Isa Knox X2D2 Air Net Cover Sun

This weekend I was planning to bring you the mother of all winter giveaways. But unfortunately my ebay order placed a month ago is still not here, and now the seller stopped replying to my messages. Oh well... That will teach me.

So instead of holiday cheer, I'm bringing you today yet another Korean cushion foundation review.
What? Why are you so surprised?

It's been scientifically proven (ok, maybe not exactly scientifically, but through a very detailed credit card statement analysis) that I will buy anything that even remotely resembles a cushion.

If you are new to cushion foundations, may I suggest that you check out the "cushion foundations" tab in the main menu first?

In addition to "standard" cushions, I also have a metal cushion, a do it yourself cushion, a "let's pretend it's a cushion" cushion, and a cushion that isn't a cushion at all.
Today's cushion falls somewhere between a pretend cushion and a "no cushion at all" cushion. (I wonder how many times I can get away with using the word "cushion" in one sentence, hmmm...)


W ten weekend mialam plany na mega blogowa rozdawajke swiateczna. Ale niestety moje ebayowe zamowienie jeszcze tutaj nie dotarlo, a sprzedawca teraz ignoruje moje maile. No coz. Bede miala nauczke.

Wiec zamiast prezentow, dostaniecie dzis kolejny koreanski podklad poduszkowy. Zdziwieni? Nie sadze.

Dla niezorientowanych czym sa podklady w poduszce, polecam najpierw przeczytac recenzje w zakladce "Cushion Foundations" w menu na gorze.

Oprocz "normalnych" poduszek, mam rowniez poduszke metalowa, poduszke "zrob to sam", "udaje poduszke" poduszke i poduszke, ktora wcale poduszka nie jest. Dzisiejszy wpis bedzie o poduszce, ktora jest gdzies pomiedzy "udaje poduszke" i "wcale nie jestem poduszka".

Dear readers, meet Isa Knox.
Isa, be nice and say "안녕하세요" to dear readers.
Miss Isa had me at hello. With a name like that (perfect for a hard working p0rn star) and a holographic box, I didn't stand a chance.

And speaking of holographic boxes, trying to take a photo of it was a nightmare.


Drodzy czytelnicy, poznajcie Isa Knox.
Isa, powiedz "안녕하세요" do drogich czytelnikow.

Panna Isa wpadla mi w oko natychmiast przy pierwszym spojrzeniu. Z takim imieniem (jakims takim bardzo pornowatym) i holograficznym pudelkiem, bylam bez szans.

A skoro mowa o holograficznych pudelkach, to zrobienie mu zdjecia byla droga przez meke.

It can be any color from nearly white to deep grey depending on which way you look at it, depending on which way the light hits it, depending on whether it's Thursday morning or Sunday after lunch.

The full name of this unexpected wonder is Isa Knox X2D2 Air Net Cover Sun SPF 41 PA++.
My brain has been having a hard time with the X2D2 logo. It keeps reading it as R2D2 instead. And those holographic colors make me think of light sabers. Sorry, I can't help it. 


Pudelko to moze byc kazdego koloru od bialego po gleboka szarosc w zaleznosci z ktorej strony na nie patrzysz, w zaleznosci z ktorej strony pada swiatlo, w zaleznosci od tego czy to czwartek rano, czy niedziela po obiedzie.

Pelna nazwa tego niespodziewanego cudu (i nie tylko o pudelku mowa) to Isa Knox X2D2 Air Net Cover Sun SPF 41 PA++. Moj mozg ma wielkie trudnosci z tym X2D2 logo. Automatycznie zawsze odczytuje to jako R2D2. A holograficzne kolory sa takie bardzo w tonacjach mieczy swietlnych.

The tiny print on the back of the box proudly says "LG Household and Health Care". That's not a mistake. Yes, it's the same LG as your phone or your TV. And Isa Knox is not the only cosmetic brand with the LG logo. This elite group includes su:m37, O Hui, Sooryehan, The History of Whoo, and a bunch of others.

As you can see the box contains 13 grams of product, and there is no refill. The color is designated as "21" variously translated as "soft skin beige", or "skin beige", or even as "nudy beige" as I've seen somewhere.


