Iope Air Cushion RX versus XP

A few days ago I was reading a list of interesting phobias, and I was very disappointed that mine wasn't included. Because in addition to heights, shared bath water, onsens and swimming pools, I also have a phobia of mismatched foundation.

Some women apparently don't care all that much if their foundation is a shade (or several) darker or lighter than their neck. I do care. To the point of obsessing about it. I've been known to take a quick selfie in the morning, just to see how the color of my face may look like to others.

And after completing the grueling (took almost two years) and very painful laser treatment to have melasma (hyper-pigmentation from hell) removed from my face, I made an amazing discovery - most of my liquid foundations are now way too dark for me. So now you know what exactly fuels my cushion obsession - I need to replenish my makeup stock in shades that are more suitable.

If you're new to Korean cushion foundations, please click the Cushion Foundation tab in the top bar and take a closer look.

Kilka dni temu czytalam artykul wymieniajacy najdziwniejsze fobie. Niestety moja fobia nie znalazla sie na liscie. Bo, oprocz leku wysokosci i fobii onsenow oraz wody kapielowej i basenowej uzywanej przez ogol, mam rowniez fobie zle dobranego podkladu.

Z tego co widze w internetach, to wielu kobietom (tak, nawet blogerkom urodowym) fakt, ze ich podklad jest o odcien (lub kilka) zbyt jasny lub ciemny niz skora na szyi, zupelnie nie przeszkadza. Mnie przeszkadza. Do tego stopnia, ze czasem robie selfie rano, zeby zobaczyc kolor twarzy, tak jak widza go inni.

Kiedy skonczylam dluga i bolesna terapie laserem, aby usunac melasme z twarzy (przebarwienie z piekla rodem - na tle hormonalnym), to zrobilam niebywale odkrycie. A mianowicie, ze niemal wszystkie podklady w mojej kolekcji sa teraz dla mnie za ciemne. Albo za zolte. Wiece teraz juz wiecie co jest powodem mojej obsesji poduszkowej - musze uzupelnic zapas podkladow w odcieniach, ktore lepiej by mi teraz pasowaly.

Jesli nie bardzo wiesz czym podklad w poduszce, to kliknij na zakladke w menu u gory. Koncept poduszki wyjasnilam juz przy wczesniejszych recenzjach.

Both Iope Air Cushions (XP and RX) in N21 are worthy contenders to the title of Near Perfect Match. The title of Perfect Match belongs currently to Hanyul Luminant Cushion.

I've already reviewed Iope Air Cushion XP SPF 50 PA+++.

So today let's take a look at its younger sister - Iope Air Cushiom RX SPF50 PA+++. It was released earlier this year (in May, if I am not mistaken) and I wanted to buy it while I was in Korea in June. However... at that time it proved impossible to find a store that would have the N21 shade in stock.

Obie poduszki Iope Air Cushion (XP i RX) w odcieniu N21 sa godnymi rywalkami o tytul Niemal Perfekcyjnie Dopasowanego Podkladu. "Niemal", bo tytul Idealnie Dopasowanego Podkladu nalezy w chwili obecnej do Hanyul Luminant Cushion.

Recenzowalam juz Iope Air Cushion XP SPF 50 PA+++.

Wiec dzis przyjrzyjmy sie jej mlodszej siostrze - Iope Air Cushion RX SPF50 PA+++. Weszla na rynek chyba w maju tego roku (o ile sie nie myle) i chcialam ja kupic jak bylam w czerwcu w Korei. Niestety, nie moglam znalezc odcienia N21 w zadnym sklepie. Wszedzie byl wyprzedany.

I'm not a fan of gold packaging. I think it looks cheap and tacky. But this is exactly what we have here - there's lots of gold in the new version.

Things only get worse (gold packaging-wise):

Nie jestem fanka zlotych opakowan. Wyglada to zazwyczaj tanio i tandetnie. Ale to jest to, co tutaj mamy - duzo zlotych odcieni.

Dalej juz jest tylko gorzej (jesli chodzi o zloto):

The contents are the usual cushion foundation set. We have a compact, a refill packet and a leaflet.

The RX compact is all plastic gold and shine and frankly, compared to the understated XP, it looks gaudy and cheap.

Gold works with designs and quality that are more high end. And this is not it, unfortunately.

Here we have XP and RX side by side:

W pudelku mamy tradycyjny zestawik poduszkowy - kompakt, refill i ulotke.
Kompakt wersji RX jest plastikowy, zloty i swiecacy, i porownujac do skromnej bialej wersji XP, wyglada to to tandetnie i tanio.

