrym pomyslem. Panie w stoisku byly mocno zaskoczone, ze niby poduszka taka sama, ale inna. Wyraz twarzy mialy bezcenny, kiedy wyciagnelam z kosmetyczki poduszke A-true i poduszke Banila Co i moja nowa poduszke Hera Ultra Moisture.
Konsultantki Lancome nie mialy najbledszego pojecia, ze podklad w poduszce nie jest wynalazkiem Lancome i ze istnieje juz od paru lat.
Tutaj pani konsultantka sklada moja nowa poduszke:
And watching her do it, I got an idea.
You see, on the Lancome Blanc Expert Cushion Case box it says this:
I kiedy tak na nia patrzylam, cos wpadlo mi do glowy.
Na odwrocie pudelka do Lancome Blanc Expert Cushion Case (obudowa), mozemy przeczytac, ze:
It claims to be "specially designed for Blanc Expert Cushion Compact refill".
Of course that is not true. Lancome Miracle Cushion and its twin - Lancome Blanc Expert Cushion are both cheap, run of the mill, no frills, drugstore quality (both ingredient-wise, as well as package design wise) Korean cushions.
So it should be possible to fit any other refill of the same design into a Lancome cushion pact, and vice versa.
Let's check:
Ponoc jest to "specjalnie zaprojektowane dla Blanc Expert Cushion Compact wkladow".
Oczywiscie to bzdura. Lancome Miracle Cushion i blizniaczka Lancome Blanc Expert Cushion to tanie, typowe, drogeryjnej jakosci (i skladowo i opakowaniowo) koreanskie poduszki.
Wiec powinny pasowac do innych kompaktow tego samego typu i wice wersa. A kompaktow tego samego typu jest sporo. Ja mam dwa.
No to sprawdzamy:
Yep. It works with my A-true cushion case.
Pasuje do A-true obudowy.
And it works again with a Banila Co CC cushion case.
You should have seen the faces of those poor Lancome sales assistants when they saw it.
So... Specially designed? Nice try, Lancome. But next time, try harder.
While on the European cushion box we had blurbs in a bazillion different languages, the Japanese version has a simple sticker:
I pasuje do kasetki Banila Co CC cushion.
Biedne panie konsultantki mialy niemrawe miny jak to zobaczyly.
Wiec... specjalnie zaprojektowane? Czy Lancome naprawde mysli, ze ich klienci sa totalnymi durniami?
Na europejskiej wersji poduszki mielismy opisy w kilku jezykach. Japonska wersja ma prosta naklejke.
I guess this is yet another way that Lancome saves money. Since there is no leaflet in the box, it seems to me that different countries just slap stickers in their own languages on the back and call it a day.
Under the sticker (of course I peeled it off, duh!) we have this:
Przypuszczam, ze w ten sposob dusigrosze lancome'owskie oszczedzaja kase. Nie ma ulotki w pudelku, wiec wychodzi na to, ze zamiast drukowac wersje papierowa w kilku jezykach, w roznych krajach po prostu naklejaja info w roznych jezykach.
Pod naklejka (oczywiscie, ze ja oderwalam) jest to:
The "air cushion" wording is still here.
You can also see that it claims to have "shades designed for Asian skin". And that's all fine and dandy, but what are we, Europeans? Chopped liver? For us, Lancome, you released nasty dark yellows and shades totally not suitable for very pale and fair skinned people. And yet for Asia you bent over backwards to make it coloristically half-way decent and wearable.
This convoluted logic of western brands will never cease to amaze me.
Ok, let's go on...
Fraza "air cushion" nadal tam widnieje.
Jest tez zapewnienie, ze "odcienie sa specjalnie sformulowane dla azjatyckiej skory". I spoko, nie mam nic przeciwko temu. Ale co to my, Europejki jestesmy? Niechciane bekarty? Dla nas, kochany Lancome, wypusciles ciemne i ohydne zolte kolory, ktore zupelnie nie nadaja sie dla jasnych kobiet z polnocy. Ale dla Azjatek, to od razu - specjalnie sformulowane.
Ta logika zachodnich firm nigdy nie przestanie mnie zadziwiac.
Ale, idzmy dalej...