Drobny druczek na odwrocie pudelka mowi nam "LG Household and Health Care". To nie pomylka. Tak, to to samo LG od telefonow i telewizorow. Isa Knox to nie jedyna marka z tej stajni. Do tej elitarnej grupy zaliczaja sie rowniez su:m37, O Hui, Sooryehan, The History of Whoo, oraz kilka innych.

Widac, ze pudelko zawiera 13 gramow produktu i ze nie ma refill'a. Odcien jest oznaczony jako "21" i tlumaczony jako "soft skin bezowy" albo jako "skin bezowy", albo jak dzis widzialam nawet jako "nagi bezowy".

That's all that was in the box. Just a pretty compact and a piece of paper in Korean.

I to wszystko co bylo w pudelku. Mily dla oka kompakcik i ulotka po koreansku.

Fortunately on them innernets you can find just about anything you can dream of (along with a slew of things that you'd rather not), and a quick search for R2D2, oh pardon moi, X2D2, did bring some answers.

X2D2 is being described as an anti-ageing product line that can magically halve your skin's natural age. I'm sold. Where do I sign up? You want my soul in return? No problem. I'll throw in a couple of 12 year old virgins and a bag of pixie dust gratis. Anything for young skin! Oh wait... where am I going to find 12 year old virgins... Sorry, my soul will have to do.

Anyway, where was I? Ah yes... Halving my skin's age. That's what this X2D2 line is supposed to do by combating wrinkles, dark spots and dryness.
I'm going to take a look at more X2D2 products when I get a chance (read - when I finally manage to bring my raging cushion habit under control).


Na szczescie na tych tam innernetach mozna znalezc niemal wszystko (rowniez rzeczy, ktorych raczej wolalabym nigdy nie znalezc) i szybkie wyszukiwanie o R2D2, o pardon mnie, X2D2, przynioslo rezultaty.

X2D2 jest opisywane jako linia produktow, ktore maja zredukowac o polowe naturalny wiek twojej skory. No kurzasz twarz. Gdzie moge sie zapisac? Chca mojej duszy w zamian? Nie ma sprawy. Bierzcie.

Ok, gdzie ja bylam. Ach... zredukowac wiek skory o polowe. To ma robic ta X2D2 seria przez walke ze zmarszczkami, przebarwieniami i wysuszeniem.
Bede sie przygladac innym produktom X2D2 jak tylko opanuje moj poduszkowy nalog.

At first I thought that the compact lid was broken, but no, the shiny ring is indeed a bit lopsided.
The compact is very pretty and quite heavy. That was the first giveaway that what's hiding inside is not a true cushion.


Na poczatku myslalam, ze kompakt byl uszkodzony, ale nie. Jest taki z dizajnu niesymetryczny. Jest tez ciut ciezkawy. To bylo pierwszym znakiem, ze w srodku bedzie cos innego niz standardowa poduszka.

The sponge isn't a cushion sponge either. This is a normal cake foundation sponge, not the usual high tech cushion sponge magical gizmo.

And under the inner lid, you can see this:


Gabeczka nie jest poduszkowa gabeczka. To normalna podkladowa gabeczka, a nie poduszkowy gabkowy haj-tech.

Pod wewnetrzna pokrywka jest to:

I was surprised, I admit it. I wasn't sure what I expected but perhaps something closer to a true cushion.
This is almost exactly what Esprique Smooth on Liquid stamping foundation is trying to imitate (albeit in a very primitive manner). However as Esprique fails to deliver, Isa Knox X2D2 Air Net Cover Sun shows her strengths.

It looks to me that it all comes down to which type of foundation is more suited for this style of application. Esprique went with a thick liquid. Isa Knox chose a buttery cake. Isa Knox won.

The foundation is covered with a plastic mesh net.


Przyznam sie, ze bylam zaskoczona. Nie wiem czego oczekiwalam, ale chyba czego blizej poduszce.
To tutaj wyglada jak cos co Esprique Smooth on Liquid Foundation podklad do stemplowania chcial imitowac, z tym ze, Esprique jest duzo bardziej prymitywne. I gdzie Esprique polegl, Isa Knox X2D2 Air Net Cover Sun pokazala swoja moc.