Zloto robi swoje w haj endzie. Tutaj niestety efekt jest odwrotny od zamierzonego.

XP i RX obok siebie:

I prefer the clean and minimalistic white version.

The white version looks a lot better when it's opened.

Unfortunately, the RX is not so pretty. Or maybe I just really dislike this particular color.

Zdecydowanie wole czysta i minimalistyczna biala wersje. Biala wersja wyglada tez duzo lepiej, kiedy kompakt jest otwarty. Niestety RX nie wyglada tak ladnie. Albo po prostu naprawde nie lubie tego nieco sraczkowatego kolorku.

Inside the compact - the usual - the cushion is enclosed in a plastic cartridge. When you open the lid, you see the protective seal:

Kompakt to tradycyjny poduszkowy cartridge z pokrywka. Podniesiemy pokrywke i mamy nalepke chroniaca poduszke wlasciwa.

Under the seal sits a blob of spongey cushion (or cushioney sponge) saturated with foundation:

A pod naklejka - gabczasta poduszka (albo poduszkowa gabka) nasaczona podkladem:

Fortunately, the old adage not to judge a book by its cover is true here as well. Don't judge a cushion by its compact.

Iope Air Cushion RX in N21(Ice Vanilla, the "N" stands for "natural") is a very light shade, that can be described as pinky beige:

Na szczescie prawda jest przyslowie, zeby nie oceniac po wygladzie. Bo choc kompakt nie zachwyca, to w srodku kryje sie calkiem dobry podklad.

Odcien N21 (Ice Vanilla, "N" jest jako "naturalny) to jasny kolor, ktory mozna okreslic jako rozowawy bez.

This photo was taken in natural light and has not been modified in any way.

And how does it compare to XP?

Here you go.

Zdjecie w swietle naturalnym bez filtrow.
Jak sie to porownuje do XP?
Ano tak:

I'd say that it's a tad bit darker than XP. There's more yellow in RX than in XP.

However, when blended out side by side, that slight difference disappears.

And here's the fun part. Even though XP is lighter initially, it darkens a bit when it oxidizes.

RX is a bit darker right out of the compact but it does not change its color at all when it oxidizes.

So what are other big differences between these two cushions?

Wydaje mi sie, ze RX jest ciut ciemniejszy niz XP. RX jest tez odrobine zolciejszy.
Ale kiedy oba sa rozprowadzone, to ta nieznaczna roznica znika.

I tutaj to co mi sie w RX podoba.
Choc XP jest na poczatku jasniejszy, to ciemnieje kiedy sie utlenia.
RX jest ciut ciemniejszy juz na poczatku i nie zmienia koloru, kiedy siedzi na twarzy.

A jakie sa inne roznice pomiedzy tymi poduszkami?

Amore Pacific, the company behind Iope, claims that Iope Air Cushion RX offers whitening and wrinkle improvement, as well as sun protection and cooling. Of course the tiny amount of foundation we normally apply is not enough to offer any kind of sun protection, so it's still necessary to use a proper sunblock.

Hmmm... cooling... To be honest, I didn't notice any, apart from the initial coolness when applying the foundation. But then again, now that summer's over, it's a lot cooler anyway. Maybe that's why I can't really tell.

After a month of use I did not notice any whitening or wrinkle improvement effects.

And initially, I didn't even feel any difference between RX and XP whatsoever. The first sign that it was a different product came after about a week of continuous use when one day I decided to revert to XP for a change. That was when I finally realized that RX is indeed different.

So how to put it gently? Iope Air Cushion RX seems more suited for mature skin. It somehow makes my skin feel more supple and more moisturized. Or again, it might be the fact that the season has changed and the weather's different. Or maybe RX is a bit richer than XP...

One thing I know for sure - I'm not a fan of the scent of this cushion.

Iope to marka ze stajni Amore Pacific, i producent twierdzi, ze Iope Air Cushion RX posiada rozjasniajace i przeciw-zmarszczkowe wlasciwosci, plus filr przeciwsloneczny i efekt ochladzajacy.
Oczywiscie maciupka ilosc podkladu, jaka wystarcza na twarz, nie oferuje zadnej ochrony przed sloncem, wiec i tak trzeba uzywac osobnego filtra.

Efekt chlodzacy? Nie zauwazylam. Ale z drugiej strony lato sie skonczylo, jest chlodno teraz na okraglo.
Po miesiacu uzywania nie zauwazylam zadnych wlasciwosci rozjasniajacych i przeciw-zmarszczkowych.

