The latest Asian beauty export, the cushion compact, is a product that – like BB and CC Creams before it – you probably don’t think you need until you try it. Inspired by “cushion compacts” from Korea, it’s a makeup and skincare hybrid that’s a super-light fluid foundation housed in an airy sponge, inside a compact. The goal, as with many beauty products hailing from Asia, is to impart skin with a dewy, radiant finish. For Lancôme, with its new Miracle Cushion, that goal is achieved via an aerated sponge that delivers a super-fine, serum-like formula laced with oils, glycerin and skincare ingredients pine needle extract and adenosine to fight dark spots and wrinkles. The high-tech sponge disc applicator, meanwhile, is made of insulating polyurethane (a material used in diving suits) that keeps the formula cool and helps encourage your skin’s microcirculation. The result: a natural, healthy glow and super-hydrated skin. Best of all, unlike your regular liquid foundation, it’s completely portable. “It combines the best of both worlds between a fluid and a compact foundation,” says Carla Khair, international marketing manager for Lancôme face makeup. “You have the natural effect of a fluid foundation, but you also have the ease and portability of a compact. It’s an easy way to apply fluid foundation whenever you want.” And just like BB and CC Creams, which have been adapted into makeup products for every part of the face (and even hair), watch for cushion compacts to multiply like Tribbles: blusher cushion and concealer cushion may be coming to a beauty counter near you.

Lancôme Paris Miracle Cushion ($48), at lancome.ca.

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