Lancôme’s New Miracle Cushion Totally Lives Up To Its Name

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Now I finally get what all the fuss is about with cushion compacts.

Before I tried Lancôme's new one, called Miracle Cushion, I was starting to think it was all just hype.

Y'all will recall I reviewed the Holika Holika cushion, which is thick, chalky white and takes the cake for the greasiest-looking makeup I've ever tried in my life.

Then I test-drove the Aqua BB cushion from 3LAB, which fared better. It's a beautiful sheer formula that feels great on the skin—but the shade options are a question mark and Medium didn't quite match for me.

I've also got a review coming up for AmorePacific's, which is the original cushion compact (they invented the category). I know people seem to love it but the smell! I cannot get past the smell. More on that soon. In the meantime…

Cue the sound of angels because this product is a winner:

Outer packaging of the new Lancôme Miracle Cushion.

Now, you know that 99 percent of the time, ain't nothing gonna stand in the way of my loyalty to Make Up For Ever Face & Body, a.k.a. my favourite foundation of all time. (Sappho makes my fave organic one.)

But Lancôme Miracle Cushion is now a serious contender, especially for travel or if I need to bring something in my handbag, because nobody wants to carry around a glass foundation bottle and brush (ew!). It also has SPF 23, making it a handy option for on-the-go sun protection.

Here is the glam case. For once I like Lancôme packaging! (Sometimes those navy compacts can feel cheap, but not this.)

Lancôme's glam shiny compact.

Inside, it looks like every other cushion compact you've seen:

My new prized Lancôme cushion compact.

The sponge itself, which is saturated with the foundation, is very soft, light and squishy. Just tapping it will dispense some product—you don't have to push hard at all.

The saturated sponge of Lancôme Miracle Cushion.

There are six shades in Canada and 11 in the U.S. The brand gave me three to try.

Swatches of the new Lancôme Miracle Cushion.

Unfortunately, Lancôme decided to make things extra-confusing, as these shade names are for Canada only—in the U.S. they are completely different. But I'm assuming the actual colours are the same in each line. Here is my best guess of what these are:

  • 01 Pure Porcelain = 110 Ivoire C: The lightest and my closest match. This is described as being “for porcelain skin with cool/pink undertones.” I wouldn't describe it as porcelain, just light, but it does have that very slight lean to pinkishness. 
  • 02 Beige Rosé = 220 Buff C: This is “for light skin with cool/pink undertones.” Basically a darker version of the 01 Pure Porcelain.
  • 04 Beige Miel = 420 Bisque N?: Not 100 percent sure here, but this one seems more neutral. The U.S. description is “for medium-deep skin with neutral undertones.”

The coverage is light to medium, and very buildable. It really reminds me a lot of my beloved MUFE Face & Body, because the cushion liquid has a similar thin consistency and on your skin, it's very fresh and weightless. I just hate when I feel like I'm wearing a full mask of foundation! So this isn't like that.

You will need to use concealer on top, which is fine with me. Powder according to your personal preferences. As you can see, the finish is slightly dewy, however it's not greasy and I think it's still wearable on its own. (Shoutout to the Dior Cheek & Lip Glow I'm also wearing here! Review of that over here.)

Wearing the new (just slightly too pink) Lancôme Miracle Cushion.

My one gripe is that I wish Lancôme would stop using so much pink! This is an ongoing problem with the brand that most of their foundations have pink undertones instead of neutral or yellow. If you look at my chin versus my neck and chest, you can see where this cushion doesn't quite match up 100 percent. So I'll have to use a bit of matte bronzer to even things out. (The colour difference actually looks worse in the photo than in real life, since digital cameras are so kind like that.) 

The other thing is, unlike other cushion compacts, you don't get a refill. But at $48, I suppose the price is comparable to 3LAB's $100 compact, where you get two. Around $50 seems to be the going rate per high-end cushion.

The Bottom Line

All in all I'm very impressed! Lancôme definitely did a great job of bringing the cushion compact trend to the mainstream Western market. If you can find your shade in this lineup, I don't think you'll be disappointed!

Where To Buy

Find Lancôme Miracle Cushion at:

  • Canada: Sephora, Nordstrom, Hudson's Bay, Lancome.ca
  • USA: Sephora, Nordstrom, Lancome.com, ULTA Beauty, Macy's, Bloomingdale's

Have Your Say

Have you checked out Lancôme Miracle Cushion yet? What's your favourite cushion compact?