Wychodzi na to, ze wszystko zalezy od formy podkladu najbardziej odpowiedniej do tego typu aplikacji. Esprique poszedl za gestym fluidem. Isa Knox wybrala kremowa maz. Isa Knox wygrala.

Podklad przykryty jest plastikowa siatka.

You take the sponge and dab, dab.

And whoa, what do I see???
You wanted matte? In a Korean foundation? Is that even possible?
Heck yeah!

Ladies and gentlemen, we have matte (well, almost).


Bierzesz gabeczke i ciap ciap ciap.

I co ja pacze???
Ktos sie pytal o mat? W koreanskim podkladzie? Czy to w ogole mozliwe?
Mozliwe!

Panie i panowie, mamy mat (no prawie).

And closer to a satiny, soft, definitely not shiny, most definitely not dewy, glorious finish:

Po roztarciu dostajemy piekne satynowe, zupelnie nie-glow, wykonczenie:

(Photos taken in natural light and not modified in any way, and yes, I always use disposable sponges to test any new foundation).
Zdjecie w swietle naturalnym i bez fotoszopa. Tak, zawsze uzywam jednorazowych gabeczek do testowania nowych podkladow.

~~~


As you can see that color is not all mine. But that's besides the point. The point is what it does. And what it does is giving you a semi-matte finish. Seriously, no shine. Seriously no wet glow. Seriously, just perfect satin with a very impressive staying power.
So while not a true cushion, it's a winner in its own right.

Sadly, the color is not what I expected. It's much too yellow for me.
It pisses me off to no end that despite being labeled as "21" this shade is waaaay much more yellow than Iope Air Cushion 21. As Iope did have pink undertones, miss Knox is just yellow.

Some internet sellers put a disclaimer that this color is more suited for Asian skin tone, but not the site where I bought it. And to be honest, I'm glad they didn't. Otherwise you would have never known that you can get a non-glowy finish from a Korean foundation.


Jak widac kolor nie do konca moj. Ale to nie jest tu najwazniejsze. Najwazniejsze jest to, co ten podklad robi. A raczej czego nie robi. Nie robi mokrego swiecenia. Zero glow. Daje piekne pol-matowe, satynowe wykonczenie, ktore trzyma sie fenomenalnie, nawet bez bazy.
Wiec, mimo, ze nie prawdziwa poduszka, to jednak, jak to mowia, jest moc.

Niestety, ten kolor jest zbyt zolty dla mnie.
Wkurza mnie strasznie, ze to co jest "21" w jednej firmie jest zupelnie inne niz "21" w drugiej firmie. Iope Air Cushion 21 jest bardziej rozowe i daje rade na mojej cerze. Ale panna Knox wpada w zolte podtony.

Niektorzy sprzedawcy internetowi ostrzegaja, ze to jest odcien bardziej odpowiedni dla azjatyckiej kolorystyki. Ale nie ten sprzedawca, gdzie ja kupowalam. W sumie to dobrze, ze nie ostrzegali. Inaczej nigdy bym nie kupila, i nie wiedzielibyscie, ze mozna uzyskac nie-glow z koreanskim podkladem.

The ingredient list for Isa Knox X2D2 Air Net Cover Sun SPF41 PA++, translated, as always,  by the amazing Agathblog, is quite short:

Sklad Isa Knox X2D2 Air Net Cover Sun SPF 41 PA++, przetlumaczony przez niezastapiona Agathblog:

Butylene Glycol Dicaprylate/Dicaprate, Titanium Dioxide, Dipentaerythrityl Hexa C5-9 Acid Esters, Dimethicone, Dextrin Palmitate, Macadamia Seed Oil Polyglyceryl-6 Esters Behenate, Ethylhexyl Methoxycinnamate, Phenyl Trimethicone, Diisostearyl Malate, Mica, Dimethicone/Vinyl Dimethicone Crosspolymer, Cyclopentasiloxane, Cyclomethicone, Trimethylsiloxysilicate, Sorbitan Sesquioleate, Sorbitan Stearate, Hydrogenated Polyisobutene, Polymethyl Methacrylate, 1,2-Hexanediol, Dimethicone Crosspolymer-3, Atractyloides Japonica Root Oil, Stearic Acid, Aluminum Hydroxide, Phytosteryl/Isostearyl/Cetyl/Stearyl/Behenyl Dimer Dilinoleate, Galanthus Nivalis Seed Extract, Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride, Synthetic Fluorphlogopite, Tin Oxide, Geranylgeranylisopropanol, Benzyl Benzoate, Limonene, Hexyl Cinnamal, Linalool, Butylphenyl Methylpropional, Fragrance, CI 77492, CI 77491, CI 77499

