VDL Base Makeup Collection - Series 2: "Metals" for Lightweight Luminous Skin

VDL's updated their family of skincare and base products with one new launch and one re-design. Both make use of "metal" to help products work better.

Makeup colors: VDL Festival Mineral Eyes 901 NY. 34th Street layered on top of smudged black pencil, Expert Color Lip Cube in 102 Shell Berry dabbed  lightly over lip balm, Festival Mineral Blusher in 602 on cheeks.

Item 1: VDL Beauty Metal Cushion Foundation (SGD$54)

In my last VDL Base Makeup Collection post, I showed you how to "fake" a dewy glow using tactical application of Lumilayer Primer, even if you are using a matte, medium coverage foundation like Perfecting Last Foundation.

But what if you want a real dewy finish or just have slightly drier skin?

That's when you might want to check out the Beauty Metal Cushion Foundation, which has been given a slight makeover this year. 

Instead of a sponge or mesh net through which you try to pick up product with your sponge, this compact liquid foundation has an actual patented metal plate designed by LG, and you only press down to dispense as much as you need. 

If you haven't tried it before you might wonder what the big deal is, but there are a few reasons I like this product a lot. 

1. The special patented LG Metal Plate™ technology has temperature control properties to help to keep the lightweight foundation inside cool and less prone to drying out.
2. The metal plate dispenser minimizes contact with dirt and bacteria in the air, you are not depositing oil and grime back into the foundation inside when you "double-dip" with a used sponge. PLUS - you can easily wipe down the surface to clean it, which is something that's impossible with other cushion compacts.
3. Unlike typical cushion BBs and foundations, this formula is designed to actually be long-wearing on the skin even though it still gives a dewy glow. I can wear this out without worrying about it smearing off quickly or starting to look patchy after a few hours.

You use it just like you would any other cushion foundation. You dip your sponge in, then pat-pat-pat over the skin to apply and slowly blend out. If you've never tried these cushion sponges before, you should probably remember that they are not meant to be dragged over the skin. That would just remove product.

If you're already using or considering Perfecting Last Foundation and aren't sure if you should try this instead, here are some differences.

VDL Perfecting Last Foundation

Lasting Power: High
Finish: Matte
Texture: Medium-light
Coverage: Medium buildable to medium-high
SPF: Yes, SPF30, PA++
Oxidation: No
Portability: Low; you wouldn't bring this out for touch-ups and it's hard to apply this on the go
Benefits: Lumilayer Pigments stop the foundation from oxidizing and changing color through the day
Best used for: Special occasions and days you want to look quite flawless and need more coverage.

VDL Beauty Metal Cushion Foundation

Lasting Power: High
Finish: Dewy
Texture: Light
Coverage: Sheer buildable to medium
Oxidation: No
SPF: Yes, SPF50+, PA+++
Portability: High; the mirrored compact, accompanying sponge and hygienic metal plate means you can bring this in your bag to use when you need
Benefits: Powerful antioxidant Prune extract and moisture-retention ingredients help to maintain hydration for hours and protect your skin for hours. This formula also contains a Radiance Complex with reflective pigments to help blur imperfections and increase the luminosity of your skin in one step, without having to add additional luminizers.
Best used for: Days when you might be out and about and need a lighter, fresher feel and higher sun- and environment-protection.

Texture comparisons between Perfecting Last Foundation and Beauty Metal Cushion Foundation

Another interesting thing to note is that the Beauty Metal Cushion shades run just a touch lighter, partly because of the light-reflecting pigments. If you don't like that paler look, you might want to get a shade deeper than you normally would in the VDL range.

VDL Base Makeup Collection - Series 1: Achieve a longwearing, luminous base

Great makeup starts with a great base. And here in Asia, where most people do not wear a lot of dramatic color makeup on a day-to-day basis, the skin itself is often the focus of the look, whether you like it or not. Your base can make or break your makeup look.

Gone are the days of flat, matte, powdery, mask-like foundation bases that look like plaster paint up-close. Even when you need to wear quite a lot of coverage, the emphasis is on creating that "expensive-looking" HD complexion that looks polished, touchable and natural.

Which can be a huge challenge in tropical, humid environments like ours when we need to deal with sweat, oil, and dry air-conditioned environments.

I always believe that for your base to go on smoothly, look light, and stay beautiful longer, you need to start thinking of your skincare as part of your makeup routine. Everything from your moisturizers, to your primers, to your base itself, needs to work well together for the best results.