I poczatkowo, nie widzialam zadnych roznic pomiedzy RX i XP w ogole. Pierwszy znak, ze to dwie inne poduszki byl moze po tygodniu uzywania RX, kiedy jednego dnia nudzilo mi sie i postanowilam w ramach roznorodnosci, nalozyc na twarz XP. Dopiero wtedy poczulam wyrazna roznice - wracajac do starej wersji poduszki.

Jakby to powiedziec... RX jest wygodniejsza dla "dojrzalej" cery. Moja cera wydawala sie jakas taka jedrniejsza i lepiej nawilzona. A moze to znowu zasluga zmiany klimatu? A moze RX jest naprawde "bogatsza"?

Jedno wiem na pewno - zapach tej poduszki irytuje mnie niesamowicie.

Here are the ingredients kindly translated by Agata of AgathBlog - thank you so much!!!

Tutaj sklad przetlumaczony przez Agate z AgathBlog - bardzo dziekuje za pomoc!!!

Mineral Water, Cyclopentasiloxane, Zinc Oxide, Titanium Dioxide, Ethylhexyl Methoxycinnamate, Cyclohexasiloxane, PEG-10 Dimethicone, Phenyl Trimethicone, Propylene Glycol, Butylene Glycol Dicaprylate/Dicaprate, Lauryl PEG-9 Polydimethylsiloxyethyl Dimethicone, Arbutin, Propanediol, Butylene Glycol, Dimethicone, Acrylates/Ethylhexyl Acrylate/Dimethicone Methacrylate Copolymer, Glycoproteins, Lipase, Chitosan, Decyl Glucoside, Ubiquinone, Ribes Nigrum (Black Currant) Seed Oil, Polyhydroxystearic Acid, Sodium Chloride, Disteardimonium Hectorite, Aluminum Hydroxide, Stearic Acid, Methyl Methacrylate Crosspolymer, Triethoxycaprylylsilane, Polysilicone-11, Isopropyl Palmitate, Lecithin, Ethylhexyl Palmitate, Isostearic Acid, Glycerin, Polyglyceryl-3 Polyricinoleate, Dimethicone/Vinyl Dimethicone Crosspolymer, Acrylates/Stearyl Acrylate/Dimethicone Methacrylate Copolymer, Ethylhexylglycerin, HDI/Trimethylol Hexyllactone Crosspolymer, Trimethylsiloxysilicate, Disodium EDTA, Adenosine, Nelumbo Nucifera Flower Extract, Hesperidin, Panthenol, Tocopheryl Acetate, Prunus Mume Fruit Extract, Silica, Copernicia Cerifera (Carnauba) Wax, Pentylene Glycol, Phenoxyethanol, CI 77491, CI 77492, CI 77499, Fragrance

Conclusion - it's a solid cushion. I like it OK. It does what it's supposed to do - it provides light to medium coverage, and when used with a base, it lasts for about 8 hours (office work) without touch ups.

But if you already have the older XP version, would I recommend that you run out and buy this one? No. (Though some sites would have you believe otherwise).

If, however, you are new to cushions and want to try this form of foundation, then, by all means, get yourself Iope Air Cushion RX. It's a solid product that does what a good cushion is supposed to do.

I bought mine from TGI Wholesale, and while the initial order process was a bit confusing (they will email you to confirm your order, and you have to respond to that email so your order can be shipped out), they have good prices and nice customer service.
No, I am not an affiliate, nor is it a sponsored link!

Podsumowujac - to solidna poduszka. Jest w porzadku. Lubie ja. Robi to co ma robic - daje lekkie do sredniego krycie, i kiedy kladziona jest na baze, siedzi na twarzy przez jakies 8 godzin pracy biurowej bez poprawek.

Ale jesli juz masz XP, to czy jest sens leciec i kupowac RX? Uwazam, ze nie. Choc sa blogi i strony (glownie sklepowe), ktore maja zupelnie odmienna opinie - ze RX jest ci do szczescia absolutnie niezbedny.

Ale jesli jestes poduszkowa swiezynka i zastanawiasz sie nad zakupem, to Iope Air Cushion RX jest bardzo dobrym wyborem.

Gdzie kupic?
Ja swoja kupilam w TGI Wholesale i choc caly proces zamawiania, platnosci i potwierdzenia zamowienia byl nieco upierdliwy, to sklep ten ma dobre ceny i bardzo pomocna obsluge. Moge ich z czystym sumieniem polecic. Nie, nie wspolpracuje z tym sklepem.

PS. This post takes part in the K-Beauty Blog Hop series hosted by several English-language bloggers, including Harlot Beauty.

Ten wpis bierze udzial w cotygodniowym serii K-Beauty Blog Hop, zorganizowanym, miedzy innymi, przez Harlot Beauty (po angielsku).