This foundation put me in a huge bind. I have been thinking for a long time what to do with it. On one hand I love what it does and want to keep it. On the other, it's definitely much too yellow for me.
Ultimately I've decided it's best to find it a new home.

Several internet shops offer this cushion. It's been discontinued by the company, so the prices vary hugely, from ridiculously expensive to quite reasonable. I bought mine from TGI Wholesale, which had the lowest price of all. And no, you don't have to buy wholesale from them. You can buy individual items as well.


Ten podklad postawil mnie przed bardzo trudna decyzja. Myslalam i myslalam co z nim zrobic. Z jednej strony bardzo mi sie podoba to co robi. Z drugiej strony, jest dla mnie zbyt zolty.
Ostatecznie zdecydowalam, ze pojdzie w swiat. Wiec jesli ktos jest zainteresowany, to bardzo prosze o maila (adres w zakladce u gory).

Kilka sklepow internetowych ma ten podklad w sprzedazy. Isa Knox juz ich nie produkuje, i wobec tego ceny sa bardzo zroznicowane, z przewaga tych drozszych. Ja robilam moje zakupy w TGI Wholesale, gdzie cena tego podkladu byla chyba najnizsza. I wcale nie trzeba kupowac u nich hurtem, po jednej sztuce tez sprzedaja. Ceny maja atrakcyjne, ale jak zawsze, warto porownywac.

OK, Isa, let's put you back in your shiny box and get you ready for a trip far, far away. Your new mommy is waiting for you.

I teraz panno Isa Knox, wskakuj znowu do pudelka. Trzeba przygotowac cie na dluga podroz. Twoja nowa mama niecierpliwie na ciebie czeka.

Esprique Smooth on Liquid Foundation UV

You know those moments when you look at something and can't help but scratch your head and think "WTF?" and "how did it ever make it past the doodles on a piece of paper stage of product design?"
Were all the people in that creative meeting brain dead? Or perhaps there was no creative meeting at all? What about focus groups? Consumer testing? Were they all done under a rock in another galaxy? Or perhaps only half-blind women over 80 were invited to participate?

Those were the questions that ran through my head today during my very first encounter with Esprique's stamping foundation a.k.a. Smooth on Liquid Foundation UV.

Hmmm... sometimes companies mean well, but somewhere along the way, from the drawing board to the store shelf, things go horribly wrong. This is not one of those times.

Sometimes companies get a really bad idea, but instead of discarding it at the first project meeting, they inexplicably run with it. And Esprique Smooth on Liquid Foundation UV is a prime example of what happens in such cases.

Chyba kazdy, z jakiejs okazji, mial taki moment, ze po prostu drapal sie po glowie i jedyne co mogl powiedziec, to "co to, u diabla, jest?" i "jak to w ogole mozliwe, ze ktos tego gniota wyprodukowal?"
Czy w ogole ktos tego gniota przetestowal? Gdzie i jak? Czy robily to 80-letnie babcie, ktore swoje ostatnie kosmetyki kupily 20 lat temu?

To mniej wiecej co sobie pomyslalam stojac dzis twarza w twarz przed podkladem do stemplowania, czyli Esprique Smooth on Liquid Foundation UV.

Czasem firmy maja dobre checi, ale cos po drodze od projektu do wykonania sie im poknoci. To nie jest przypadek Esprique.

Czasem firma wpadnie na naprawde durny pomysl, ale zamiast pozbyc sie go w trybie natychmiastowym, wchodzi on do produkcji. Ten Esprique Smooth on Liquid Foundation UV jest doskonalym przykladem takiego wlasnie stanu rzeczy.

When I saw a preview of this product on Haru's blog, it looked to me like Japan's answer to the Korean cushion foundation phenomenon.