And this is the philosophy behind VDL's Base Makeup Collection - Series 1.

VDL Base Makeup Collection

The brand's developed a SKIN P+R=O Regenerative range of antioxidant skincare products which protect (P) your skin and help it to recover (R) from damage so you can get optimum (O) results from your skincare, but also complement their bestselling Lumilayer Primer and the newly-reformulated Perfecting Last Foundation SPF 30, PA++.

The basics for the routine are:

1. SKIN P+R=O Almighty Ampoule Essence and SKIN P+R=O Almighty Cream to hydrate, protect, repair, AND seal the skin.
2. Lumilayer Primer to brighten the skin, add a glow, and create that illusion of youthful transparency while priming the skin.
3. Perfecting Last Foundation SPF 30 PA++ which gives flawless, long-lasting coverage without oxidation or a heavy, mask-like feel.

Step 1: VDL SKIN P+R=O Almighty Ampoule Essence (SGD$88) and Almighty Cream (SGD$82)

I was most curious about the 2 new skincare products because I've never tried them before.

I must say I was skeptical at first because the descriptions on the box only list proprietary complexes such as Medimin A, Oxytalan SF, and LG-AQ, which don't really tell the consumer anything useful, so I went down to the ingredients list to take a look, and was quite pleasantly surprised.

Skin P+R=O Almighty Ampoule Essence

Skin P+R=O Almighty Ampoule Essence contains a jaw-dropping list of star ingredients, such as skin-repairing Centella Asiatica from Madagascar, collagen-boosting Cloudberry Fruit Oil, photo-damage preventing soy ferment, conditioning Panthenol, antibacterial Artemisia Annua and Lavender extracts, antioxidant Sandalwood, purifying Moringa Seed extract, anti-inflammatory and whitening agent Niacinamide, and more.

The Almighty Cream is no less interesting. This fresh-feeling salve leaves the skin cool when spread out, and contains the same plant extracts as the ampoule essence, but also has something else I want to talk about. 

Quite high on the list is Acrylic Acid, a copolymer which is quite a powerful film-forming agent. You can sometimes find it in makeup setting sprays. This allows the product to set and act like a shield on the skin, which essentially reduces the chances of makeup melt-down.

Step 2: VDL Lumilayer Primer (SGD$36)

After spending all my teen years blotting and powdering my face and trying to get rid of all traces of oil, I'm now spending lots of money trying to add the glow back. I think there is nothing prettier than that polished gleam on someone's cheekbone when they turn their head.

I find most liquid primers either too subtle to apply under foundation, or too metallic and unnatural to wear all over the face, but VDL's Lumilayer Primer is one that I consider a staple because it really creates that sense of "translucency". VDL layered special red and blue light-reflecting pigments to help color correct, brighten, and create dimension on the face contours.

VDL Candy You Makeup Swatches

Hip Korean beauty brand VDL's Spring 2015 makeup collection is called Candy You, and features 2 bright matte lipsticks (SGD38) and an eye quad (SGD58) in shimmery spun sugar colors.

The Expert Color collection is VDL's premium makeup range, and tends to feature richer pigmentation and stronger colors, which explains the higher price compared to their more affordable general line of makeup.

The palette is Expert Color 09 Rainbow Popsicle. A very fitting name for the translucent sparkly tones.

It's not the most pigmented quad from the line by any means, but the look is mean to be translucent and girly anyway.

I would pair these with a brown liner just for a bit more definition, although that brown shade is rich enough to define the socket and lash line in most cases. I would DEFINITELY recommend pairing the pale shades with a deeper one at the lash line (so don't wear them alone). Otherwise you can look a bit puffy and rabbity, as with cases where you're wearing a lot of pale shimmery colors together.

The lipsticks on the other hand, pack a lot of wow.

The Expert Color Lip Cubes are one of my favorite Asian lip color lines around, for the intensely saturated color and long-wearing performance. Now they've come out with Lip Cube EX, and the 2 shades in the Candy You range are a "sensual matte" texture. They're similar to MAC's mattes. Very creamy and intense but also truly matte.

I applied the bright coral, 03 Heyy, over a bit of  balm so that's why it looks quite creamy here.

04 My Valentine is a bright purple-pink.

Do note that these are swatched and shot in artificial light, and because these are such bright pigments, they tend to look different in different lights. (I personally like them more in daylight.)