Good grief, the fingerprints. I couldn't be bothered to wear gloves. Sorry.
The Japanese (or is it "generic Asian"?) version is also made in Korea:
Srebrne pudelka i odciski palcow. Nie chcialo mi sie wkladac rekawiczek. Sorry.
Wersja japonska (azjatycka) jest rowniez robiona w Korei.
And it has the same pitiful SPF23 / PA++. No comment.
OK, let's look at the compacts:
Ten sam nedzny filtr SPF23 / PA++. Bez komentarza.
Ok, tutaj kompakty.
Lancome Blanc Expert on the left, Lancome Miracle Cushion on the right.
And the other side:
Lancome Blanc Expert po lewej, Lancome Miracle Cushion po prawej.
I po drugiej stronie:
And opened:
I otwarte:
Other than the lid, they seem identical. So far.
Oprocz koloru obudowy wydaja sie byc indentyczne. Jak na razie.
Same...
And suddenly:
Takie same.
Ale nagle:
Different!
Lancome Blanc Expert Cushion Compact on the left, Lancome Miracle Cushion on the right.
As you can see, the Blanc Expert inner sponge is marginally finer and better quality than Miracle Cushion.
And it might be just fine for most people.
Until you put it next to a very simple Korean cushion:
Inne!
Lancome Blanc Expert Cushion Compact po lewej, Lancome Miracle Cushion po prawej.
Jak widac Blanc Expert wklad poduszkowy, srodkowa gabka, jest odrobine mniej porowata i nieco lepszej jakosci niz Miracle Cushion.
I to pewnie zadowala wiekszosc kobiet.
Ale tylko dopoki nie postawisz poduszek Lancome obok bardzo zwyklej koreanskiej poduszki.
Ah, Lancome, Lancome...
You'd think that for the Asian market, a huge multi-national brand that wants to be seen as high end would release something a bit less bargain-basement looking, and something a bit more fancy.
But I suppose in the name of maximizing profits and squeezing every last yen (cent) out of this deal, Lancome simply couldn't afford any higher quality sponge for this compact.
If only the foundation itself was worth the price...
Sadly, no.
The consistency of the Japanese version is a lot less runny than what's inside the European Miracle Cushion. The texture is slightly more creamy than Miracle Cushion and on par with most mid- and lower-end Korean cushion brands.
Aj, Lancome, Lancome...
Ktos moglby pomyslec, ze wielka miedzynarodowa firma kosmetyczna, ktora zalicza sie do wysokopolkowych, moglaby wypuscic na rynek azjatycki cos bardziej ekskluzywnego i nie wygladajacego jak gabka z kuchennego zlewozmywaka. Ale wychodzi na to, ze w imie wycisniecia z tego kosmetyku ostatniego grosza (centa, jena), Lancome nie bylo stac na lepsza gabke.
Zeby choc sam podklad byl wart tych 7020 jenow...
Ale niestety nie.
Konsystencja wersji na rynek azjatycki jest ciut mniej wodnista niz to co siedzi w srodku europejskiej Miracle Cushion.
Tekstura jest tez bardziej kremowa i zblizona do tego, co oferuja typowe koreanskie poduszki.
In conclusion...
Lancome tried to reinvent Miracle Cushion as Blanc Expert Cushion Compact for Japan. It made a half-assed effort to make it slightly more presentable and exciting for the naive and western brand hungry Japanese women. But it's still the same mediocre cushion.
A cushion of this very average quality, with this generic design, and these bare bones ingredients and low SPF, and without an extra refill in the box, shouldn't cost more than US$25.
Shame, shame on you Lancome.
Podsumowujac...
Lancome przeinaczylo Miracle Cushion na Blanc Expert Cushion Compact na rynki azjatyckie. Cos tam chcialo wizualnie ulepszyc, zeby wygladlo ciut lepiej dla bardziej wymagajacych klientow azjatyckich. Ale efekt koncowy to ta sama mierna poduszka.
Poduszka tak przecietnej jakosci, w tak przecietnym, masowo produkowanym kompakcie, z tak slabym skladem i niskim filtrem SPF, i bez dodatkowego wkladu w pudelku, nie powinna kosztowac wiecej niz jakies 25 dolarow.
Wstydz sie Lancome!
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