Today, after playing with this "cushion" at the store, I am convinced that was indeed the case. But instead of simply copying the Korean design (with enough small changes to call it its own), Kose (the company behind the Esprique brand) assumed that Japanese women are stupid.

Sad.

But this is not the first time that Esprique botched a Korea-inspired product.

Earlier this year it gave us the magical Cool BB Spray:

Kiedy po raz pierwszy zobaczylam ten podklad na blogu Haru, wygladal mi on jak japonska odpowiedz na fenomen koreanskiego podkladu w poduszce.

Dzis bawiac sie ta japonska "poduszka" w sklepie, jestem przekonana, ze taki wlasnie byl zamiar producenta. Ale zamiast po prostu skopiowac koreanski dizajn (z wystarczajaca iloscia malych zmian, zeby mozna bylo nazwac go "oryginalnym"), Kose (firma, ktora produkuje linie Esprique) wyszla chyba z zalozenia, ze Japonki to idiotki.

Smutne...

Ale to nie pierwszy raz kiedy Esprique, zainspirowane Korea, wypuscilo na rynek totalnego gniota.

Wiosna tego roku ukazal sie w sklepach Cool BB Spray:

Which seems to have been inspired by Korean products with Thermal Protection Factor.
And it's all great and wonderful until you actually try this spray and see its color.
Despite what the promo photos show, this stuff seemed to have been formulated for people a lot darker than the average Japanese woman.

I wanted to try it, I was willing to spend the money. Unfortunately, I am not into spray-on tan look. Because that's exactly what the color looked like - like a cheap, fake, yellow tan.
That was back in May of this year. Now we have September and all summer long you could see this spray bundled in value-packs with other Esprique products. Obviously, it is not selling on its own.

But that was not enough for Kose, it seems, because now they bring us this idiotic Esprique stamping foundation.

Spray ten wydaje sie byc zainspirowany koreanskimi produktami z Thermal Protection Factor.
I wszystko byloby pieknie i cacy dopoki nie zobaczylam koloru tego cuda.
Zdjecia promocyjne pokazuja Japonke biala jak dziewicza lilije, ale to zasluga nie spray'u, ale photoshopa.

Chcialam go kupic, mialam dobre checi. Ale niestety nie dla mnie spray-on zolta opalenizna w kolorku jak znalazl dla blachar z Nowej Huty.

To bylo w maju. Teraz mamy wrzesien i przez cale lato mozna bylo kupic ten spray jako dodatek do innych produktow firmy Kose. Czyli wychodzi na to, ze sam z siebie nie sprzedaje sie zbyt dobrze.

Ale Kose malo sie tym przejmuje, bo teraz wypuszczaja na rynek ten nieszczesny podklad do stemplowania.

Clearly inspired by a Korean cushion foundation product, this abomination was designed by somebody who heard of cushions, but never actually held one in his hands.

It's a foundation jar with a screw-on cap (how quaintly retro). Inside the jar we will see a round elastic net. The foundation is under the net.

To apply the foundation you get a gigantic blob of sponge shaped like a stamp.

Widac wyraznie, ze cudo to bylo inspirowane koreanska poduszka. Ale niestety, zostalo zaprojektowane przez kogos, kto poduszki znal tylko ze slyszenia i nigdy takowej w rece nie mial.

Esprique daje nam sloiczek z podkladem zamykany na zakretke. W sloiczku znajduje sie elastyczna siatka. Podklad siedzi luzem pod siatka.

Nakladac mamy ten podklad gigantyczna gabka w ksztalcie stempla.

If the sample I saw today is any indication, this is not the best quality sponge, either. I've seen better sponges in multi-packs from 100 yen stores.

You're supposed to apply the foundation like this:

Jesli to co macalam dzis w sklepie to rzeczywiscie gabka do nakladania tego podkladu, to jest ona niestety bardzo kiepskiej jakosci. Lepsze gabki mozna znalezc w multi-pakach z Daiso.

Podklad mamy nakladac w ten sposob:

So does this Smooth on Liquid Foundation UV have any good points?
Actually yes, it does. It comes in seven shades. Compared to the usual two or, in rare cases three, Korean cushion shades, Esprique is the winner here.

But that might be its only good point.
The application method sucks.

Let me repeat it again to make sure everyone gets it - this stamping fiasco sucks.

Why? As cushion foundations are very thin, watery almost, and their sponges are not really true sponges at all, the product goes on the face smoothly and seamlessly.

This effect is impossible to achieve with this tacky chunk of a sponge. No matter how carefully, how gently and how precisely I was stamping today, it was still stamping. The foundation was too thick to spread evenly on the skin, so it just sat there waiting for better days. Blending it with the stamping sponge didn't help either. Here you'd need a proper Beauty Blender, but then it wouldn't be stamping, right?
The consistency of this foundation is completely unsuitable for this application method. Despite its name, the foundation is not liquid enough. After stamping, you still need to blend it out and blend it in somehow.

On the other hand, I suppose, if the foundation was more liquidy, it would be eaten up by the stupid stamping sponge in alarming quantities. Here it shows how important the design of the cushion sponge is. The geniuses at Kose obviously never looked at a silky Korean cushion sponge up close and personal.

Wiec czy ten Esprique Smooth on Liquid Foundation UV ma jakies dobre strony?
Tak, ma.
Dostepny bedzie w siedmiu odcieniach.
W porownaniu z koreanskimi poduszkami, gdzie zazwyczaj mamy dwa odcienie, czasem trzy, Esprique wygrywa.

Ale to chyba jedyny plus Esprique.

Nakladanie tego podkladu to jakis koszmar.
Powtorze raz jeszcze - koszmar.

Dlaczego?

Koreanskie poduszkowe podklady sa bardzo wodniste i ich gabeczki sa specjalnie zaprojektowane do nakladania takiej konsystencji. Podklad idzie na twarz ladniutko i rowniutko.

Taki efekt jest niestety niemozliwy przy tej tandetnej gabce do stemplowania. Bez wzgledu jak dokladnie, starannie i delikatnie stemplowalam, to wygladalo to na stemplowanie. Podklad siedzial sobie na skorze i czekal na lepsze czasy.
Do blendowania potrzebny bylby Beauty Blender, a tej gabce do Beauty Blendera niestety daleko, bardzo daleko.

Konsystencja tego podkladu po prostu nie nadaje sie do nakladania w ten sposob. Choc w nazwie figuruje "liquid" to do plynnej konsystencji mu baaaaardzo daleko.
Ale gdyby byl rzadszy, to wtedy niestety zostalby wchloniety przez ta okropna gabke. I tutaj wychodzi na to, ze geniusze w Kose nigdy koreanskiej gabki w kompakcie poduszkowym na zywo nie widzieli.

And the saddest part of all this?

Esprique has really good foundations. It's a solid mid-range brand and I like their color make up a lot. I am sure this foundation in itself is also very good.
But stuck in a jar with a net on top and applied with a huge stamper, it doesn't live up to its full potential.

And I'm also going to ignore the question of just how a woman is supposed to carry this "compact" and sponge in her purse for touchups...

This abomination is going to be released mass market in Japan on October 16th.

A najsmutniejsze w tym wszystkim jest to, ze Esprique ma naprawde dobre podklady. To solidna linia sredniopolkowa i lubie ich kolorowe kosmetyki.
Jestem pewna, ze ten podklad sam w sobie jest rowniez dobry.
Ale wepchniety w sloiczek z siatka i nakladany stemplem nie ma okazji, aby pokazac swoj potencjal.

Pomine milczeniem kwestie tego, jak rozwiazac problem noszenia tego sloiczka i stempla w torebce na poprawki makijazu w ciagu dnia...

Ten koszmarek wchodzi do masowej sprzedazy w Japonii 16 pazdziernika.